Bourbon Tasting - Help!
Quote of the Week:
"As the historian W. J. Rorabaugh tells the story in The Alcoholic Republic, we drank the hard stuff at breakfast, lunch, and dinner, before work and after and very often during... Except for a brief respite Sunday morning in church, Americans simply did not gather – whether for a barn raising or quilting bee, corn husking or political rally – without passing the whiskey jug."
~ Michael Pollan on the U.S. in the early 19th century in The Omnivore's Dilemma
Sixteen tasters + five Kentucky bourbons and one Tennessee whiskey + one geeked-out gastronomer + a birthday to celebrate = a super fun Saturday night, and maybe, though who can really be certain, a slightly increased understanding/appreciation of American whiskey.
When CME sent me an e-mail earlier this week with the subject line: "Bourbon Tasting - help!" it triggered a geeking-out episode that really didn't end until the tasting was over. Oh, luck day! What fun to help throw a bourbon tasting! And since I have already established my non-professional status, very little pressure. The occasion was DME's birthday. The bourbon tasting party was a gift.
Though very quickly, the event became a bourbon/whiskey tasting. When CME sent me the list of bottles she had collected, it included "regular old" Jack Daniels, which was a great inclusion since the birthday boy and many others would be quite familiar with this old American standard.
Hmmm... I thought, I am pretty sure Jack Daniels is not technically a bourbon... A quick search revealed that it is indeed not a bourbon, but rather a Tennessee whiskey. And here, my friends are a few fun facts about bourbon/whiskey:
Bourbon must be made from at least 51% corn and aged a minimum of two years in new white oak barrels. The barrels are charred on the inside. No coloring or additional flavoring can be used. Kentucky it seems is the only state that can label whiskey as bourbon though technically you could make it anywhere. (Distiller Evan Williams has a nice FAQ on the subject.)
Jack is a Tennessee whiskey because, according to the manufacturer's Web site: "Jack Daniel's is dripped slowly - drop-by-drop - through ten feet of firmly packed charcoal (made from hard sugar maple) before going into new charred oak barrels for aging. This special process gives Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey its rare smoothness. It's this extra step - charcoal mellowing – that makes Jack Daniel's a Tennessee Whiskey."
So, once we were straight on that, we were ready to develop a ballot/tasting notes that tasters could use to rate each bourbon/whiskey. I wasn't quite sure where we should begin, so I opened a book my brother K and sister-in-law R gave me for the holidays: Whiskey: The Definitive World Guide by Michael Jackson. A few pages into the Kentucky section, it occurred to me that using the tasting note categories -- color, nose, body, palate and finish -- as a guide would be helpful. Because, really what do us whiskey-drinking amateurs know about what to consider when tasting except as CME described it, "Awesome, love it" or "That's terrible, hate it."
After a day or two of contemplation and a few e-mail exchanges with CME, I realized that just being given the tasting note categories and being asked to rate them or fill in the blanks was not going to help much. We needed something easier, like multiple choice. So, we came up with a ballot that included descriptions from the actual tasting notes for each bourbon under each category (see below for the ballot).
The six liquors were placed in decanters before guests arrived to ensure the tasting would be blind. We included: Woodford Reserve, Jack Daniels, Makers Mark, Buffalo Trace, Bakers and Bulleit. Most of these all fall in to the mid-price range from about $25-$40 a bottle with Jack and Bakers falling below and above those price points, respectively.
Each taster was given a glass, a set of "ballots" and an explanation of categories. We used a tablespoon to measure each pour and allowed time between each bourbon for munching to try to avoid an unruly band of sloshed revelers. A pitcher of water was on hand for tasters to rinse their glasses between.
As we swirled and sniffed and sipped and rolled the whiskey about in our mouths and then down our throats, we tried our best to determine which descriptions best fit each category. And we had great fun trying to figure it all out! Despite our best efforts to keep everyone fairly sober and the consumption of countless mini hot dogs in puff pastry and dates stuffed with blue cheese and wrapped in bacon, most of us were pretty buzzed by whiskey #5.
Before the grand unveiling, we told everyone what six liquors were included in the mix. DME as the birthday man, tried to guess what each bottle held. The guessing was then opened up to the general party public. Two out of the six were identified, which I thought rather impressive.
Once the whiskeys were revealed, we handed around the tasting notes so revelers could see if they came close to the actual notes. My own comparison further proved what I already know... I would absolutely fail as a professional taster. Even with the multiple choice, and given the advantage of having done the research, I didn't even come close! Tasting is an art.
But really, at the end of the party, who cares!? We had a jolly fun time of it, and we agreed almost unanimously that bourbon #4, Buffalo Trace, was the best of the group. So, now we are armed with the knowledge that presented with those six choices, we would go for the Buffalo Trace, which by the way, retails for only $24.99 a bottle at Astor Wines and Spirits.
