Bourbon Tasting Tips From Ouita
by Ouita Michel
photo by Talitha Schroeder
Set your palate memory for flavor by tasting your way through a flavor wheel. Use very simple ingredients and taste them alongside your favorite bourbon. I learned this technique from Chris Morris at Woodford Reserve and have used it countless times with many different ingredients. Woodford Reserve Distiller’s Select Classic flavor wheel is:
Small chunk of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
Toasted hazelnut
Small piece of orange- make sure to bite the zest on the skin
Dried cranberry
Small spoonful of Country Rock sorghum
Small chunk of 65% chocolate
We have also tasted bourbon with local honey, maple syrup, fresh blackberries, marzipan (great with rye), toasted pecans, walnuts, heirloom cherry tomatoes, aged Gouda… you get the idea. Once, I filled an entire room with different tastes and ingredients to create a flavor ideation session with Chris. We had a wonderful time and really learned a lot!
These flavors help you understand and remember what you like and what you don’t like as a pairing.
photo by Talitha Schroeder
Bourbons pair very well with aged foods- like aged country hams, aged cheeses, dried fruits. What do they have in common? Evaporation. As the spirit and the ingredients age, water evaporates and intensifies flavors. Try an apple chutney with dried cherries, apricots, and cranberries- delicious with a pork roast! We also make tipsy fruits each fall- filling jars with raisins, dried cranberries, cherries, and apricots and covering them with a good quality bourbon and letting them sit for 2-3 weeks in a dark place. They make delicious additions to bread pudding, jam cake, Woodford pudding and more. We also love to use the infused bourbon in custard sauce, cocktails and to soak cakes.
Toasted – and I emphasize TOASTED- nuts are great pairs for good bourbons- the alcohol in the spirit lifts the nut oils that come to the surface with toasting- straight up the palate and they really deliver a nutty punch! Toasting hazelnuts, walnuts and pecans together, roughly chopping them and serving on top of a small baked Brie, or in a little tart shell with orange zest is delicious. We also like to use nut crusts for chicken and trout or striped bass with supremes of lemon -and brown butter.
Citrus zest and reduced citrus juices work beautifully with bourbon. Reducing fresh orange juice with a bit of orange juice concentrate then adding a splash bourbon makes a delicious sauce for roast chicken. We also love adding bourbon to our sorghum vinaigrette and serving it with a salad that includes toasted pecans and sliced fresh oranges.
photo by Talitha Schroeder
Always use natural sweeteners: Honey – local is best, sorghum (my favorite) and maple syrup. These natural sweeteners retain so much of their grassiness and natural minerality and acidity that they stand up to the complexity in a good bourbon and can really extend and complement the finish.
photo by Talitha Schroeder
Remember that bourbon- at least good bourbon, has a very long finish- meaning that long after the sip has been swallowed, the flavors remain on the palate and really change and emerge. Pair your foods for the finish! I have timed the finish of sorghum and bourbon together at well over 12 minutes!
Use bourbon when brandy is specified, especially in old recipes. I routinely flame scallops, chicken, steaks, and other dishes with a good squirt of bourbon while in the sauté pan. The caramel flavors and sweetness emerge and cling to the pan for a good sauce base and perfume the ingredients themselves.
photo by Talitha Schroeder
Remember that there are different grades of bourbon and you can use them for different purposes. Less expensive bourbons do well for brining birds, pork chops, barbeque sauces, apple butter, and processes where the bourbon will be cooked for long periods of time or baked. More expensive bourbons should be used for finishing sauces, and dressings. Use them when you are done applying heat and almost ready to serve.
Use the mash bill as a guide. All bourbon is 51% corn- you can bring out the corn sweetness in your bourbon by serving a sweet corn or cornmeal dish. Using rye berries for high rye mash bills, and barley- are all great ways to reflect the grains used in bourbons. We’ve made many distiller’s pilafs at Woodford Reserve, using our mash bill grains. We’ve even made our own malted milk -with a great shot of bourbon- delicious!
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