HOW TO GO
What: The Century Bourbon House
Where: 10 S. Jefferson St., Dayton
More info: (937) 223-3382 or www.centurybourbon.com
Bourbon Heritage Month events: There are many events scheduled this month at The Century to celebrate. Check their website for complete information. Key events include a tasting with Whiskey Pete from the Brown-Foreman Distillery on Sept. 29 and a midnight toast and closing ceremony for Bourbon Heritage month on Sept. 30. There's also a Blind Bourbon Tasting the first Saturday of every month starting on Oct. 6. Space is limited, so call ahead for ticket information.
About the bar: The main bar seats 50 people with a back tasting room that can accommodate an additional 20. The bar currently has 120 whiskeys on the menu, 68 of which are bourbons. The bar has an ever-changing flight menu and a bourbon club that rewards customers when they've reached 50 and a 100 different tastes. The 1862 cherry bar itself is worth a visit to see.
HOW TO GO
What: Old Kentucky Bourbon Bar
Where: 629 Main St., Covington, Ky.
More info: (859) 581-1777 or look them up on Facebook, where they post upcoming events and news.
Events: The Old Kentucky Bourbon Bar offers daily specials, including a tasting flight of the day that features three different whiskeys at a discounted price. The bar offers a whiskey passport with personalized, etched glasses kept in the bar for anyone who gets through our 50 must try bourbons. In addition to offering private tastings of any size or price range, the bar host tastings with master distillers and whiskey experts from around the world. All postings and updates are made on Facebook.
About the bar: The small space seats just 40 people and boasts more than 200 whiskeys and bourbons on the menu. It's newly opened and has a modern speakeasy feel.
“Bourbon whiskey is a distinctive product of the United States.”
That was a decree made by the U.S. Congress in 1964, and in 2007 the Senate decided to go one step further, voting unanimously to make September National Bourbon Heritage Month.
Today the popularity of bourbon has continued to soar both in America — its birthplace — and around the world.
According to the Kentucky Distillers’ Association, bourbon production has increased more than 50 percent since 1999 with more barrels of bourbon aging in the Commonwealth than there are people (4.3 million).
That bourbon trend is helping fuel more bourbon-based food and cocktail recipes as well as bars and restaurants across the country and in southern Ohio carrying larger bourbon selections. There’s also a growing trend in major cities for bars choosing to focus entirely on the spirit. In fact, Wine Spectator choose to dedicate the cover and a large portion of the magazine in February to whiskeys and bourbons with an article looking at the best bourbon bars across the county.
There is an excellent bourbon bar in the Miami Valley and another just south of Cincinnati that could have easily been added to that story because of their broad selection and knowledgeable staff.
We spoke to Rich Harwood, general manager of the Old Kentucky Bourbon Bar in Covington, Ky., and Joseph Head, manager of the Century Bourbon House in Dayton, to learn more about this American spirit that dates back more than 200 years.
But first, just what is a bourbon?
According to Head and Harwood, bourbon must be at least 51 percent corn and aged in a new charred white oak barrel for a minimum of two years. It must go into the barrel at at least 125 proof and must not reach more than 160 proof during the maturation process.
“Most bourbons are then tempered down to a lower proof. So all bourbon has at least 51 percent corn, however, rye and wheat are the flavoring grains. Rye is the spicy bite you find in bourbon, like a piece of rye bread. Wheat is a grain that lets the corn and barrel flavors show through producing a softer, more mellow bourbon,” Head said.
The combination of charring barrels, using only new barrels, and having a very wide temperature swing in the warehouses helps bring the big, bold flavors that bourbons are known for.
“After aging, bourbon from many barrels are typically mingled, as the distillers like to call it, to create a consistent flavor profile and large scale production. When fewer barrels are mingled together, or barrels of a certain flavor profile are used, this bourbon is typically called small batch bourbon. When whiskey from a single barrel is not mixed with any other barrels, the term single barreled bourbon is used,” Harwood said.
Bourbon didn’t always trend high. It experienced a major decline in popularity in the late sixties and early seventies pushing distilleries to look for ways to reinvent themselves said Head and Century Bourbon House owner Diane Spitzig.
“The rising popularity of single malt scotch inspired the release of single barrel bourbons, starting with Blanton’s in 1984, and small batch bourbons first released by Jim Beam in the 1990s. The popularity of these high quality, straight bourbons overseas in Japan and Europe fed domestic growth, and bourbon whiskey is back in a big way today,” said Harwood regarding the bourbon resurgence.
Spitzig and Head both say their bars new focus on bourbon has been a hit with customers with their bourbon tastings routinely selling out.
“Bourbon reminds us of our heritage because the process of making Bourbon is like many other American innovations. … We took an already established process of making whiskey and made it uniquely our own — kind of the American way,” Head said. “We believe that bourbon is now resurging in popularity because, like clothing, everything goes in cycles. Eventually, we all wear or drink what our grandparents did. At the end of the day, you just can’t keep a good spirit down!”
Harwood says although his location has only been open a relatively short time that it’s clear there is a thirst for more knowledge, instruction and selection when it comes to this American classic.
“Bourbon is young and vibrant, with bold, passionate flavor from an aging process that encourages the influence and cycle of the natural environment. The flavor profile is warm and sweet with a balancing mix of spices,” Harwood said. “Overall, bourbon is like no other spirit out there.”
WOODFORD RESERVE RACE DAY PIE
Ingredients:
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted, cooled
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup Woodford Reserve Kentucky Bourbon
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup pecans, chopped
1 10-inch pie pan, lined with shortbread dough
Instructions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Set chocolate chips and pecans in pie shell. Combine the butter, corn syrup, flour, eggs, sugar, vanilla and bourbon in a bowl and mix well. Pour over pecan pieces and chocolate chips and bake in the oven for 30 minutes or until pie has only a slight jiggle in center. Let set for 15 minutes before cutting. It can then be reheated and served with ice cream and Woodford Reserve dessert sauces.
SOURCE: Brown-Forman
About the Author