Hosting a Bourbon Tasting

I’m a big believer in entertaining your guests during cocktail hour.  Since we are in Central Kentucky, home to the best bourbon in the world, hosting a bourbon tasting during cocktail hour is a great way to give your guests a unique Kentucky experience as well as showcase our great state!

Pick Your Bourbon

I like to offer three bourbons when we do a tasting.  It offers a nice variety, and typically the bourbon we offer are slightly nicer than what we might be pouring at the normal bar, and once we have concluded the tasting, that bourbon can get added to the bar for guest to continue to enjoy either neat or on the rocks.

So, what bourbons to choose?  Well, I usually like to pick things that aren’t as common outside Kentucky, or if they are common, what we sample is a special release, finish, or mash bill.  For instance, we are probably not going to offer regular Woodford Reserve at our tasting, but we might offer their Double Oaked.  Another option would be a rye whiskey – Bulleit Rye is probably the most well-known, but other good options might be Knob Creek or Angel Envy makes a rye that is finished in rum casks.  We typically will do a traditional straight, a good option might be Michter’s or Basil Hayden’s.   Your final choice might be a small batch or a cask strength.

Accompaniments

What makes a bourbon tasting fun, beyond getting to sample some perhaps new bourbon, is to let you guest explore the interplay between the bourbon and food.  Just like wine can be enhanced by the food it is eaten with, bourbons nuances can be affected by food.
Traditional accompaniment include mandarin oranges, toasted hazelnuts, aged parmesan, dark chocolate, dried cranberries, and sorghum.  We like to offer the bourbon in a ½ ounce pour – this is most easily accomplished by serving in 1 ounce shot glasses, along with water.

Happy Tasting!