Home | Arts | Paintings
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 Several men were imprisoned and two of the men were given death sentences, though these were repealed by George Washington on the grounds of one being a ?simpleton?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 this is what led the corn-base of bourbon. Corn brings a lot of flavour to the whiskey, and by law must account for at least 51% of the mashbill. The mashbill is the selection of grains used in American whiskey distillation. Of the four main grains used, corn imparts mellow, gentle sweetness and earthy spice. One example is Knob Creek, which is a small batch 9 year old whiskey produced by the Jim Beam Company. Knob Creek is named for the area where Abraham Lincoln spent his childhood. The whiskey has a spicy note with notes of toasty oak and caramel. The palate is full, soft and nutty with dark spices. Another popular grain used in bourbon production is rye. Rye proffers a great deal of spice as well as black pepper and dark fruit, it is both full and supple in body. An example of this is Four Roses bourbon. It is aged for between five and six years and has thick, fruity manuka honey notes, caramel and lots of spice. Some distillers tend to replace rye with wheat. This softens the bourbon, bringing a sweetness and smoothness. These are known as wheated bourbons, a superlative example being Maker's Mark. This is a small batch bourbon ? a whiskey produced on a small scale. Small Batch was a term coined by Booker Noe of the Jim Beam family. Maker's Mark exhibits plenty of honey and a little coffee and oak. It is a supple, mellow bourbon. 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. So there are a few excellent examples of the flavour of various grains in a bourbon, if you are interested to try any of the above mentioned they are all available from the online whisky store Master of Malt ? be it the toasty, nutty Knob Creek, the spicy, fruity Four Roses, the soft, mellow Maker's Mark or the biscuity, toasty Van Winkle 12.
Article Source: http://www.casinoarticlessite.com
Tania Gannaway 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.
Please Rate this Article
5 out of 54 out of 53 out of 52 out of 51 out of 5
Not yet Rated
