Bourbon Whiskey
Page 19
When my uncle introduced me to good bourbon, he had a bottle of “branch water” on his bar. I tried to find “branch” on the Internet but it does not seem to exist anymore. Does anyone sell it or has bottled water replaced it?
“Branch water” is a term that refers to the water from the head of a stream before it “branches” off. Not many of us are lucky enough anymore to live on acreage that has such magical properties, so I’d suggest we use a good nonmineral bottled water, or water from a purifier.
When did distillers start storing whiskey barrels in rack houses, rather than stacking on the floor of other buildings? I’m wondering if it was between the 1860s (still on floors) and about 1880.
I’ve been doing research on this one for a while now, and it’s been pretty fun. I’m glad you’ve asked the question. I know that one of my heroes in bourbon history, Colonel Edmund Taylor, was very influential in bourbon-making and aging. In 1869 Colonel Taylor purchased a small distillery on the banks of the Kentucky River at Leestown, Kentucky. Colonel Taylor was the first person to employ the “rick” system in warehouses on a consistent basis. The ricks lifted the barrels off the floor and into the ricks we still use to this day. They are stacked three barrels high per floor in the “one high,” the “two high,” and the “three high,” and rolled down the ricks which are two 4x4’s designed to hold 11+ barrels deep in a rack house.
Colone Taylor was also a supporter who helped pass the Bottled in Bond Act of 1897, the first consumer protection legislation in the United States. The B.I.B. Act states that a bourbon must be at least four years old, exactly 100 proof, from one distillery (with the actual maker listed on the bottle) and barreled in one season. So raise a glass of Bottled in Bond Old Grand Dad to Colonel Taylor! We employ today a lot of what he pioneered long ago.
I’m used to drinking Jack & Coke, but a friend turned me on to the Knob Creek bourbon. Since I like to mix my drink is it OK to mix the Knob Creek with Coke or something else, or do you prefer not to?
I’m glad your friend turned you on to bourbon and especially one of my favorites. The only rule I have about it is one I picked up from my buddy and master mixologist, Bobby “G.” Drink what you like, like what you’re drinking, but know what you’re drinking. If you like it mixed with Coke, by all means mix it with Coke.
Jack Daniels tends to be younger, meaning it hasn’t been aged as long as Knob Creek (nine years in the barrel) or Elijah Craig (12 years in the barrel), for example. Even the white label Jim Beam (four years old) drinkers tend to like Coke, 7UP, or ginger ale mixed in with their bourbon. The longer the bourbon has rested in those barrels, the more of those vanilla, maple, caramel, and ginger flavors are there, and the less you might want to add to it so you can taste them. This is why a lot of folks just use a cube or 2 of ice, or just a splash of water or ginger ale.
If you like it with cola, by all means drink it that way, but know that cola tends to mask the flavors that we have been aging for. It also contains a lot of sugars and flavors on top of that to boot. Ginger ale actually brings out some natural vanillas and other flavors from the barrel. So try it with ginger ale sometime, or half ginger ale, and half soda. This is also called a Presbyterian. It’s a classic drink and very refreshing.
But if you like bourbon with Coke, you drink it with Coke. Booker Noe was asked by a woman one time if it was a sin to mix Booker’s Bourbon and Coke. She really liked the taste of it. Booker looked at her and said, “Ma’am, if you take the best bourbon in the world and mix it with Coke, you’ll have the best damned bourbon and Coke in the world.”
How do you measure alcohol content? How do you regulate it during production? How much variability is there from batch to batch?
That’s a great question. And we have to thank technology for helping us make it a little easier and a lot more consistent now. In the 1980s, computers were being used more in the actual cooking and distilling. Before that, people had to turn valves and control temperatures, etc. Now it’s all done by computers, so it’s controlled a lot more tightly. Once the computer has the steam under the still, it can keep the bourbon pouring off the still at a desired proof. But we still use the old-fashioned way and use a hydrometer to check the proof level every hour, just like Dr. James Crow did back in the 1800s. So there is hardly any variability on a run (batch). Keep in mind that a “batch” is five or six days long. That’s the advantage of using column stills instead of pot stills. The proof stays constant. Two people in the control room overseeing the computer system can do the job of 15 people turning valves and adjusting dials by hand. The operators can override the computer system and open valves, but still by using the computer system. If that totally fails, they can go down into the distillery and turn the valves by hand. With as much technology as we have today, we still have to have guys like Fred Noe, Craig Beam, Tommy Crume and other distillers who know how to go in and do it by hand if needed.
Can a whiskey still be considered a bourbon if it contains more than 80% corn, or does that automatically make it “corn whiskey”?
