Bourbon is an American whiskey fermented mostly (more than 51%) from corn.
The quality of the drink, color, gradation of taste largely depends on the manufacturer’s technological processes and the water he uses.
how to drink bourbon
American classification of bourbon
Made exclusively in the USA.
The content of corn in raw materials is from 51%.
No chemical additives.
The strength of the distillate at the end of the distillation is up to 80 degrees.
The alcohol content during aging is up to 62,5%.
Aging in new charred barrels of American White Oak (with a aging period of up to 4 years, the corresponding mark must be on the bottles).
The ethanol content during bottling is from 40%.
There are also a number of unwritten rules:
The most authentic bourbon is produced in Kentucky, thanks to the most favorable chemical composition of local water (minimum iron, maximum limestone).
The main raw material for bourbon: corn, not malted.
A certain amount of cake left over from the previous fermentation is added to each new batch of mash.
In fact, the production of the so-called whiskey from Tennessee, led by the notorious Jack Daniels, corresponds to all these rules.
difference between whiskey, bourbon and scotch
Types of bourbon
There are several criteria for dividing American corn into varieties.
According to the composition of raw materials
Straight bourbon
Pure or straight, made from 100% corn and at least 2 years old.
Corn whiskey
Corn Whiskey – 80% corn and fairly low quality.
Wheated bourbon
The 2nd place in the composition of unmalted raw materials is occupied by wheat.
Rye bourbon (not to be confused with rye whiskey)
The 2nd place in the composition of unmalted raw materials is rye.
By holding time
Aged for several months – low-grade white white bourbon.
Exposure 2-4 years – conditionally aged drink, not much different from the first.
An aging of 4-6 years is an immature, but relatively decent option.
Exposure 6-10 years – a classic mature digestif.
Aging from 15 years is a premium drink, according to some experts, it suffers from a glut of tannins.
By the nature of the bottled product
Single barrel bourbon
Single-barreled drink with a long aging period, bottled from one barrel.
Small batch bourbon
A small-scale blend of perennial direct distillates, aged on “gentle” medium storage tiers, produced in limited quantities.
Barrel proof bourbon
A strong single-barrel version with a decent aging period and a strength of 50-60 degrees.
Blended bourbon
Blended bourbon, usually consisting of 51% pure bourbon and 49% of any grain alcohols (mostly rectified).
review of the best brands of bourbon
In addition, there are inexpensive blends that include corn distillate with different aging periods, as well as honey bourbon with the addition of the corresponding bee product.
Bourbon recipe at home
First of all, you need to deal with the ingredients. For the preparation of a drink a la bourbon, corn and other grain flour or cereals are best suited as a base, and any dry light unfermented malt as a saccharifier.
Then, it is worth deciding on the ratio of cereals. To do this, you need to familiarize yourself with the following proportions:
Straight bourbon
Corn – 80%, corn malt – 20%.
Corn whiskey 1
Corn – 80%, wheat or barley malt – 20%.
Corn whiskey 2
Corn – 80%, rye – 8%, barley malt – 12%.
Rye bourbon
Corn – 51%, rye – 24%, barley or wheat malt – 25%.
Wheated bourbon
Corn – 51%, wheat – 24%, wheat or barley malt – 25%.
Next, water. It should be 80% of the total base and malt.
And finally, yeast. It is necessary to add 20 g of dry yeast or 100 g of pressed yeast for every 10 liters of the substance prepared for fermentation.
Method of preparation
Pour corn and other flour or groats (except wheat) into the boiler and pour water heated to a temperature of 50-55 ° C (keep in mind that the vessel should not be more than three-quarters full).
At the same time, pour water without haste, constantly stirring the contents of the container to avoid the formation of lumps.
Raise the temperature of the mixture to 70°C and add 10% crushed malt to the brew.
During further heating of the substance, add wheat flour or groats, if any, and mix everything again.
Next, bring the contents of the boiler to a boil and boil for 2 hours in order to obtain a completely homogeneous mushy mass.
Then, remove the kettle from the heat, wait until the future mash for the mash cools down to a temperature of 65-67 ° C and add all the remaining crushed malt, mixing everything again.
The container with the resulting mass, whose temperature should be 63-65 ° C, wrap tightly in several layers of heat-resistant fabric and place in a warm place for 2 hours.
At the same time, during the first hour, the mash must be intensively mixed every 15 minutes.
It is also very important not to allow the mixture to cool to a temperature of less than 55°C.
After the above two hours, the mash in a hurry (so as not to turn sour) must be transferred to a fermentation tank, cooled to a temperature of 25-28 ° C and yeast is added to it (if we are talking about pressed ones, they must first be fermented in a small amount of water) .
A vessel with wort, equipped with a lid with a water seal, should be placed in a dark, warm and quiet place for the duration of fermentation (from 2 to 6 days).
At the same time, the temperature of the substance should not go beyond the same 25-28°C.
The preparation of the fermented wort depends on the distiller. If your unit is equipped with a steam generator, then you can load it directly from the tank.
In the case of a simpler apparatus, the liquid component of the wort should be filtered or squeezed through gauze.
For example, the wort is poured into a gauze bag, placed in a metal bucket ahead of time, then the contents of the bag are carefully and firmly squeezed into the mentioned container, from which the liquid component of the wort is sent straight to the distillation cube.
According to tradition, part of the spent cake should be saved for adding as an additional starter to a new portion of the future mash.
The raw material loaded into the distiller undergoes double distillation.
Primary distillation takes place without separation into fractions.
With repeated – there is a need to cut off the “heads” and “tails”.
At the same time, in order to avoid the risk of spoiling the final product, the head and tail fractions should contain 10% of the total volume of distillate.
The resulting corn moonshine, also known as “white dog”, must, according to American canons, be diluted to a strength of 62,5 degrees.
Further, the future drink should be aged in a burnt oak barrel or on well-roasted oak chips.
This is done not in special cellars, but in ground rooms at natural temperature.
At the same time, it is believed that the optimal container for aging small batches of corn a la bourbon are small-sized oak barrels with a volume of 10 to 50 liters.
Given the small volumes of containers in which your drink will be aged, it is enough to wait 8-10 months for a good result (although some, especially impatient subjects, argue that it is quite acceptable to split this period in two).
At the same time, we would advise you to show character and withstand your drink for 2 years, and even better – 4 or all 6 years.
Relevance: 10.09.2017
Metki: Whiskey and bourbon