And you know what else? Jack Daniels smells fruity and is pretty darn drinkable. (I'm still not convinced about the PBR...)
There you have it, folks. I also went to two restaurants that are new to UG this week: The House on 17th Street on Tuesday with co-workers and Casa on Beford Street on Wednesday with the German. Both are cozy and comfortable spots with friendly service. The food at The House was hit or miss. The polenta with wild mushrooms appetizer and the lamb mini-burgers were excellent, especially with the Crianza 2006 from Bodegas Borsao, Campo de Borja. The scallops, brussel sprouts and eggplant appetizer were just not in the same class as the aforementioned dishes. The food at Casa fell quite short of expectations after several rave reviews I had heard before visiting. Perhaps it was an off night.
Okay! Now I have to run. Mrs. O has graciously invited me over for margaritas, Mexican food and the Jets game! Thanks to CME for giving me a good excuse to geek out over bourbon!
Stay tuned!
Category Descriptions
Color: What best describes the color of the whiskey?
Nose/Aroma: Swirl the whiskey and take a gentle breath in through your nose.
Body: How does the whiskey feel?
Palate/Taste: What flavors do you detect as you roll the whiskey around in your mouth?
Finish: What is your taste experience after you swallow the whiskey?
Overall Rating: Was you overall experience awesome, terrible or somewhere in between?
Bourbon/Whiskey #
Color (circle one):
Tawny Light Bronze Soft Amber Bright Amber Med. Amber Nut Brown Deep Gold
Nose/Aroma (circle any that apply):
Sweet Vanilla Molasses Toffee Honey Citrus Fruit Mint
Maple Oak Licorice Charcoal Caramel Wheat Clean
Body (circle any that apply):
Medium Soft Full Robust Round Smooth
Palate/Taste (circle any that apply):
Vanilla Toffee Caramel Brown Sugar Buttery Leather Wheat Citrus Oak Fruit Spice Floral Balanced Apples Toasted Nuts Sooty Vanilla
Finish (circle any that apply):
Medium-Long Long Spicy Smooth Delightful Sweet Dry Clean Deep Smoky Gentle Afterglow
Overall Rating (Circle one: 1=Awesome, love it; 2 =Good, like it; 3= Ok, drinkable, 4= Not good, don’t like it; 5=Terrible, hate it)
1 2 3 4 5
Do you have a guess on what kind of bourbon/whiskey this is?
Quote of the Week:
"As the historian W. J. Rorabaugh tells the story in The Alcoholic Republic, we drank the hard stuff at breakfast, lunch, and dinner, before work and after and very often during... Except for a brief respite Sunday morning in church, Americans simply did not gather – whether for a barn raising or quilting bee, corn husking or political rally – without passing the whiskey jug."
~ Michael Pollan on the U.S. in the early 19th century in The Omnivore's Dilemma
Sixteen tasters + five Kentucky bourbons and one Tennessee whiskey + one geeked-out gastronomer + a birthday to celebrate = a super fun Saturday night, and maybe, though who can really be certain, a slightly increased understanding/appreciation of American whiskey.
When CME sent me an e-mail earlier this week with the subject line: "Bourbon Tasting - help!" it triggered a geeking-out episode that really didn't end until the tasting was over. Oh, luck day! What fun to help throw a bourbon tasting! And since I have already established my non-professional status, very little pressure. The occasion was DME's birthday. The bourbon tasting party was a gift.
Though very quickly, the event became a bourbon/whiskey tasting. When CME sent me the list of bottles she had collected, it included "regular old" Jack Daniels, which was a great inclusion since the birthday boy and many others would be quite familiar with this old American standard.
Hmmm... I thought, I am pretty sure Jack Daniels is not technically a bourbon... A quick search revealed that it is indeed not a bourbon, but rather a Tennessee whiskey. And here, my friends are a few fun facts about bourbon/whiskey:
Bourbon must be made from at least 51% corn and aged a minimum of two years in new white oak barrels. The barrels are charred on the inside. No coloring or additional flavoring can be used. Kentucky it seems is the only state that can label whiskey as bourbon though technically you could make it anywhere. (Distiller Evan Williams has a nice FAQ on the subject.)
Jack is a Tennessee whiskey because, according to the manufacturer's Web site: "Jack Daniel's is dripped slowly - drop-by-drop - through ten feet of firmly packed charcoal (made from hard sugar maple) before going into new charred oak barrels for aging. This special process gives Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey its rare smoothness. It's this extra step - charcoal mellowing – that makes Jack Daniel's a Tennessee Whiskey."
