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Allowing bourbon to open up?

CigarStone

CigarStone

For once, knowledge is making me poor!
Joined
Mar 7, 2007
Messages
10,999
Typing this thread I feel like I did when I joined CP because I am such a newb with bourbon. :cool:

@EmergenCigar has been helping me learn to tolerate bourbon which has morphed into liking it......love is still a ways off.

I was the guy who only ever drank bourbon, whiskey, scotch, tequila, or gasoline when someone bought me a shot because I was taught to honor the giver by excepting the gift. Sometimes it was me who bought or proposed the shot in memory of a lost loved one.

I was bound and determined to at least understand this love affair that people have with bourbon, even if I never achieved the same love. So, I started "experimenting" with various bourbons and Brett made sure I didn't play with crappy stuff. I tried it neat, I tried it with ice, I made ice spheres with an orange peel frozen in the middle. I thought about how I love a dirty martini, shaken not stirred, because the small amount of dilution coupled with the violent action seemed to soften the bite of the vodka.

I am probably making some of you connoisseurs laugh because you went through this eons ago but here is what I have concluded which made a huge difference for me.

Using Woodford Reserve, and marking the glasses so I could keep track, I poured an ounce in two different glasses and let one sit while I went to the man cave and sipped on the other for 30 minutes.

I then came out and poured an ounce in a shaker and shook the crap out of it (no pun intended), and poured this into a third glass. Another ounce in the shaker with two small ice cubes and shook that vigorously as well, and then poured that into a fourth glass.

I took the three new glasses to the man cave and here is what I observed.
  1. Glass shaken with ice.........obviously diluted and smoother/softer.
  2. Glass shaken with no ice......harsh ethnology bomb (for me) just like when freshly poured.
  3. Glass poured 40 minutes ago......amazingly smoother/softer, and much more flavorful.
This left me asking why I never came accross more discussion about allowing a bourbon to open up just like you do with a good red wine? Is there a sweet spot as far as how long you want to allow it to sit?


Bourbon 1.jpg
 
CigarStone said:
This left me asking why I never came accross more discussion about allowing a bourbon to open up just like you do with a good red wine? Is there a sweet spot as far as how long you want to allow it to sit?
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There are indeed a couple of things one should know about tasting and evaluating bourbon. Think about the bourbon blending process... These folks use decanters, volumetric flasks, and the like which are mostly open-air as they work. I don't believe blended bourbon is meant to be evaluated from a freshly opened bottle. The changes that take place 24-72 hours after opening are necessary to get to what the blender was tasting. If you meet a "seasoned" bourbon drinker that opens a bottle and declares the contents as shit, you'll know you have not met a very experienced taster at all.
 
Acclaym said:
There are indeed a couple of things one should know about tasting and evaluating bourbon. Think about the bourbon blending process... These folks use decanters, volumetric flasks, and the like which are mostly open-air as they work. I don't believe blended bourbon is meant to be evaluated from a freshly opened bottle. The changes that take place 24-72 hours after opening are necessary to get to what the blender was tasting. If you meet a "seasoned" bourbon drinker that opens a bottle and declares the contents as shit, you'll know you have not met a very experienced taster at all.
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It was truly night and day for me. The glass that sat for 45 minutes was smooth and had great flavors. The glass I sipped right away was such an ethanol blast it was impossible to taste anything. As @BlindedByScience said, I think I will try an eyedropper next.

I know a true bourbon lover may scoff but I really like the Double Oaked Woodford Reserve.
 
True, and if you let the glass breathe for a bit, “some” of the alcohol (along with some volatile compounds) will evaporate.
 
Acclaym said:
There are indeed a couple of things one should know about tasting and evaluating bourbon. Think about the bourbon blending process... These folks use decanters, volumetric flasks, and the like which are mostly open-air as they work. I don't believe blended bourbon is meant to be evaluated from a freshly opened bottle. The changes that take place 24-72 hours after opening are necessary to get to what the blender was tasting. If you meet a "seasoned" bourbon drinker that opens a bottle and declares the contents as shit, you'll know you have not met a very experienced taster at all.
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Interesting, I never would have thought that. Would the same apply to a Scotch whisky?
 
