Just as with anything else that depends on taste, judging the most superior whiskey is subjective. However, there are competitions that bring together brands and judges with sophisticated palates, and the verdicts tell consumers what won gold, silver, or bronze medals. The best small batch bourbon might well have had a double gold rating bestowed on it by a panel of discerning judges.
By legal definition, bourbons are made from mashes - often sour, or infused with a 'starter' from an earlier fermentation - that are more than 50% corn, have been aged for at least two years in charred oak barrels, and be at least 80 proof. Traditionally considered an exclusively American product, the whiskey most often will come from Kentucky, where iron-free water seeps through limestone to give superior results. Some well-known whiskeys are not from Kentucky, however, like Jack Daniels, which is made in Tennessee.
The evolution of this product of the American South is unclear. A Baptist minister supposedly began the charred oak barrel aging process. A distiller named James Crow gets the credit for creating the sour mash process, and Jacob Spears, another distiller, is credited with naming his corn whiskey 'bourbon.' The name, which is that of the French royal dynasty of colonial times, may have been taken from a Kentucky county or a famous street in New Orleans.
Bourbon-lovers are as poetic as wine connoisseurs when it comes to describing the flavors of a particular distillation. They speak of hints of caramel, new-mown hay, French toast, and the muskiness of a cigar box. A good corn whiskey is smooth, even if it's well over 100 proof. Flavor starts with the sour mash, and the aging process in charred oak barrels add both flavor and color to the finished product.
Most fine bourbons are 90 proof or higher; some are 125 or more. The law requires at least 80 proof, but this amount of alcohol does not meet with approval by most judges. A 'small batch' - which has no legal definition - is generally made with twenty barrels or less of selected spirits. Maker's Mark is made with twenty, while Dickel Barrel Select (a corn whiskey made in Tennessee) uses only eight. Or maybe that's Four Roses Select, another sourmash with a fine reputation.
People who value bourbon highly take their drinking seriously. Some say they hate to dilute it even with saliva. Although cocktails like the Manhattan and the Old Fashioned are popular, most devotees drink it neat, on the rocks, or with a tiny splash of 'branch water' (from a creek.) The Mint Julep is perhaps Kentucky's most famous highball.
Annual competitions bring international judges together to evaluate whiskeys of all sorts. The San Francisco World Spirits Competition judges chose the Pappy Van Winkle 15-year Old (a 'wheated' variety) the best of a field of 11-year-plus bourbons, granting it a double gold award in 2013. The panel of judges at the 2014 Chicago International Competition gave top honors in the bourbons category to Knob Creek 9-year Old.
To find your favorite, try some of these award-winning bourbons and compare them with your current brand. You may agree with the judges or you may prefer your own.
By legal definition, bourbons are made from mashes - often sour, or infused with a 'starter' from an earlier fermentation - that are more than 50% corn, have been aged for at least two years in charred oak barrels, and be at least 80 proof. Traditionally considered an exclusively American product, the whiskey most often will come from Kentucky, where iron-free water seeps through limestone to give superior results. Some well-known whiskeys are not from Kentucky, however, like Jack Daniels, which is made in Tennessee.
The evolution of this product of the American South is unclear. A Baptist minister supposedly began the charred oak barrel aging process. A distiller named James Crow gets the credit for creating the sour mash process, and Jacob Spears, another distiller, is credited with naming his corn whiskey 'bourbon.' The name, which is that of the French royal dynasty of colonial times, may have been taken from a Kentucky county or a famous street in New Orleans.
Bourbon-lovers are as poetic as wine connoisseurs when it comes to describing the flavors of a particular distillation. They speak of hints of caramel, new-mown hay, French toast, and the muskiness of a cigar box. A good corn whiskey is smooth, even if it's well over 100 proof. Flavor starts with the sour mash, and the aging process in charred oak barrels add both flavor and color to the finished product.
Most fine bourbons are 90 proof or higher; some are 125 or more. The law requires at least 80 proof, but this amount of alcohol does not meet with approval by most judges. A 'small batch' - which has no legal definition - is generally made with twenty barrels or less of selected spirits. Maker's Mark is made with twenty, while Dickel Barrel Select (a corn whiskey made in Tennessee) uses only eight. Or maybe that's Four Roses Select, another sourmash with a fine reputation.
People who value bourbon highly take their drinking seriously. Some say they hate to dilute it even with saliva. Although cocktails like the Manhattan and the Old Fashioned are popular, most devotees drink it neat, on the rocks, or with a tiny splash of 'branch water' (from a creek.) The Mint Julep is perhaps Kentucky's most famous highball.
Annual competitions bring international judges together to evaluate whiskeys of all sorts. The San Francisco World Spirits Competition judges chose the Pappy Van Winkle 15-year Old (a 'wheated' variety) the best of a field of 11-year-plus bourbons, granting it a double gold award in 2013. The panel of judges at the 2014 Chicago International Competition gave top honors in the bourbons category to Knob Creek 9-year Old.
To find your favorite, try some of these award-winning bourbons and compare them with your current brand. You may agree with the judges or you may prefer your own.
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