After having done the whirlwind Texas foodie trip and returning home on Saturday night ~ had to get rested for my bourbon class the next day.
This would be my second class with the Whisky Professor John Christie and I was looking forward to and excited to learn about bourbon.
This would be my second class with the Whisky Professor John Christie and I was looking forward to and excited to learn about bourbon.
I got to class a few minutes early. The set up for class wasn't like the last time. They had changed things up a bit and we were having class on the couches.
I found a seat and got my area set up to take notes and check out what kind of bourbon we were going to be tasting.
I saw the display of bourbon's we were going to be tasting. I only recognized two of them, though I've never tasted either. Would be an interesting class I was sure.
As I was taking pictures, more people had arrived for the class including a co-worker Peter. He found a spot next to me and was excited and ready for class.
We waited for a few more people to arrive and then John began class with a brief American Whisky history lesson.
In the early 1600's whisky traveled overseas and has found its home in Kentucky from Irish-Scottish immigrants. Irish-Scottish immigrants from Pennsylvania traveled to Virginia as the United States expanded and they took their whisky making with them.
Whisky and other distilled spirits played an important role in the economy and culture of the American colonies and the early United States.
As early as 1657, a rum distillery was operating in Boston.
The Colonies cultivated wheat, corn and rye, though rye wasn't used much for food, the Irish-Scottish immigrants used it for making whisky.
Bourbon received its name due to two circumstances. The state of Virginia had a large amount of French immigrants.
Once Virginia and Kentucky became two different states the first Kentucky county took the name of the French royal family, Bourbon.
One of the settlers in Bourbon County, KY was Reverend Elijah Craig and he produced whisky and sent it to New Orleans.
Legend has it that Elijah experienced a fire while making his whisky and once the fire was extinguished all the barrels were left charred. He decided to use the charred barrels.
Corn based whisky was clear when produced but when Elijah sent his first batch of clear whisky in the charred barrels to New Orleans, the clear liquid had a light carmel color and vanilla flavoring and Elijah named his new whisky, bourbon.
Whisky production has historically been a preferred way to convert surplus grains into a valuable commodity that is readily transportable and non-spoiling, dating back to the origins of whisky production in Ireland and Scotland.
The expansion of a corn belt in Kentucky and Ohio create an abundant supply. There were no roads in the region and most transportaion was by packhorse. It cost more to transport corn or grain than it could bring on the eastern markets, so farmers distilled it into "liquid assets" that could be easily shipped or bartered.
Practically every farmer made whisky and it became a way to trade.
When the British blockade prevented the importation of sugar and molasses, and disrupted the production of rum, whisky was increasingly used as a substitute to meet the demand for spirits in general and for provisions for the Continental Army.
The Whisky Rebellion was a tax protest in the United States beginning in 1791, during the presidency of George Washington. Farmers who sold their grain in the form of whisky had to pay a new tax which they strongly resented. The tax was part of treasury secretary Alexander Hamilton's program to pay off the national debt.
After serving as president, George Washington became probably the new federal union's largest whisky distiller.Our first bourbon was Bulleit Bourbon aged 4-7 years.
Augustus Bulleit was born in Belgium. The Bulleit family emigrated from France in the 1700's. Around 1830, Augustus Bulleit moved from New Orleans to Louisville, KY taking with him his talent for brandy making. As a tavern keeper in Louisville, he began producing small batches of bourbon and continued to produce it during the 19th century.
In 1860, America was rapidly expanding westward and business was good for Augustus. That year, when he was transporting barrels of whisky from Kentucky back to his hometown of New Orleans, Augustus Bulleit died, though it is still unknown how and with him so did his legendary bourbon.
In 1987 his great-great-grandson, Tom Bulleit ~ returned to revive the family business.
For me the nose was spicy and sweet. The taste for me had honey, vanilla and carmel tones. The finish was short, didn't linger. Was a bit spicy for my liking.
The five elements for making whisky are:
1) The grain
2) Water
3) Fermentation process
4) Maturation time
5) Distillation
For Bourbon to be legally called bourbon - the grain must be 51% corn, aged in new~charred oak barrels, distilled to no more than 160 proof and aged a minimum of 2 years.
Next we tasted Maker's Mark aged 6 - 7 years.
In 1954, T. William "Bill" Samuels, Sr., purchased Burk's distillery in Loretto, Kentucky and began production of Maker's Mark with a new grain formula, which eliminated rye, replacing it with red winter wheat as the grain.
The first bottle of Maker's Mark was bottled in 1958 and featured the brand's distinctive dipped red wax seal. It was four-fifths of a quart and sold for $6.79 a bottle and was available for purchase in 1959. The first case sold to Keeneland Racetrack in Lexington.
As for the name, Bill's wife Marjorie was a fan of fine pewter pieces, which were known for the mark their maker put on them ~hence Maker's Mark and to truly embrace the name created the SIV symbol for Samuels-4th generation, however Bill was actually the 6th generation. ~ lol
Maker's Mark is one of the few distillers to rotate the barrels from the upper to the lower levels of the aging warehouses during the aging process to even out the differences in temperature to ensure that the bourbon in all the barrels have the same quality and taste.
For me the nose was smooth (meaning didn't burn my nose -lol!!). The taste for me had a light cinnamon spice but not too strong. The finish was warm and very pleasant. I actually enjoyed it (FYI John Christie, you're creating a monster!!)
During our tasting the Old Town Whisky guys brought out snacks for us. I've never had duck-fat fries before but I could have eaten the container of them all by myself though I would have had to fight Peter for them!
