Liquor.com has created a cheat sheet to guide you through the many different brands of bourbon. I would guess that most people decided on their bourbon of choice by chance or availability as much as a taste comparison. And really, there’s nothing wrong with that. But this handy list will give you an idea of what other bourbons follow the same basic recipe. You may not want to buy a whole bottle, but it’s an idea for mixing it up the next time you’re at the bar.
“There’s the “traditional bourbon recipe,” which calls for about 70 percent corn and then roughly equal amounts of rye and barley. Knob Creek, Jim Beam, Wild Turkey and Evan Williams fall into this group. Then there’s the spicy “high-rye recipe,” which includes a higher percentage of, you guessed it, rye. Basil Hayden’s, Four Roses and Buffalo Trace all follow this formula. The last group is the “traditional wheat recipe,” which, according to Lubbers, has a “sweeter and softer” taste since it’s made from corn, barley and wheat. Maker’s Mark, Van Winkle and W.L. Weller are examples of this style.”
(photo by poohba02)
Tagged as: bourbon, Buffalo Trace, liquor
If you don’t have the artistic skills to paint a design on your cornhole board by hand, there’s another option for you. You can head over to Kinko’s or another print shop and get a poster printed and laminated. Then nail or glue the laminated poster to your cornhole board and cut out the hole. You end up with a sharp looking board that can have mud, water, or spilled beer wiped off of it much easier than wood.
Tagged as: bourbon, Buffalo Trace, cornhole, whiskey
I’m currently reading , which is just a magnificent book covering all aspects of alcohol. I suggest you pick it up tomorrow… like before noon. His recipe for a Whiskey Manhattan tickled my bourbon soaked fancy. For those who don’t usually drink bourbon straight it serves as a change up to using Coke or Ginger Ale as a mixer. For those who normally drink straight bourbon, it works a little sugary taste into a long day of tailgating. And luckily it’s not a hassle to make at a tailgate, especially if you have a traveling bar. I’ve modified Kingley’s take slightly to work in this context:
The (Whiskey) Manhattan
Ingredients:
2oz Buffalo Trace Bourbon
0.5oz Noilly Prat Sweet Vermouth
1 dash of Angostura bitters
1 maraschino cherry
Ice Cubes
Stir the fluid together very hard before adding the ice and fruit. Whatever the pundits may say, this in practice the not very energetic man’s Old-Fashioned, and is an excellent drink, though never, I think, as good as a properly made Old-Fashioned. And you really have to use bourbon (instead of the traditional rye whiskey).
Drunken Tailgate thoughts:
– Sweet Vermouth comes in bottles with red labels. Dry Vermouth comes in green labels. Sometimes they are not marked very well. That being said, it’s good to keep a bottle of dry and sweet vermouth in your bar.
– Angostura bitters is one of those things that looks ridiculous on a drink recipe, but you can get a bottle for a couple of bucks and it will last you a decade.
– Same goes for Maraschino cherries. Just keep them in the fridge and you should be able to use them over the course of a year if you enjoy cocktails
Tagged as: bourbon, Buffalo Trace, drink recipes, whiskey
During the winter I frequently enjoy a nice scotch to close out an evening. It’s an indoor drink that provides the proper warmth (physically and emotionally). As the weather improves I usually kick off the spring drinking season with Gin Weekend. Then eventually gracing the sweltering heat of summer with tequila. But as September comes and brings a nip to the air, it’s time again to meet bourbon’s sweet embrace. If you grew up going to football games in the South then you recognized the smell of bourbon before you even knew what liquor was. I remember being completely confused as to why people were putting the end of their spirit shakers in their souvenir cokes and mixing them. Even for the biggest beer drinker, bourbon become a necessity during tailgating season. It’s a lot easier to sneak a couple of miniatures into the game than trying to conceal a six pack of cold ones.
With all of these autumn induced feelings about bourbon swirling through my head, it’s with great pleasure that I’ll be attending the Buffalo Trace Distillery’s White Dog Days Celebration this weekend, Oct 15-17th, in Frankfort and Lexington, Kentucky. On Friday, Buffalo Trace is sponsoring the Franklin County Stakes race at Keeneland race track in Lexington. On Saturday, Buffalo Trace is opening their distillery in Franklin up for a day of music, tours, Bourbon Boot camp, and corn hole and barrel rolling contests.
As every avid drinker is advised to slow their brown liquor roll during summer, so does Buffalo Trace, who does not distill during the summer. White Dog Days is the kickoff to the new distillation season. White Dog itself is the name Buffalo Trace has given to the clear distillate that is made before it’s placed in barrels for aging to create bourbon. They have decided to bottle a small batch of White Dog, which can be purchased from their gift shop. One should note that White Dog is “not a sipping drink” since it’s essentially moonshine. So yes, I’m going to Kentucky this weekend to drink bourbon, moonshine, and bet on the ponies. If you are anywhere within driving distance you should take part in the festivities. If you can’t make it by, look up the closest retailer of Buffalo Trace Bourbon to you and give it a try tailgating this weekend.
Tagged as: bourbon, Buffalo Trace, drinking, kentucky, whiskey, White Dog Days
7×7 has written an article about stocking a