Bourbon

Bourbon

America’s leading style of whiskey, Bourbon has a colourful history: first distilled before independence in Pennsylvania and Maryland as a way of making money from excess grain crops; then, as taxes became punitive, the distillers travelled south to Kentucky and Tennessee where distilling whiskey became a lucrative business. Today, Kentucky bourbon is the most famous, but the drink can be produced anywhere in America. The mash bill must contain 51% corn (although other grains such as rye, wheat and barley are also used) and it must be aged in new, charred oak barrels. Corn gives bourbon it’s essential sweetness, while the extra grains create distinct flavour profiles – more rye and it’s drier and spicier; more wheat and you’ll get smoothness and sometimes nutty flavours.