This blog is primarily about tasting bourbon and giving readers insight into specific bourbons, their taste, and value in the market.  There will also be, from time to time, information about the industry and changes in the market, et cetera. But overall, this blog is to help you find the best bourbon for the money based on your taste and budget.  I hope you enjoy reading my posts and they lead you to enjoying a larger selection of bourbon. Today, as my first post ever, here’s a little history to get us started.

I have always been a bourbon fan. I can enjoy almost any spirit and some things do seem particularly appropriate at certain times;  Gin and Tonic on a hot day hunting in Africa or a Vodka with Natalie’s Orchid Island grapefruit juice on the deck of boat in the Florida Keys. But there is something special about bourbon for me. Maybe it is because we both made our debut in the USA in 1964 with my birth and the adoption of bourbon by congressional resolution as the official distinctive product of the United States on this day May 4^th 56 years ago. Whatever the reason, I have been on a long quest to enjoy and understand this beloved spirit.

Contrary to popular belief, bourbon does NOT have to come from Kentucky. However, that is not to say that most of the exceptional bourbons today and throughout history don’t come from Kentucky, they do. Kentucky has been known for generations as the bourbon capital of the United States.

So why is that? It could be due to a long standing tradition of bourbon distillation in Kentucky, as well as moonshining during prohibition. Needless to say, they have generations of experience with varying the ingredients in the mash of the alcohol they distilled.

The mash bill is the list of ingredients in a batch of bourbon mash. The one thing that will always be in the mash bill of any bourbon is corn. Corn has to make up 51% of the mash for the distilled liquid to qualify as a bourbon. With optimal weather characteristics for corn growth, Kentucky has yet another leg up in the world of bourbon distillation. The other grains that regularly make an appearance in a bourbon mash bill are rye, wheat, and barley.  It is the balancing of these ingredients (and maybe a few secrets ones) that make up the vast majority of bourbon mash bills.

It could also be the ideal climate for aging bourbon that makes Kentucky bourbon so good. Kentucky experiences four distinct seasons that cause the bourbon to move in and out of the wood in the brand new, freshly charred, white oak barrels. The seasonal changes push the unfiltered “white dog” (distilled alcohol from the mash) in and out if the charred wood as the barrels expand and contract with the weather and the corresponding pressure gradient changes which mellows, flavors and smooths out the spirit.

Or, maybe Kentucky bourbon just taste better because of the history and camaraderie of the distillers in that part of the country. Maybe it is all of the above combined.  Although there are some fine bourbons coming from around the country today, Kentucky is still the hallowed ground of our official national spirit. But the Kentucky bourbon industry is proud and if you want to have the word Kentucky anywhere on your label, even just in the name, it has to be distilled and aged in the State.

Here is a list of what it takes to be able to call a whisky a bourbon based on the Federal Standards of Identity for Distilled Spirits (27 CFR 5):

• Bourbon must have at least 51% corn in the mash bill.
• Bourbon cannot be more than 160 (U.S.) proof.
• Bourbon must be aged in new, charred oak barrels.
• The “white dog” or un-aged bourbon must be at 125 proof or less when put into the barrel.
• Bourbon must be aged for at least two years, at which point it can be called (but is not required to) Straight Bourbon.
• If bourbon is aged for less than 4 years, its age must be included on the label.
• If an age is stated on the label, it must be the age of the youngest whiskey in the bottle.
• The name bourbon is reserved for whiskeys that follow the above guidelines and are produced in the United States only.