When cleansing your palate, it is important to know what you want to taste. The most common palate cleansers include bread, sorbet, pickled ginger, and water. These are all neutral substances that scrub lingering flavors off the tongue. Sorbet, not to be confused with sherbet, is a frozen dessert that contains no dairy and is made of fruit and water. The sharp flavor and lower temperature stimulate the taste buds for future flavor reception. Bread can be used in many forms to cleanse the palate as long as it is not flavored. Crackers also fall under the bread category and should be used with the same restrictions of being unflavored. For optimal tasting experience, certain foods and beverages should be avoided. Any dairy, such as butter, will coat the taste buds and trap previous flavors.

It is important to remember that anything you ingest can subsequently affect how future flavors are perceived. If you are wanting to taste finer nuances and complexities, a clean palate will be your best bet for tasting as many dimensions of a flavor profile as possible.

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“So what is bourbon?”

-Your friend, when you tell them you drink bourbon

This may be one of the most common questions you get from your non-bourbon friends. You know that it tastes good and you like it, but you also want to be able to give your curious friends an intelligent and informed answer. Lucky for you, there are some very specific and easy-to-remember criteria for what makes bourbon bourbon.

“All bourbon is whiskey, but not all whiskey is bourbon.”

The first thing to know is that bourbon is a type of whiskey, which means that it is derived from fermented grain. However, bourbon is special because there are certain standards that need to be met and specific steps that need to be taken when making it. So here’s what you need to know:

• Bourbon must be produced in the United States
• Its mash bill must contain at least 51% corn
• It must be aged in new, charred oak containers
• It cannot be distilled over 160 proof
• It cannot enter an aging barrel at more than 125 proof
• It must be bottled at 80 proof or more

These are legal requirements laid out by the Federal Standards of Identity for Distilled Spirits. While bourbon can be made anywhere in the U.S., it is primarily made in the south, centralized around Kentucky (because, you know, the corn).

But you may be even more curious and want to know why these requirements exist. Obviously the most important factors that affect taste are items number 2 and 3. Much of the law revolving around bourbon comes from tradition, but there is a little more to it than that. Originating and being centralized in Kentucky, corn was and still is the easiest grain to come by, so that’s what was used. In my personal experience, and many would agree, corn gives whiskey a sweeter and fuller flavor as opposed to the spice of rye or barley.

The importance of charred, new oak barrels lies in the aging process. Much of the sweetness that is expected in bourbon actually comes from the oak during aging. Sugars from the wood are carmelized and brought to the surface when charred, and these sugars seep into the spirit. Oaks also contain unique compounds that add to the flavor of the whiskey. Different barrels can affect the flavor of bourbon due to variations in tannins, lactones, and vanillin; and varying aging times can affect how prominent these flavors are. The combination of a high-corn mash bill and the use of charred, new oak barrels are what give bourbon its unique and loved flavor.

There’s a reason bourbon is so coveted in the United States. It requires high standards and specific ingredients to generate a full, flavorful, sweet alcohol that is unique and memorable. Those extra steps make a world of difference in making the drink you love.

Sources:

Electronic Code of Federal Regulations

Bourbon / Tennessee Whiskey

Bourbon Barrels: Why Exactly Must They Be New?

How Bourbon Gets Its Beautiful Flavor

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Bottom Line: A great value when you consider the flavor and proof you get for the price. It’s a middle of the road bourbon that brings flavor to hold its own or to be used in cocktails.

Wild Turkey is a brand name that is well known in the bourbon world. When someone puts the proof in the name – 101 – they want you to know it has a bit of kick to it. It’s not your average bourbon that comes in at 80 as Jim Beam does or the 90 of Maker’s Mark. It’s 101, 50.5%. Over half. And you know what, when you take your first sip you notice that little extra. Wild Turkey 101 claims high rye content, an aging of six to eight years, and flavors of caramel, vanilla, toffee, and spice. As far as bourbon goes, Wild Turkey 101 falls in the middle to lower shelf. It’s a budget-friendly bourbon whiskey that punches well above its weight class, bringing big flavor and value to your glass. Considering that the average price of a bottle is somewhere in the mid-twenty-dollar range, this offering from Wild Turkey is quite a value. 

Out of a Glencairn, the nose presents itself with a sweet vanilla found in fresh chocolate chip cookies, a light swath of orange peel and spice as mentioned on the label. This is followed by an almost floral note. The baking spices are reminiscent of Christmas. It’s light on corn, yet still semi-sweet. With the Glencairn glass, the caramel and vanilla profiles are more distinguished. A rocks glass loses some of the vapors and leaves the nose with a faint wisp of vanilla, and the ice brings out the citrus much more readily. The spice is toned down and the floral tones are still there, just not as prevalent. 

The first sip makes you understand what it means to be 101. You feel a slight heat. On the palate, Wild Turkey 101 brings some heat from the spice, a hint of cinnamon, and the rye as well as barrel tannins that cling to the roof of the mouth and back of the tongue. Even though this bourbon is labeled as “high rye,” you can still pick out some of the sweeter flavors under the spice. The second sip brings about citrus that lingers on the tongue along with some black pepper. It also brings a sweet buttery vanilla and dark cherries. The higher alcohol content of this whiskey causes the oils to cling to the mouth, and the aftertaste lingers for a short while before fading away. A dash of water brought the citrus note to the front of the nose, and exposed a not-overly-sweet caramel hard candy to the mid-palate. Chilling Wild Turkey 101 over a large ice cube tamped down the sweetness and allowed the dry oak notes to swell and cling to the mouth. This allows Wild Turkey 101 to hold its own in a cocktail and prevents the whiskey from being overpowered by sweetness. The flavor of toffee that the label touts couldn’t be picked up on. 

Wild Turkey 101 is a middle of the road, no frills bourbon. At the end of the day, a middle of the road bourbon in tasting glasses is still a standard bourbon. While there are only so many flavors this bourbon has to offer and it may not appeal to all due to the high rye content, it is definitely worth taking a chance on. In a mixed drink, the flavors and spice will not overpower the other ingredients and it’s enough of a bargain to keep on hand for when you don’t want to use up the good stuff. That being said, it is still good enough to enjoy by itself. There really aren’t any surprises about this one, but it’s still a good pour and always enjoyable. You know what you’re getting and you won’t feel bad using up the bottle.

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