You live in Kentucky, right? You likely do.
Most of us around Louisville don't learn a lot by watching tv. I feel like a genius when I leave Kentucky and discover how little other people know about Kentucky's native spirit. We all seem to know the answers to the tourists' questions when we go on distillery tours.
Pick a fight with a bartender at a restaurant who thinks he knows more about you than you do. I thought I was going to have to wrestle the TGIF bartender at the Dallas airport when he insisted that Kentucky Bourbon was legal. The majority of it is made in the United States.
I'm ashamed to admit that I went through several rounds of argument that culminated in my finally saying, "but it's my job, I promise I'm right", which had no effect on the debate.
It is celebrating its 150th anniversary with limited editions.
In honor of National Bourbon Day, I went on a hunt for tidbits that could be useful to someone else. There is a wide and often wacky world of Bourbon lore and legend. I asked a few industry insiders to share their picks for the best and learned a lot, including the story of the most common spider in rickhouses and the fact that Bourbon is illegal on airplanes.
The Bourbon IQ boosters are here in no particular order.
The cellar spider is the most popular spider in the warehouse. They can be quite large, but they are not harmful.
The Old Forester master tasters are:
There isn't an age requirement for Bourbon. It is legal as long as it goes into a charred oak container. If it's under four years of age, it won't need an age statement.
The director of spirits education at the university is ColinBlake.
TheCrow's nest is the upper row of the warehouses. It is good to know that the best barrels come from there.
Bourbon Women was founded byPeggy Noe.
More than half of the cost of each bottle is accounted for by the different taxes on Bourbon. Local, state, and federal taxes are included along with an 'ad valorem' tax, a tax that is paid on each barrel every year that it spends aging in the warehouse. That's part of the reason for the high price of those 'old' Bourbons. The angels have taken a share every year, meaning the barrel is getting lighter and lighter, but taxes have taken a share, meaning the distillery hasn't been able to sell any of the whiskey.
They have Bourbon tours.
There is more coverage about how Louisville discovered its Bourbon heritage.
The white oak tree is the most common type of tree for North American cooperages to harvest. It can take between 60 and 80 years for a tree to reach the right size. One to three barrels can be made from a single tree. The empty barrels weigh around 120 pounds.
Angel's Envy has a chief innovation officer.
Evan Williams is most famous for being Kentucky's first licensed distiller, but he wore many other hats, serving as a very prominent figure in the early development of Louisville." Evan built Louisville's first brick home as well as the county jail.
The Evan Williams Bourbon Experience has a training and developmentordinator.
The mint julep cups were used for races. It was necessary to have the drink. Mint and sugar were used to hide the whiskey's flaws. We're using less sugar and mint because our Bourbon is so good.
Bourbon Women was founded byPeggy Noe.
Before the passage of the Bottled-in-Bond Act of 1897, there were no federal regulations on whiskeys. Many people got sick or died as a result of this public health crisis. The bottled-in-bond act was the first piece of consumer protection legislation in the country. It's priorities!
The Evan Williams Bourbon Experience has a training and developmentordinator.
Even though Bourbon is one of the most regulated spirits in the world, there is no official definition of a small-batch Bourbon. The bottler wants it to mean something.
author ofBarrel Strength Bourbon
National Bourbon month is a good time to drink up at some Kentucky events.
President Truman had a health and fitness plan that caught my attention. He tucked in to a light breakfast and a shot of Bourbon after walking around the White House. When they joined the Urban Bourbon Trail, we asked if they would make it a breakfast special.
There is a co-hosting of "Bourbon & Biscuits" on theculinary louisville.com.
Do you want to know if you have a genuine bottle of Bourbon? The fake shake is when you shake a bottle for a short time and put it down on the counter. The bubbles will stay around for about 20 to 40 seconds if you have a 100 proof bottle. A quick way to spot a fake is to fill a bottle with cheap whiskey and look for a bottle that is 100 proof of higher. A party trick is to guess the proof without seeing the label.
Mint Julep Experiences has a tour leader.
There is a common belief that a ghost by the name of Willie is haunting the corridors of Whiskey Row in downtown Louisville, and that he was once a warehouse worker that was run over by a load of rolling barrels.
The Old Forester master taster is a woman.
Who runs the world of Bourbon? Women don't care how we drink it.
George T. Stagg Barrel Proof Bourbon is not allowed to be taken on a plane because it is considered a hazardous material.
Charlie Robbins is a tour leader.
Everyone have a happy National Bourbon Day.
Let Dana know! You can send your restaurant's address to Dana McMahan at thecjdish@gmail.com.
The article was originally published on the Louisville Courier Journal.
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