Page 10 - Indulge October 2017

MAN MCAAVNECAVE
The holidays are creeping up faster than
I expected, and as usual, I’m woefully
unprepared. Maybe I should stick my head
out of my cave occasionally and at least take
note of the change in seasons.
In any case, I’ve been spending the
summer enjoying some of my favorite
brews — like Victory Brewing’s DirtWolf and
Weyerbacher’s Last Chance IPA. As fall rolls
in and brings a chill to the air, though, I feel
the need to switch things up a bit. Maybe it’s
because I want something that will heat up
my blood — I have a feeling this is going to
be a cold winter, and despite my chopping
firewood like crazy, I’m afraid I’ll need more
than a warm hearth this time around.
In that spirit, I think it’s as good a time
as any to expand my palate, and I’ve decided
to explore bourbons. There’s a broad range
out there, but as I’ve been finding, not all are
worth the time (or the taste).
For the uninitiated, bourbon is a term for
a whiskey that’s produced in America. And
despite the reputation it’s gained as a “fine”
drink today, it wasn’t always that way — some
notoriously cheap swill sold in the 1800s
inspired the Bottled-in-Bond Act, which set
the following standards: Bourbon’s grain
ingredients must include at least 51 percent
corn; it must be stored in new, charred oak
barrels and must be no more than 125 proof
when it enters the barrel for aging. Once it’s
bottled, it must be 80 proof or more.
The name “bourbon” comes from
Thomas Jefferson, who, as Virginia’s
governor, incentivized corn growing for whisky
production, and dubbed the region Bourbon
County after a French dynasty known as
House of Bourbon. Today, that county is part
of Kentucky, and although bourbon is often
associated with the 15th state, it can be
made anywhere in the U.S.
10 | INDULGE • OCTOBER 2017
By Patrick O’Donnell
by the fireplace — or a night outside around
the bonfire.
If your tastes run on the more (ahem)
expensive side, you may want to try a $900
bottle of Pappy Van Winkle’s Family Reserve
20 Year. That is, if you can find one at that
price — or find one at all. In some cases,
this bourbon runs over $2,000 a bottle; and
has even been known to fetch $5,000!
From what I’ve read, a lot of that price
has to do with the length of time it’s aged,
and the fact that it’s in short supply. The
shortest amount of time any Pappy stays
in the barrel is 15 years — and that’s their
“bottom-shelf” bourbon.
Being the most expensive, however,
isn’t a guarantee that it’s the best. The
San Francisco World Spirits Competition
is purportedly the finest — and most
influential — spirits competition in the world.
This year, they judged “the best” to be
David Nicholson Reserve Kentucky Straight
Bourbon. It’s 100 proof, “extra aged,” and is
Locally, I’m partial to the Bourbon said to have notes of caramel, vanilla, pepper,
Whiskey distilled by Eight Oaks. It’s aged in and hints of sweet apple/cinnamon. You can
white oak — which suits me just fine after have all this for about $30-40. (On a side
a day of splitting firewood — and has some note, it seems the David Nicholson name
smokey, nutmeg flavors. I like the aromas was once part of Pappy Van Winkle, but was
released when I swirl it around in the glass, sold in 2000.)
and it goes down fairly smooth. Another San Francisco winner was
Triple Sun’s Stouted whiskey isn’t a Blanton’s Straight From The Barrel Bourbon.
bourbon, but I’m including it here because it At $105, this single barrel, 140-proof
had me at the word “Stouted.” (Great use of (phew!) corn-rye-barley creation is pricey
poetic license, that.) It’s a 100-proof journey enough to raise eyebrows, but not out of
into a Weyerbacher Sunday Morning Stout the reach of the connoisseur who wants
barrel, where the whiskey is aged for three something for special occasions.
months. The result is an undertone of oak, of For me, I think I’ll stock up on a few
course, but also chocolate, coffee and vanilla. bottles of the local stuff, and maybe grab
It’s not hard to see why Social Still’s The a bottle of the David Nicholson for special
Vault Bourbon took a bronze medal in The occasions — like sitting in my armchair,
Washington Cup. It’s smooth, a little malty reading a good book and avoiding chopping
and a nice sipper, perfect for a night inside more firewood.