An Introduction To Bourbon Article

Saturday, December 12th, 2009 at 2:39 pm

Bourbon is a spirit deeply set in American culture. The drink evolved and developed with the history of the country, becoming the popular libation it is today. In this article we will look at a few delightful bourbons including Knob Creek, Maker's Mark, Van Winkle and Four Roses, all of which can be purchased from the online whisky store Master of Malt.

The taxes were so high many distillers struggled to survive. Small scale civil protest developed until 1974, when armed rebellion broke out. After this, the US Government, for the first time since the US Constitution, used military force against its own citizens. These riots were known as the Whiskey Rebellion. Several men were imprisoned and two of the men were given death sentences, though these were repealed by George Washington on the grounds of one being a ?simpleton? and the other being ?insane?.

The tax eventually forced the distillers to flee to the southern states. A number of the distillers settled around Kentucky, where they benefited from the 1779 Cabin Rights and Corn Patch Law - a law which allowed any man to have 400 acres of land so long as he used it to grow maize and built a house upon it. Farmers quickly filled the state, and it was not long before they learnt that distilling the corn to produce whisky was a far more profitable practice. They began to ship the whiskey down the various waterways, including the Mississippi river which took the corn spirit to New Orleans.

Barrels to be transported would be stamped with their place of origin. There was one plot in what is now Kentucky called Bourbon County, named for the French Royal Family. Customers receiving spirit that originated there would ask for ?that whiskey from bourbon?. And so the name was born.

So this is what led the corn-base of bourbon. Corn brings a lot of flavour to the whiskey, and by law must account for at least 51% of the mashbill. The mashbill is the selection of gra
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ins used in American whiskey distillation. Of the four main grains used, corn imparts mellow, gentle sweetness and earthy spice. One example is Knob Creek, which is a small batch 9 year old whiskey produced by the Jim Beam Company. Knob Creek is named for the area where Abraham Lincoln spent his childhood. The whiskey has a spicy note with notes of toasty oak and caramel. The palate is full, soft and nutty with dark spices.

Rye is often used in the production of bourbon. Rye is a hardy grain and it brings a full body and supple character to a whiskey. It proffers plenty of spice and dark, peppery fruits. Four Roses is a a good example of a bourbon with a good quantity of rye present. Four Roses bourbon enjoys a maturation of around 5 to 6 years and has notes of fruity, dark honey and plenty of spice.

Rye is occasionally replaced with wheat by some distillers. Wheat is a much softer grain, which imparts a smooth body and a sweet flavour. A delicious wheated bourbon is Maker's Mark, a small batch bourbon. Small batch is a term created by Jim Beam's Booker Noe, and it refers to bourbon produced on a very small scale. Maker's Mark offers notes of honey and coffee and sweet oak.

The fourth and final grain used in bourbon production is also used exclusively in the production of single malt Scotch whisky. Barley is easily grown in much of America and was originally brought to the country by the Scotch and Irish settlers. Barley brings notes of cereals and biscuity overtones with a good depth. Van Winkle 12 Year Old is a very biscuity, buttery bourbon with mature, gentle notes of smoky honey. Van Winkle 12 is an exquisite bourbon distilled at the Buffalo Trace distillery.

So there are a few excellent examples of the flavour of various grains in a bourbon, if you are interested to try any of the above mentioned they are all available from the online whisky store Master of Malt ? be it the toasty, nutty Knob Creek, the spicy, fruity Four Roses, the soft, mellow Maker's Mark or the biscuity, toasty Van Winkle 12.

By: Darren Seabrook

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

Darren Seabrook has been tasting malt whisky for over 20 years. One of his favourites at the moment is Tomatin whisky, a single cask single malt whisky.

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