Food events Foodie events

The American Whiskey Trail

Tuesday, June 10, 2014Me! In words

And Sudhakar does a post after a long, long time

One of India’s foremost mixologists and beverage consultants, Shatbhi Basu, along with the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States conducted a tasting of American whiskeys at the Taj Vivanta, M G Road recently. I don’t generally contribute in writing to the blog, but when I heard whiskey tasting, the pull was strong. 

I had taken to whiskeys, especially single malts, after an education on the spirit at The Highland Nectar at ITC Gardenia, a few years ago. The smokiness, the bite, the flavor in each sip made me an instant fan of the single malt. Now, the ones I had at Highland Nectar were Scotch and are from Scotland. The ones Shatbhi Basu was introducing me to were Bourbons- A proud product of the US of A. So proud that they have included this in the constitution as a distinct American product! 

They have rules about the proofing, the cask that they use, etc. While the Scotch is made from barley, the American whiskey uses a mix of corn, rye and barley. The whiskey is stored in Oak casks that are used only once per batch. Once opened they are apparently shipped to Europe and other parts of the world to store European whiskeys! 

We were introduced to two kinds of bourbons- the Kentucky Straight Bourbon and the Tennessee Whiskey. While the Kentucky Straight Bourbon is made from the natural straight process of grain selection, mixing, fermentation, distillation, storage, etc. the Tennessee whiskey takes a detour before storage. It goes through something called the Lincoln County Process. Here the whiskey is filtered through maple charcoal before it is sent to be stored in the oak barrels.

Now, Shatbhi introduced us to 7 different Bourbons. Each one had its own history, flavor and signature. 

Something to get you started - Oysters!.. I'm ready now.

Can't remember the name of this Watermelon dish.

Shatbhi Basu

The first one was the Jim Beam White Kentucky Bourbon- the youngest of the lot. Aged 4 years. This one was sweet and light on the palate. It had hints of pepper and crème anglaise. This flavor makes it perfect in cocktails.

Jim Beam White Kentucky Bourbon

The second one was the Jim Beam Black Double aged. While the white is aged for 4 years the black is aged for 8. A much darker one, this is flavoured with butterscotch, dried fruits, vanilla and honey. Surprisingly the “oakiness” in this is soft despite its longer time in the cask. It has a more sophisticated and a full bodied taste

Jim Beam Black Double

The one that really stood out that evening for me was the Maker’s Mark. Because Red Winter wheat dominated over the traditional Rye, the bite in this one was stronger than the remaining.  The sweetness came from maple syrup and nut chocolate. The balance was perfect.

Maker’s Mark

The Woodford Reserve was another standout. While it had the sweetness and flavor you would expect from bourbon, the finish to this was leather! Like Shatbhi put it -“I could taste my car seat in this!” Apart from leather, it was flavoured with vanilla, mint, toffee, spice and a medley of fruits.

Woodford Reserve

The popular JD was next. Jack Daniel’s is a Tennessee whiskey and not a Kentucky Straight Bourbon. Despite the maple charring, the flavor that stood out despite the charring was that of banana and nut caramel with light smokiness.

Jack Daniel’s

Then there was the richer, smoother Gentleman Jack. This version of the Jack is twice filtered through the maple charcoal as opposed to the normal Jack Daniel’s. The finish on this one apart from banana is honeyed raisins and apple pie.

 Gentleman Jack.

The last of the lot was the JD Silver Select. A collector’s whiskey, the Silver Select is the highest proofed whiskey among the range. And rightly put- it reminds you of Christmas Cakes! Rightly aged, spiced and smoked to perfection.

JD Silver Select

The whiskeys from America, in comparison to their European counterparts, are sweet and fruity. They mature faster than the scotch because of the warmer climate in America. The bourbon was smooth, rich, had all the flavors that define America- waffles, praline, oak, corn, apple pie, maple syrup, etc. American whiskeys make some of the best cocktails as was demonstrated that evening.  The two cocktails served were the Twisted Whiskey Sour and the Choco nut Madness. 

The Twisted Whiskey Sour was light and refreshing from the touch of lime citrus and orange juice. An additional twist was given by a couple of drops of Tabasco sauce. The cocktail that really blew my socks off was the Choco Nut Madness. With peanut butter, vanilla ice cream, chocolate sauce and cream, this cocktail compliments everything that is in the flavor of good bourbon. 

Twisted Whiskey Sour and the Choconut Madness

The tasting portions were served appropriately, as the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States strongly supports responsible drinking and fights all kinds of alcohol abuse like drunk driving, underage drinking, and binge drinking. Although these are issues are fought by various groups all over the world, binge drinking is something that we ought to take a bit more serious. Signs like wishing there was more alcohol in the cocktail, or pushing your drinks till you "feel just drunk" are signs you are a binge drinker. Its commendable to see an alcohol organization such as this recognize and fight such issues.

You Might Also Like


Contact Form