So, once we were straight on that, we were ready to develop a ballot/tasting notes that tasters could use to rate each bourbon/whiskey. I wasn't quite sure where we should begin, so I opened a book my brother K and sister-in-law R gave me for the holidays: Whiskey: The Definitive World Guide by Michael Jackson. A few pages into the Kentucky section, it occurred to me that using the tasting note categories -- color, nose, body, palate and finish -- as a guide would be helpful. Because, really what do us whiskey-drinking amateurs know about what to consider when tasting except as CME described it, "Awesome, love it" or "That's terrible, hate it."
After a day or two of contemplation and a few e-mail exchanges with CME, I realized that just being given the tasting note categories and being asked to rate them or fill in the blanks was not going to help much. We needed something easier, like multiple choice. So, we came up with a ballot that included descriptions from the actual tasting notes for each bourbon under each category (see below for the ballot).
The six liquors were placed in decanters before guests arrived to ensure the tasting would be blind. We included: Woodford Reserve, Jack Daniels, Makers Mark, Buffalo Trace, Bakers and Bulleit. Most of these all fall in to the mid-price range from about $25-$40 a bottle with Jack and Bakers falling below and above those price points, respectively.
Each taster was given a glass, a set of "ballots" and an explanation of categories. We used a tablespoon to measure each pour and allowed time between each bourbon for munching to try to avoid an unruly band of sloshed revelers. A pitcher of water was on hand for tasters to rinse their glasses between.
As we swirled and sniffed and sipped and rolled the whiskey about in our mouths and then down our throats, we tried our best to determine which descriptions best fit each category. And we had great fun trying to figure it all out! Despite our best efforts to keep everyone fairly sober and the consumption of countless mini hot dogs in puff pastry and dates stuffed with blue cheese and wrapped in bacon, most of us were pretty buzzed by whiskey #5.
Before the grand unveiling, we told everyone what six liquors were included in the mix. DME as the birthday man, tried to guess what each bottle held. The guessing was then opened up to the general party public. Two out of the six were identified, which I thought rather impressive.
Once the whiskeys were revealed, we handed around the tasting notes so revelers could see if they came close to the actual notes. My own comparison further proved what I already know... I would absolutely fail as a professional taster. Even with the multiple choice, and given the advantage of having done the research, I didn't even come close! Tasting is an art.
But really, at the end of the party, who cares!? We had a jolly fun time of it, and we agreed almost unanimously that bourbon #4, Buffalo Trace, was the best of the group. So, now we are armed with the knowledge that presented with those six choices, we would go for the Buffalo Trace, which by the way, retails for only $24.99 a bottle at Astor Wines and Spirits.
And you know what else? Jack Daniels smells fruity and is pretty darn drinkable. (I'm still not convinced about the PBR...)
There you have it, folks. I also went to two restaurants that are new to UG this week: The House on 17th Street on Tuesday with co-workers and Casa on Beford Street on Wednesday with the German. Both are cozy and comfortable spots with friendly service. The food at The House was hit or miss. The polenta with wild mushrooms appetizer and the lamb mini-burgers were excellent, especially with the Crianza 2006 from Bodegas Borsao, Campo de Borja. The scallops, brussel sprouts and eggplant appetizer were just not in the same class as the aforementioned dishes. The food at Casa fell quite short of expectations after several rave reviews I had heard before visiting. Perhaps it was an off night.
Okay! Now I have to run. Mrs. O has graciously invited me over for margaritas, Mexican food and the Jets game! Thanks to CME for giving me a good excuse to geek out over bourbon!
Stay tuned!
Category Descriptions
Color: What best describes the color of the whiskey?
Nose/Aroma: Swirl the whiskey and take a gentle breath in through your nose.
Body: How does the whiskey feel?
Palate/Taste: What flavors do you detect as you roll the whiskey around in your mouth?
Finish: What is your taste experience after you swallow the whiskey?
Overall Rating: Was you overall experience awesome, terrible or somewhere in between?
Bourbon/Whiskey #
Color (circle one):
Tawny Light Bronze Soft Amber Bright Amber Med. Amber Nut Brown Deep Gold
Nose/Aroma (circle any that apply):
Sweet Vanilla Molasses Toffee Honey Citrus Fruit Mint
Maple Oak Licorice Charcoal Caramel Wheat Clean
Body (circle any that apply):
Medium Soft Full Robust Round Smooth
Palate/Taste (circle any that apply):
Vanilla Toffee Caramel Brown Sugar Buttery Leather Wheat Citrus Oak Fruit Spice Floral Balanced Apples Toasted Nuts Sooty Vanilla
Finish (circle any that apply):
Medium-Long Long Spicy Smooth Delightful Sweet Dry Clean Deep Smoky Gentle Afterglow
Overall Rating (Circle one: 1=Awesome, love it; 2 =Good, like it; 3= Ok, drinkable, 4= Not good, don’t like it; 5=Terrible, hate it)
1 2 3 4 5
Do you have a guess on what kind of bourbon/whiskey this is?
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