Bourbon 101: Everything You Need to Know

I am so excited about today’s post, y’all!

Bourbon is one of my favorite spirits for cocktails, and that’s why I made it the official spirit of Feast + West‘s birthday month — January.

Today, I’m sharing a guide to bourbon for all your cocktail-making this month. Over the next few months, I’m going to focus most of my cocktail posts each month on one spirit at a time.

I want to teach you about spirits, so you can know more about what you’re putting into your drinks and feel more confident choosing the right liquors. You can buy one bottle each month and learn to make a host of cocktails with it all month long.

It’s going to be like book club. (With booze!) 

The other cool thing about this column is that I’m going to let you pick what liquor I do each month! We’ll be voting for February’s featured spirit super soon (so I can plan).

OK, ready to talk bourbon?

What is bourbon?

Bourbon, or bourbon whiskey, is an American whiskey — an oak barrel-aged, distilled spirit made primarily from corn. The name is French.

Bourbon is well-known for being made in Kentucky, but it may be distilled anywhere in the United States where it is legal to distill spirits. Bourbon is seeing a big boom in the expansion of craft distilleries.

The United States and Canadian laws regulate that any product labeled ‘bourbon’ must be made in the U.S.

How is bourbon different than whiskey?

Bourbon is a type of whiskey, There are many other types of whiskey, including scotch, Irish whiskey, Japanese whisky and rye.

The difference between them all is in the makeup, as whiskey can be made from different types of grains. Bourbon must be made with corn.

Specifically, bourbon must be made with 51 percent corn. The other 49 percent is a grain mixture known as the ‘mash bill,’ usually a combination of barley, rye and wheat. Bourbon must be aged in new, charred oak barrels and bottled at 80 proof or more, which means it is 40 percent alcohol by volume. 

Also, bourbon may not have added color or flavoring.

What is single-barrel bourbon?

If a bottle is labeled ‘single-barrel,’ the bourbon has been bottled from just one barrel, so it’s very pure and therefore rare and more expensive. If it’s labeled ‘small-batch,’ the bourbon was bottled from a few select barrels. If it has neither label, lots of barrels were combined to make it.

Bourbon has no aging requirements, whereas straight bourbon must be distilled for at least two years. Some bourbons have age statements on the bottles, which tell you the age of the youngest bourbon in the bottle. 

What does bourbon taste like?

It depends on the brand, but bourbon can taste dark, fruity, woody, spicy or floral. It can also nod to citrus, toffee, caramel, chocolate, coffee or vanilla flavors.

How to drink bourbon?

Smell it first. Pour it into the glass, then take a whiff. Swirl it around as you take a second sniff. Then take a sip. This allows your taste buds to adjust slightly before you take in this flavorful spirit.

Bourbon can be served neat (without any mixers or ice), diluted with water, on the rocks (over ice cubes) or mixed with soda and in cocktails. Bourbon is also used in cooking. (I love it in pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving!)

I like to use whiskey stones or ice balls when I drink mine on the rocks, rather than with regular ice, because it keeps the bourbon from getting too watery too quickly.

Bourbon brands

Popular brands: Bulleit, Four Roses, Jim Beam, Knob Creek, Maker’s Mark, Old Crow, Wild Turkey, Woodford Reserve

Feast + West favorites: Bulleit, Maker’s Mark, Old Forrester

Bourbon recipes

Starring roles: Eggnog, the Manhattan, the Mint Julep, the Old-Fashioned, the Whiskey Sour

Feast + West drinks: Clementine Hot Toddy // Bourbon + Ginger Cocktail // Cranberry Bourbon Granita // Maple Bourbon Milkshake // Pomegranate Bourbon Fizz // Honey Peach Old-Fashioned // Basil Julep

When is national bourbon day?

National Bourbon Day is June 14.

Further reading

• How to Really Drink Bourbon // Esquire
• The 10 Best Budget Bourbons // Serious Eats
• 21 Southern Bourbon Cocktails // Southern Living

(Sources // Esquire, Serious Eats)

I hope you enjoyed this bourbon guide! Feel free to ask any questions in the comments or on Twitter. I look forward to making some awesome bourbon cocktails for you this month too. // susannah