I find that bourbon either chilled and poured or poured over ice will loose most of its flavor. Yes it tastes smoother due to dilution but if you are looking for a tasteless high proof drink high end vodka is the king.

for me if the proof is 100 or below drinking it neat is the best. If the proof is higher a few droplets of room temperature ( not cold ) water will lessen the bite and open up the flavors

of Course the glass that you drink out of matters too. If you are just starting out rocks glass is probably best. You should not swirl it around as much as wine but a nice swirl every once in a while will spread the oils over the surface of the glass opening up the aroma as well

Try letting the glass with the bourbon sit for 15 minutes. It will get most of the stronger alcohol vapors dissipate. Then swirl it for a few sec and focus on the aroma. With bourbon you should be getting a lot of sweeter notes maybe oak then take a really small sip and hold it in the front of the mouth for a sec then move the liquid around the whole mouth for another sec and then slowly let it go down. It’s important for the sip amount to be rather little so it can coat your mouth touching all the taste buds without overpowering them. This way you will feel multiple flavors or the progression of the drink

By the way you have some excellent choices as your pic shows so you are on a start of a great albeit not a cheap hobby 👍
 
CgarDan said:
I find that bourbon either chilled and poured or poured over ice will loose most of its flavor. Yes it tastes smoother due to dilution but if you are looking for a tasteless high proof drink high end vodka is the king.

for me if the proof is 100 or below drinking it neat is the best. If the proof is higher a few droplets of room temperature ( not cold ) water will lessen the bite and open up the flavors

of Course the glass that you drink out of matters too. If you are just starting out rocks glass is probably best. You should not swirl it around as much as wine but a nice swirl every once in a while will spread the oils over the surface of the glass opening up the aroma as well

Try letting the glass with the bourbon sit for 15 minutes. It will get most of the stronger alcohol vapors dissipate. Then swirl it for a few sec and focus on the aroma. With bourbon you should be getting a lot of sweeter notes maybe oak then take a really small sip and hold it in the front of the mouth for a sec then move the liquid around the whole mouth for another sec and then slowly let it go down. It’s important for the sip amount to be rather little so it can coat your mouth touching all the taste buds without overpowering them. This way you will feel multiple flavors or the progression of the drink

By the way you have some excellent choices as your pic shows so you are on a start of a great albeit not a cheap hobby 👍
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I love all these new things to try! I would be less of a BOTL if I didn't go give it a try in an hour or so:cool:

Why not cold water?

What glass should I graduate to after the rocks glass?
 
Jared Nomack said:
Interesting, I never would have thought that. Would the same apply to a Scotch whisky?
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Not a scotch drinker, sorry.


CgarDan said:
take a really small sip and hold it in the front of the mouth for a sec then move the liquid around the whole mouth for another sec and then slowly let it go down. It’s important for the sip amount to be rather little so it can coat your mouth touching all the taste buds without overpowering them. This way you will feel multiple flavors or the progression of the drink
Click to expand...
Key advice here.
 
Not gonna lie. I got some wild turkey rare breed that I posted about recently. That stuff burns more than some moonshine I’ve tried before. Some, not all. I poured a glass tonight and let it set out for 30 minutes. Holy crap the flavors coming off this thing are unreal with very little burn. Wow. Just wow. Thanks for this guys. Some needs to make an informed post about this and make it a sticky. Mind blown
 
BlindedByScience said:
Try one or two drops of water.....no more. Acts as a mild surfactant and lets the aromas out, evens things out just a bit.....
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Yep, water does open it up. It is said that limestone or branch water is the way to go for bourbon. Just a couple of drops.
 
Thoughts said:
Not gonna lie. I got some wild turkey rare breed that I posted about recently. That stuff burns more than some moonshine I’ve tried before. Some, not all. I poured a glass tonight and let it set out for 30 minutes. Holy crap the flavors coming off this thing are unreal with very little burn. Wow. Just wow. Thanks for this guys. Some needs to make an informed post about this and make it a sticky. Mind blown
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That’s because you let the angels have too much of thier share.
 
jbfurdog said:
Technically you only need to let it rest on the first pour of the bottle. After that it’s open season.
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OK, well, so much for that 30 minutes. (I can't tell the difference, but then, the glass while waiting may have affected my taste buds....)
 
I remember visiting the woodford reserve distillery. We sat down for the tasting. The double oaked was up. We took some in and let it roll around our mouth for a minute or so. The burn was subsiding. I swear I tasted bananas.
 
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