What is Bourbon Whiskey?

By Admin 2908 views

Bourbon whiskey is made of at least 51% corn or maize mixed with wheat, rye, or malted barley. Only whiskey made in the United States can be referred to as Bourbon Whiskey. It was first produced in Bourbon County Kentucky, but Bourbon is produced all over the United States.

Bourbon Whiskey is usually aged in new, charred, white oak barrels for at least two years. It is usually bottled at 80-100 proof. By law, bourbon cannot be distilled at a proof higher than 160. Distilled water is the only substance that can be added to bourbon. It is added to adjust the proof of the whiskey.

Straight Bourbon Whiskey is made with the sour mash process. It is similar to the method used to make sourdough bread. Feed Mash is mash that has already had its alcohol removed from a fermentation process. It is named feed mash because it is used as an ingredient in livestock feed. In the sour mash process, a little bit of feed mash is added to the new batch during fermentation. This introduces acid that controls bacteria.

Six sources of flavor are:

The Mash Bill: the type of grains and what percentage of each being used will effect the flavor of the final product
Water: spring water or RO water from the city? Each type will have an effect on the flavor and not just as a flavoring agent. Yeast like different minerals from the water so water source can help make the yeast healthy.
Fermentation: the yeast strain being used has a flavor impact because they each produce different congeners. The amount of time of fermentation also has an effect as different congeners are created in the yeasts older age.
Distillation: column still and pot stil doubler or column still and thumper? Copper only or Stainless steel and copper? Height of Column and diameter of column can also change the flavor. What proof is the whiskey distilled in first and second distillation also can change flavor.
Maturation: what is the barrel entry proof? Iron clad or Masonry warehouses? Heated or unheated? How long do you age the barrels? Do you rotate the barrels? What kind of weather happened each year, these all effect flavor.
Bottling: what proof is it bottled at? What kind of filtering is used?

Bourbon is one of six different American brews. The others are Tennessee, Rye and Wheat whiskey, Corn and Blended American Whiskey.

The six different categories that American whiskey is divided into is a direct result of the different aging times and adjusted amounts of grains used in each batch of whiskey.

There are a few differences between Tennessee and Bourbon. They are very closely related. Tennessee must always be filtered through sugar maple charcoal, and can only be produced in the state of Tennessee, hence its name. Currently there are only a couple of brands of Tennessee whiskey.

Generally rye whiskey is blended with other products to create other types of whiskeys. Only a very small portion of this whiskey is actually bottled. It must be made of at least fifty-one percent rye in order to be deemed rye whiskey. The distilling and storing conditions meet the same requirements as in Bourbon. Mostly made in the states of Indiana and Kentucky it is quite uncommon it has a slightly bitter and more powerful taste.

Due to the overwhelming surplus of corn, this was an obvious choice and is the predecessor of Bourbon. As assumed corn is the main ingredient with about eighty percent. The difference between corn and Bourbon is that corn does not have to be stored in wood. If it is to be aged it must be done in previous Bourbon barrels or barrels that have been uncharred.

You should not be confused by the differences in Scottish whiskey and American blended whiskey. American whiskey only contains approximately twenty percent of rye and bourbon whiskey, a mass product industrial spirit, makes up the other eighty percent. This makes the product very cheap and much lighter than it’s American cousins.

There are several mixed drinks that contain bourbon. An Old Fashioned is made with bourbon, sugar syrup, and bitters. Some recipes also call for club soda, orange slices, and a maraschino cherry garnish. A whiskey sour contains bourbon whiskey, sugar syrup, and lemon juice. A Manhattan is made with whiskey, bitters, and sweet vermouth. Bourbon whiskey is one of several kinds of whiskey that can be used in a Manhattan.

The mint julep is probably the best known bourbon whiskey cocktail. Mint leaves, sugar cubes, bourbon, and ice are shaken together to make this refreshing drink. The substance is then strained into a collins glass with ice cubes. The mint julep is usually associated with the Kentucky Derby.