They also brought out pickled cherry tomatoes with crostini and tater tots! All very yummy! Once we snacked a bit we moved to the next bourbon ~ Baker's 7 , 7 year old and 107 proof!
Baker's 7 is named after Baker Beam, the grand nephew of the Jim Beam.
The Beam name is legendary in bourbon, and just because of the heritage. They family has dominated the world of Bourbon whisky, mostly as distillers and whisky craftsman.
Johannes "Jacob" Beam (1770-1834) of Pennsylvania (the family name Boehm was changed to Beam after emigrating from Germany) started the Beam story in 1795 ~was said to have begun selling his own whisky. Jacob brought one of his 12 children into the family business ~his son David Beam (1802-1854)
Two of David's 11 children, Joseph B Beam (1825-1912) and David M. Beam (1833-1913) also went into the family trade as did many of their progeny. Two of David M's sons, Colonel James Beauregard "Jim" Beam (1864-1947) and William Parker "Park" Beam (1868-1949)
** Baker Beam's father ** went into the trade and, post-prohibition, it was they who established the modern Beam dynasty.
Then Jim Beam had one of his son's that entered the trade, T. Jeremiah "Jere" ~ pronounced Jerry (1899-1977) and one of his daughters, Margaret, married Frederick Booker Noe and their son Fredrick Booker Noe II (1929-2004) joined the family trade. He, in turn was succeeded by his son Fredrick Booker Noe III (1957 -present) who still produces whisky at Jim Beam. (whew ~ a lot of history, but so cool!!!)
For me the nose was super spicy. The taste for me had a cinnamon and nutmeg taste -actually reminded me of a cinnamon disk candy. The finish was a long cinnamon linger. Wasn't too bad.
We then moved to Bulleit Rye aged 4 - 7 years.
In 1997 the Bulleit brand name was bought by Seagram, and began being distilled in Lawrenceburg, KY. The brand was introduced to U.S. markets in 1999, and to Australia, UK and Germany in 2000. Bulleit Rye was introduced in 2011 with a mash bill of 95% rye and 5% malted barley and is only available in the U.S.
For me the nose reminded me of pumpkin pie spice. The taste was spicy on the tongue but the finish was smooth and subtle.
Small Batch ~
There's no real legal definition for "small batch" but essentially it means that a distillery uses fewer barrels to make a bottling. Still this could mean that a distillery culled (mingled, mixed) the choice stuff from 4 barrels or 4,000.
Single Barrel ~
A single barrel bottling is made from one barrel and bottled without mingling the bourbon with any other barrels. Single barrel bottling can be different from barrel to barrel, as each barrel offers different flavors depending on where it was stored in the warehouse and a variety of other characteristics, such as age and natural differences in the wood.
Bottled in Bond ~
Back in the day, a bottler might label a whisky as 100 proof and the whisky might actually be less. The coloring might even have been tainted with iodine to give the false impression of aging. The federal regulators stepped in to protect the consumer from fraud with the Bottled in Bond Act of 1897.
A labeling term "bottled in bond" (BIB) was created to guarantee that the whisky was at least four years old, made by one distiller, and a bona fide 100 proof. Whisky designated as "bottled in bond" was stored in rickhouses (warehouses) considered "bonded" by the government. These storage units were under lock and key by federal agents to guarantee no one had tampered with the whisky.
The last bourbon we tried was the Jack Daniel's Single Barrel minimum of 4 years old. The bottling for Jack's Single Barrel started in 2001.
No one really knows when Jasper Newton "Jack" Daniel was born due to the courthouse fire and birth records were destroyed, but there is speculation he was born in 1846. And there is argument of when distillery was founded. Some say 1866 and some say 1875.
Jack was one of thirteen children. Jack's grandfather, Joseph "Job" Daniel emigrated from Wales as did his Scottish wife. He was of Welsh, Scottish, English and Scots-Irish descent.
Jack never married and did not have any children and before he died in 1911, he took his favorite nephew Lem Motlow under his wing.
Lem was very skilled with numbers and was soon doing the bookkeeping for the distillery. In 1907, due to his failing health, Jack gave the distillery to Motlow, who then bequeathed it to his children upon his death in 1947.
In 1956, the Jack Daniel's Distillery was sold to Brown Forman Beverage Worldwide, Inc. The company realized that the special formula of Jack Daniel's included the people of Lynchburg as well as the product. The old adage "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" resembled the working philosophy of Jack Daniel himself and the company has prospered.
Jeff Arnett , an employee since 2001, back the master distiller in 2008 and is the 7th person to hold the position in the distillery's 143 years. His predecessor, Jimmy Bedford, held it for 20 years.
For me the nose was smooth with a bit of smokiness. The taste for me had a cinnamon and rockcandy like taste -just that perfect mix of a bit of spice and hint of sweet. The finish was really, really nice. I found myself actually wanting more of this. (Yikes!)
We ended class with John making us a cocktail with Maker's Mark ~ the Commodore. Has Maker's Mark, lime juice, simple syrup, orange bitters. It's shaken and served in a mescal rinsed glass.
This was a nice refreshing cocktail. Has a nice citrus smell and the taste actually reminded me of a light orangina ~good with a bbq!OH!!! Did I mention that you can win a gift certificate if you do well on the test? That's what John is doing, grading our tests.
This was my second class attendance and I loved it just as much as the first! If you've never been to one you should go. It's certainly interesting if you're a newbie and even if you're not, John takes the time to make it a personal experience which I LOVE about him.
Looking forward to the next class!
When we drink, we get drunk.
When we get drunk, we fall asleep.
When we are asleep, we commit no sin.
When we commit no sin, we go to heaven.
So, let's all get drunk and go to heaven!
--Old Irish toast
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