The line-up at the September meeting of the Asbury Park Whisky Club.
Almost every day of the year is reserved for a gimmicky food and drink holidays, chiefly created by marketing teams. They’re fun but ultimately silly. I mean, who doesn’t want to celebrate Gumdrop Day (February 15, by the way)? But, also, who can take such a “holiday” seriously?
If you reserve holiday celebrations for the historical and traditional, then we’ve got one for you, a drinking one that lasts for the whole month of September, as designated by the 110th Congress in 2007. So it’s legit--and patriotic!
It’s National Bourbon Heritage Month, which “recognizes bourbon as ‘America’s Native Spirit’ [which Congress declared in 1964] and reinforces its heritage and tradition and its place in the history of the United States.”
But what the Senate of the United States neglected to spell out in its August 2, 2007, resolution
(S. Res.294) is exactly how to celebrate National Bourbon Heritage Month. Big fans of bourbon (we run a monthly whiskey club, too, after all) we’ve got some specific ideas of how to commemorate America’s native spirit in case you’re left wondering how to make the most of the final six days of September.
Drink bourbon, of course! Drink it neat or stir or shake it into a cocktail or high ball. Classics would be a Manhattan, a mint julep, or a whiskey sour.
Be proud of bourbon. It’s our whiskey. It’s American. As Congress noted in its resolution, bourbon is “the only spirit distinctive to the United States.” But its consumption and appreciation is not limited to the States. It’s imported by countries all over the world, accounting for two-thirds of the $1.6 billion of U.S. exports of distilled spirits. As relative newcomers to global trade and distinct culinary traditions, we can be proud of this.
Know what bourbon is. As mentioned in #2, bourbon is uniquely American and it can be made anywhere in the United States, not just in Kentucky. So, what distinguishes bourbon from other whiskies other than its being distilled in the U.S. There are several defining regulations, known formally as “the standard of identity,” but the important one to remember is that the mash bill (the grains that are fermented and then distilled) has to be at least 51 percent corn.
Explore bourbon. You might have your go-to bourbon, say wheated Maker’s Mark, which goes down smoothly, or historic Four Roses that weathered Prohibition, or something highly coveted such as Pappy Van Winkle.You may think that all bourbons are pretty much the same except for variations in quality, but there are at least three distinctive “recipes”, e.g, traditional (70% corn and then roughly equal amounts of rye and barley), high-rye, and traditional wheat. Collect all three!
Support your local bourbon distillery. Drink local! In the past 10 years or so, micro-distilleries, much like craft breweries, have popped up all around the country. Visit one and sample their bourbon. It’s bound to be special.
Read about bourbon. These are some of my favorite reads on the subject of America’s native spirit.
The Best Bourbon You’ll Never Taste: The True Story of A. H. Hirsch Reserve Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Distilled in the Spring of 1974 by Charles K. Cowdery
The Bourbon Bartender: 50 Cocktails to Celebrate the American Spirit by Jane Danger and Alla Lapushchik
Bourbon: The Rise, Fall, and Rebirth of an American Whiskey by Fred Minnick
Bourbon Empire: The Past and Future of America’s Whiskey by Reid Mitenbuler
Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey: An American Heritage by Michael R. Veach
Experiment with bourbon cocktails. Try those that I mentioned in #1 or check out the ones in the books listed in #6 or create your own.
Celebrate Negroni Week belatedly and make a Boulevardier*, which is basically a Negroni with bourbon subbing for gin.
Enjoy bourbon!
* Boulevardier
Adapted from the Bourbon Bartender
1½ oz Bourbon (preferably Russell’s Reserve)
¾ oz Campari
¾ oz Sweet vermouth (preferably Carpano Antica)
Garnish: Orange twist
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Stir all ingredients except the garnish in a mixing glass with ice until well-chilled. Strain into a chilled coupe and express the orange twist over the top of the drink. Drop the orange twist into the cocktail.