6 Guidelines for Drinking Bourbon Correctly

America’s homegrown whiskey has grow to be one of the in style pours around. And with so many bottles flooding the market, the backbar has turned into a crowded landscape, one that might simply overwhelm the common drinker.

So we found a spirit guide. Beau Williams, the owner of Kansas City’s Julep, lauded for having one of the country’s most excellent bourbon choices, shares his guidelines for picking, sipping and mixing America’s favorite spirit.

Read the Label

The first step is to learn how to decode bourbon labels, says Williams. “Bourbon is a very broad category,” he says. “It’s necessary to know what the wording means.” For instance, he always looks for the phrase straight bourbon.

“Straight is what you want to look for before everything whenever you’re searching the shelves,” he says. “It means they’re not adding anything to or adulterating the product, so that you’re getting the real deal.”

He also recommends looking for the age statement on the label, although he’s quick to note that you won’t always find it. And especially if it’s from a newer producer, that often means that bourbon is on the younger side. By law, straight bourbon have to be aged for at least two years.

Seek Out Value

“Should you’re spending more than $40, you’re probably doing it flawed,” says Williams. After all, if you’re a collector looking for additional-aged Pappy Van Winkle, anticipate to pay a premium. But for those just starting out, affordable bourbons abound. Williams recommends Wild Turkey a hundred and one (“wonderful juice at a reasonable value point,”) and bottlings from 4 Roses and Heaven Hill (brands from the latter embrace Henry McKenna, Evan Williams and J.T.S. Brown, amongst others).

Skip the Shot Glass

While the flavors of bourbon could be quite different from Scotch whisky, Williams recommends sipping a neat pour from a Glencairn glass, a curved vessel typically reserved for scotch. “Aroma is a large part of your bourbon expertise,” says Williams. “You want a glass that allows you to seize the aroma—caramel-y, nutty, etc.—to get you excited and cue up the remainder of your senses.”

A shot glass won’t improve this experience, he says, but a glass with a broad base and tapered top “to capture aromas and funnel them upwards” will do the trick. In lieu of a Glencairn, he sometimes uses Old Fashioned or rocks glasses with the same, slightly tapered shape.

Do not Be Afraid of Dilution

“Water is your friend, and don’t be afraid of it,” says Williams. “People think there’s only one way to drink bourbon, and that’s wrongheaded. Water is just not a dealbreaker whatsoever.” The present trend for uncut, unfiltered, barrel-power whiskeys means that most bourbons actually benefit from some dilution, he says. “It takes off the heat and spice notes and lets the sweetness shine through.”

Upgrade Your Ice

“Bourbon has big, bold flavors,” says Williams. “A little bit of ice and water won’t kill the thing.” However, he’s wary of small, watery items of ice that dilute a spirit too quickly. “I prefer to take my time, and I desire a similar experience from when I start to when I finish. Solid ice is rarely a bad idea.” For house use, he recommends silicone molds to freeze sizable chunks that chill successfully however soften slowly.

Strive an Old Fashioned

“An Old Fashioned can really turn folks on to how wonderful a bourbon expertise could be without drinking it on its own. Ice, a little bit of sugar and bitters can help bridge the flavour profiles, make it more palatable.” The goal, he says, is to accentuate the flavors of bourbon relatively than mask them, and “the basic Old Fashioned does that wonderfully.”

“There’s no unsuitable way to eat bourbon,” says Williams. The only mistake is “not enjoying it while you’re doing it.

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