Bourbon County, NE
story and photos by Dylan Thaemert
cotch has long been considered the classy, elegant, nuanced
spirit in the whiskey family, while bourbon has been regarded
closer to a toothless uncle. But, thanks to a spike in popularity in
the last ten years, bourbon is starting to appear in many a sipper’s
glass. I’m going to look at this phenomenon and visit some of the
best places for bourbon in Omaha.
Let’s get some basics out of the way. Bourbon is made by
fermenting grains distilled into a jet fuel-caliber, clear distillate
which is then dumped into a new American charred white oak
barrel and left alone for any number of years, from as few as two
to rarely more than 15. To be considered bourbon the grain recipe
or mash-bill must contain at least 51% corn (the same is true for
rye, except where rye is the primary grain instead of corn). It does
not have to be made in Kentucky to be called bourbon but it was
invented there and the people are pretty proud of that. When a
master distiller decides it’s time for the whiskey to come out of the
barrel the whiskey is diluted with water and bottled.
“The world of American whiskey is
steeped in tradition and new brands
of whiskey are appearing on the
shelf every day.”
I think of a nice glass of bourbon like a kind of small dessert –
in a given glass you may find flavors like brown sugar, dark fruits,
cinnamon, oak, mint, nuts and vanilla. The grain recipe (the
secondary grain is usually rye, sometimes wheat or malted barley)
and the amount of time the juice spends in the barrel are the main
factors that go into determining the flavor, color and texture of the
eventual product.
Bourbon is typically sweet, while rye is spicy. Although rye
actually predates bourbon as the first American whiskey, I won’t
say much more about it for now except that it’s also seeing a huge
spike in populari