GQ recently posted an interesting infographic – a bourbon family tree showing the relationships of bourbon brands via their conglomerate parent companies. The chart and accompanying article were excerpted from The Kings County Distillery Guide to Urban Moonshining, written by the founders of Kings County Distillery, New York City’s first distillery since the Prohibition era.
At Jack Allen’s Kitchen’s, Beverage Manager David Toby’s Bourbon Milkshake is made with milk, bourbon, vanilla, simple syrup, nutmeg, and Amy’s Mexican Vanilla ice cream. This hearty libation, appropriately nicknamed by the regular customers as “eggnog on steroids,” is a riff on New Orleans’ Frozen Bourbon Milk Punch.
Ingredients:
4 cup of milk
1.5 cup of bourbon (feel free to add more if you like)
1/4 cup vanilla extract
1/4 cup simple syrup (1:1 ratio of water to sugar)
1 pt of Amy’s Mexican Vanilla Ice Cream
Pinch of nutmeg
Caramel
Combine all ingredients in a blender for 10 seconds. Pour into 8-10oz low ball glass. Garnish with a pinch of nutmeg and a drizzle of caramel.
Makes enough for 1 1/2 quarts
Since it’s starting to get cold, I figured it would be a good time to share a bourbon and coffee recipe. Here’s one that you might like:
Ingredients
1 cup bourbon (Jim Beam works well)
4 cups freshly brewed strong coffee
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup honey
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom (or substitute with ground nutmeg and cinnamon)
sweetened whipped cream
Brew coffee, then transfer it into a saucepan. Heat the while adding bourbon, orange juice, honey and cardamom everything is mixed an warm. Divide among coffee mugs. Top with whipped cream.
Claiming production back to the 1860s, Four Roses has deep roots in bourbon making. During prohibition, the Frankfort Distilling Company (who owned and produced it at the time), was one of only six distilleries granted permission to produce Bourbon for medicinal purposes. Several different stories have been documented about where the name Four Roses comes from, so I tend to not believe any of them.
Four Roses Single Barrel Bourbon is a well-balanced and wonderfully complex bourbon. It has a bold, dark color and medium body. I get some subtle scents of chocolate and oak from the glass.
At 100 proof, it is very spicy. I found that it started mild, then builded to almost an intense finish right down to my belly before softening out. I was able to pull out hints of honey mixed with cherry and aged apricot through the heat.
The Single Barrel is a very good bourbon and on par with the other labels in the same price range. The burn may not be ideal for everyone, but it’s not unpleasant. The heat actually had a seductive effect for me as it made me want to keep going back for more.
The difference between Four Roses Single Barrel and Four Roses Small Batch: Small Batch is blended from several barrels to achieve the desired flavor. Single Barrel is not blended (or cut with water), so you get a more pure whiskey in my opinion.