This is a question that is debated over and over, and I don’t know why. The laws are really clear here. The law on bourbon whiskey states that it must contain at least 51% corn. It mentions no upper limit for percentage of corn or other grains specifically, so yes, as long as it follows all the laws of bourbon, the whiskey can be 80% or more corn and still be considered bourbon. Period. Corn whiskey is defined as “whiskey produced at not exceeding 160 proof from a fermented mash of not less than 80% corn grain, and if stored in oak containers stored at not more than 125 proof in used or uncharred new oak containers.”
If you’re more inspired now than ever about the native spirit of the United States and want to attend some of the events and meet folks like myself, Fred Noe and all the whiskey men and women who are ambassadors, please come and enjoy. Some whiskey events across the country include: Bourbon Festival in Bardstown, KY, Whiskey Guild/Whisky Life and Spirits Cruises, WhiskeyFest, Whisky Live, Tales of the Cocktail, Aspen Food and Wine, Epcot Food and Wine, Beer Bourbon and Bar-B-Q, and the Philadelphia and Pittsburgh Whiskey Festivals. Just Google these and they’ll pop right up.
You can also follow me on Facebook and Twitter.
You can see a video of me on YouTube singing a song I wrote and performed with Hickory and the boys titled, “The Bourbon Trail.” I mention 18 bourbons in the song:
THE BOURBON TRAIL, BY BERNIE LUBBERS, 2009
A FINAL NOTE
As I finish this book, I’m on holiday in Munich, Prague and Berlin. Most people hate airports. I love them. True, they can be a pain, but what the hell, you’re going somewhere! I also love train travel. Since I took the train between cities in Europe, I knew it would be the perfect opportunity to finish this incredible project. I’d like to thank my employer, Jim Beam, for the opportunity to serve as whiskey professor on behalf of their great brands. Also, I can’t thank Fred Noe enough for his never-ending passion and the knowledge and experience he shares so graciously with us all. When I asked him if he would write the foreword for this book, he didn’t hesitate and added that it would be his honor to do it. What a class act! Fred makes you feel like you’re a part of the Beam family, and when you meet him, you’ll feel like you’ve known him all your life. This is also true of all the other master distillers: Jimmy and Eddie Russell (Wild Turkey), Greg Davis (Maker’s Mark), Harlen Wheatley and Elmer T. Lee (Buffalo Trace), Parker and Craig Beam (Heaven Hill), Fred Noe and Kevin Smith (Jim Beam), Jimmy Rutledge (Four Roses) and Chris Morris (Woodford Reserve). I’ve learned a lot from all of them, and they’re all inspiring to be around.
I also want to thank my buddy Tom Mabe (comic, musician, jingle writer, TV show host) for introducing me to my publisher. I heard stories of getting rejection letter after rejection letter with publishers, and I must tell you, I’m one for one. I approached one publisher and he said, “I want to do it.” Thanks, Tom Doherty and everyone at Blue River Press! And a big thanks to my editor, Holly Kon
dras!
I encourage you to sign up and become members on the websites of your favorite brands: jimbeam.com, knobcreek.com, makersmark.com. When you sign up, you’ll be invited to cool tastings and gatherings. Most brands have websites, so Google your favorite brands and sign up for all the ones you enjoy.
He’d throw Old Fitz if he didn’t get that Sour Mash, and now he’s drinking with Booker far away!
The angels’ share is surely higher now today
Verse 2
When the weekend rolled around, oh the stories they would flow, Like branch water pourin’ down Knob Creek.
Evan Williams start to sing - Brother Elijah’s voice would ring
And Jimmy passed the jug to Fred and Elmer T.
CHORUS
Verse 3
Wild Turkeys they all were, and like Eagles they were Rare
They bottled & bonded all the day.
And on into the night, at Basil Hayden’s shear delight,
They’d tell stories ’bout the whiskey men they were!
18 bourbons referenced:
Old Grand Dad – Heaven Hill – Four Roses – Jim Beam – Pappy Van Winkle – Old Forester – Ancient Age – Old Crow – Maker’s Mark – Knob Creek – Evan Williams – Elijah Craig – Booker’s – Wild Turkey – Eagle Rare – Basil Hayden’s – Elmer T. Lee – Old Fitzgerald
Other bourbon referenced:
Red Eye–Bottled in Bond – Angel’s Share – Branch Water – Sour Mash
Whiskey men referenced:
Jim Beam – Doctor William Forrester – Pappy Van Winkle – Evan Williams – Elijah Craig – Jimmy Russell – Fred Noe – Elmer T. Lee – Basil Hayden – Booker Noe