A brief guide to Bourbon Article

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 Scotch-Irish brought whiskey with them to America. Many of them settled around Pennsylvania and the Northern States. There were a great number of distillers and a heavy alcohol tax, imposed in 1791, caused a great deal of consternation. The tax, which was largely to raise government funds, was particularly hard-hitting on the small scale producers ? larger scale distillers, George Washington included, received a flat tax rate.

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 Several men were imprisoned and two of the men were given death sentences, though these were repealed by George Washington on the grounds of one being a ?simpleton?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 we know why bourbon is corn-based, but what effect does the corn base have upon a spirit, and how does it differ from, say, Scotch whisky? Well corn not only offers a high yield of alcohol, it also imparts gentle sweetness and earthy, spicy notes. The corn foundations of bourbon, and the character it imparts have led to bourbon legally requiring a minimum of 51% corn in the mashbill ? the selection of grains used for distillation. A good example of this is Knob Creek. Knob Creek is a 9 year old small batch bourbon from the Jim Beam Company, it was named for the place in Kentucky where Abraham Lincoln grew up. On the nose there are toasty oak and spicy notes, a little caramel leading into a full, nutty, spicy and dark palate.

Another grain used in the production of bourbon is rye. It is a hardy grain which brings lots of spice to a whiskey, along with pepperiness and dark fruits. It is a full-bodied grain which is easily detected in Four Roses bourbon. Four Roses is matured for around 5 to 6 years. There are notes of thick, dark manuka honey alongside shades of spice and caramel.

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.

Each of these is a delicious example of how the various grains affect a bourbon. These are all great value whiskeys and are definitely worth trying, from the toasty, rich and nutty Knob Creek, to the spiced, darkly fruity Four Roses, through the supple, gentle sweetness of Maker's Mark to the biscuity, thick Van Winkle 12. These are all available online at the Master of Malt.

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Tyrone Nodal 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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