What's the deal?!
Well, much like all squares are quadrilaterals, but not all quadrilaterals are squares, all bourbons are whiskies, but not all whiskies are bourbons (same with scotch).
The general rule is...if the country of origin has an "e" in the name, use an e spelling whiskey. United States, Ireland come to mind, and look: whiskey. Scotland and Canada: no e, so whisky. Does it mean different liquids? Well, yes, but they are all whiskies. Remember, a whisky is a spirit distilled from a sort of grain: wheat, barely, corn, or rye.
So is bourbon any good? There are many malt-whisky snobs that will say, "Filthy American whiskey is weak, uncultured,and a mere knock-off of Scottish whisky. These are also the same single malt snobs who will tell you blends are garbage.
Well they are incorrect.
The history of bourbon is a much more recent invention because the US is a much younger country. European settlers brought with them the technical know-how of distillation and maturation into Kentucky in the late 19th centiry, the home of bourbon. There, the available grain was corn. Opportunity and desire came together and...ta-da! Elijah Craig is often credited with "inventing bourbon," but the process materialized in multiple places. Craig was the first to be credited with using charred oak barrels to mature his whiskey. As previously stated, scotch whisky often uses already-used American white oak bourbon casks to mature the scotch in. Bourbon uses the brand-new barrels. However, they char them to the darkness they feel is correct. The charring adds a significant flavor to the whiskey inside the casks itself. Bourbon gained popularity for its flavors, and also its price (way cheaper than cognac). One thing bourbon distillers do that is a unique invention is called the "sour mash." what that means is for every new fermentation (the germination of the grain in water with yeast), the distiller would take some old mash and add it to the new mash. Doing so keeps a consistent pH level across batches and keeps a more consistent product. Seemingly, the same strain of yeast from the dawn of the distillery could still be in use today in some form!
Bourbon vs. Scotch whisky...a tricky thing. What I am about to say next will be a very general comparison and in no way reflect any individual whisk(e)y and can be disputed SO DON'T GET MAD FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!
Bourbon tends to have more vanilla qualities, more cinnamon, and much sweeter, almost like candy (caramel, sugar). Scotch tends to be heavier, buttery-er, peppery, salty.
Unlike scotch, bourbon does not age as well. The distillers go for "maturity" rather than a specific age marking (of course scotch goes for maturity as well, but scotch ages very well hence the Dalmore 64). Bourbon is much lighter because of the younger age.
Preference is what it comes down to, really. I have had a bottle of Elijah Craig 12...so I will give it a review!
Firstly, it's cheap. It was $25 when I bought it. That's a steal for any scotch, so already the price is noticeably different.
Color: Deep orange/light amber. (contradictory, I know; overall a translucent darkness)
Nose: Sweeeeet. Caramel, apple. vanilla, charred honey with some nuts on the edges
Taste: Sweeeeet. Charred honey, vanilla, cooked fruits, but very dry and spicy (not pepper)
Finish: long and hot
This, to me, is a benchmark bourbon. A solid bourbon that epitomizes what a bourbon should taste like. It wasn't spectacular, but it certainly exceeded its price and satisfied. Something you could drink anytime. It's a light, playful drink in comparison with many scotches, and I could see myself ordering this at a bar if I wanted to put myself in a playful mood. A scotch from a bar puts one in a contemplative, conversational mood.
Aaaaaaaaand I have a story. The first time I had this particular whiskey. A friend of mine had brought to my attention a Groupon for a whiskey tasting at a bar about 30 minutes away. $40 for $90 worth of whiskies.
YES.
Well, we drove out to find this bar. We followed our GPS to the supposed location...and found nothing. There was a Del Taco, and a strip mall with everything closed. So we drove in circles, looked and looked...and saw this door in the back corner near the edge. It was a red door with black, dirty walls. And over the door hung a tiny, beat-up sign of the bar (the name which escapes me now). So we go in and it was a shock. Dim lighting, motorcycle paraphernalia on the walls, rock and roll legends abound, jukebox in the corner, bars set-up for people to buy HUGE quantities of beer and have a tap at their own table, pool tables, and some ugly looking dudes and chicks. Us two music majors did not quite fit in. On top of the liquor cabinet, lining almost the whole way were boxes of Jameson 18 Irish Whiskey with peoples' names on them and tiny locks. You could buy yourself a bottle to keep at the bar to drink whenever you came in. So this bar is a local bar.
Fun.
We tepidly walk up to the bar and see a young lady bartender and ask about our Groupon. She has heard of it, and we sit to choose from the fair amount of whiskies on their list. We each get 5. Now if we were smarter, we would have written down every whiskey we tried. I remember a Dewar's White Label (first and only time I've ever had that filth), Elijah Craig, Bulliet, Woodford Reserve, Gentleman Jack...Jameson 12...and I forgot the rest. Well, we sit down and give her the list and she promptly tells us she has no idea where most of these are, so "it's gon' be a while, hun." Well, we were in the bar for a good hour and a half overall. During that time, we had a QUADRUPLE of each whiskey.
It was
A LOT
of whiskey.
I had some good, some bad, many forgettable (but maybe because I was inebriated). I remembered liking the Elijah Craig, so I bought a bottle. However, there was a Knob Creek Single Barrel that was (get this) 120 proof. That's 60% abv. My lips were a-tingle after each sip. There was some serious alcohol happening. Well, we survived our rock/biker bar encounter and stumbled to Del Taco to eat some food and sober up. After some time had passed and some food had settled, we went home.
The experience was very American to me. If that bar had served scotch (not Dewar's...that doesn't count), the venue would have been inappropriate. Bourbon, with its youthful charm and sweet allure fit perfectly.
So explore your whiskies. Bottom's Up!
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