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Bourbon is about as sacred to Kentuckians as their champion thoroughbreds. But one distiller got it into his head to experiment with the age-old recipe of corn, rye and malted barley, substituting wheat for the rye. It made an exceptionally smooth and sophisticated Bourbon that was the predecessor of the small batch Bourbons that proliferated in the eighties and nineties.

• Bourbon is a whiskey made from corn which uses sourmash as the starter.
  
• There are strict laws governing the product of bourbon.
  
• Bourbon must be aged at least two years in new, white oak barrels that have been charred.
  
• Fifty-one percent of grain used in making whisky must be corn. Most distillers use 65-75 percent corn.
  
• A "small batch" bourbon takes the cream of the crop from several batches and combines them.
  
• In 1791 whisky distillers fled to Kentucky to escape from tax collectors in Pennsylvania.
  
• Bill Samuels' mother made a mistake on the label. The logo should read VI for 6 generations, not IV for 4.
  
• In hot summers, the bourbon expands into the barrels picking up flavors from the charred oak. The barrel also gives the liquor its brown color.
  
• A one-liter bottle of Maker's Mark costs about $35.

Good Combinations

• Bourbon Mixed Berries with Grilled Pineapple and Bananas and Taylor Fladgate 10 year old Tawny
  
• Grilled Chicken with Pesto and Kentucky Country Ham and St. Francis Old Vines Zinfandel
  
• Sautèed Wild Mushrooms with Truffles and Bourbon and Chateau St. Michelle 2001 Chardonnay
  
• Maker's Mark bourbon and Vermont Cheddar Cheese

Resources

Makers Mark Distillery
Bill Samuels Jr., President
Dave Pickerell, Master Distiller
Loretto, Kentucky
502-584-0288
www.makersmark.com

The Book of Bourbon and Other Fine American Whiskeys by Gary Regan

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