Bourbon Books Worth a Read # 2
The Bourbon Tasting Notebook - Reigler & Veach
Learning to taste and appreciate bourbon is similar to going on a journey and visiting different places. As you travel, you get a more comprehensive view of the surroundings and a better understanding of what you like and don’t like about the places.
A bourbon tasting journal works like a good guidebook. It makes you aware of and introduces you to the places you should visit to make the most of your trip. So, one of the best ways to enhance your bourbon-tasting journey is to invest in a notebook that helps you log and rate the bourbons you taste. My favorite is The Bourbon Tasting Notebook. Susan Reigler and Michael Veach take you on a grand tour of some of the best-known and best-tasting bourbons.
They both have stellar credentials:
Susan Reigler, an award-winning Bourbon writer, has written Kentucky Bourbon Country: The Essential Travel Guide (3rd ed.), The Kentucky Bourbon Cocktail Book, The American Whiskey Tasting Notebook, and Which Fork Do I Use with My Bourbon? – co-authored with Peggy Noe Stevens in addition to The Bourbon Tasting Notebook (2nd ed.). Susan, the past president of the Bourbon Women Association, also writes the whiskey tasting notes and ratings for American Whiskey Magazine.
Michael Veach, the foremost bourbon history authority in the world, has been a member of the Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame since 2006. In addition to The Bourbon Tasting Notebook, he authored the Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey: An American Heritage and contributed to The American Whiskey Tasting Notebook.
Nuts and Bolts
The first section of the book, titled “Nuts and Bolts” explains how you can use The Bourbon Tasting Notebook.
“So our purpose in writing this tasting notebook was to give you, the bourbon enthusiast, a handy logbook for keeping track of your sampling. Unlike the authors of many other beverage tasting guides, we have not attempted to say which bourbons are best or to assign ratings. We are leaving that up to you!
The chapter overviews the characteristics of bourbons that Reigler and Veach evaluate for each bottle. These include proof, age, type, style, mash bill, color, price, nose, taste, and finish. They also define what makes bourbon bourbon, and explore the six ways distilleries can use grain, water, fermentation, distillation, maturation, and bottling to alter the flavor of bourbon.
The next gives you a deeper understanding of the process of tasting bourbon so you can discover more precisely what you like and don’t like about specific bourbons.
Tasting bourbon is not a complex process, but the taster should have some understanding of what is happening so that he can determine “why I like this” instead of simply saying “this is good.”
Reigler and Veach used a Glen Carin Whiskey Tasting Glass for all the tastings because it is easy to find and specially constructed to funnel aromas to the nose.
Reigler and Veach explain how to use your sight, smell, and taste to deepen your understanding of the bourbon in the glass. They describe how the colors of a bourbon, ranging from light straw to deep amber give clues to the age. They overview how the aromas picked up in the bourbons fall into general categories like Candy Shop, Wood Shop, Fruit Stand, Flower Shop, Herbal Shop, and Spice Rack. But within each of these categories, they offer more specific classifications like caramel, vanilla, toffee (Candy); oak, charcoal, smoke (Wood); apple, pear, cherry (Fruit); rose, honeysuckle, orange blossom (Flower); mint, tobacco, licorice (Herbal); clove, cinnamon, pepper (Spice).
Next, Susan and Mike describe the different approaches tasters take when tasting bourbon.
There are many different ideas about how you can taste bourbon. Some will say to open your mouth after swallowing, while others will say to chew on the bourbon. The correct way to taste is whatever comes most natural to you. The important thing to remember is to let the bourbon flow over the tongue covering taste buds in every region of the mouth. That is why swallowing the bourbon is important, because 40% of the taste buds are located in the esophagus and that is where a lot of the finish takes place.
The finish is the aftertaste that remains when you swallow the bourbon. The finish can range from very long to very short. It typically includes a sweet or dry/peppery characteristic. But some bourbons will start one way and change to the other before the aftertaste goes away.
Major Producers
The section on the major bourbon makers gives a history of the bigger distilleries. Reigler and Veach taste their way through bourbons from the listed bourbon manufacturers.
Look below for a small sampling of some of the bourbons listed for each producer. (The book covers nearly 350 different bourbons.).)
Beam Suntory
Jim Beam
Maker’s Mark
Knob Creek
Brown-Forman & Woodford Reserve
Old Forester
Woodford Reserve
Early Times
Diageo
Bulleit
Blade and Bow
I.W. Harper
Four Roses (Kirin)
Four Roses
Heaven Hill
Even Williams
Elijah Craig
Henry McKenna
Willett
Willet
Johnny Drum
Noah’s Mill
Michter’s
Michter’s
Sazerac
A. Smith Bowman
Barton 1792
Buffalo Trace
Wild Turkey
Wild Turkey
Russell’s Reserve
A Sample Review Page
The book provides a brief history of the producer and a one-page review of each bourbon the distillery makes. Each review includes the name of the Bourbon, listing proof, age, type, style, color, and price. This is followed by a brief overview from Mike and Susan of the Nose, Taste, and Finish.
The reviews are followed by a Notes section which shares points of interest for some of the bottles. Finally, there is a section at the bottom of the page for you to rate different aspects of the bourbon and a scoring system for identifying the bourbons you like best. You can also write down your notes.Craft Distillers
The Craft Distillery niche has grown considerably since 2018. Since then, some of the smaller distilleries included have been purchased by bigger companies. The book still includes nearly 80 craft bourbons, including F.E.W (now owned by Heaven Hill), High West (now owned by Constellation Brands), Hillrock Estate, Smooth Ambler (now owned by Pernod Ricard), and Widow Jane (now owned by Heaven Hill).
Independent Bottlers
Independent bottlers source their bourbons from places like MGP in Lawrenceburg, IN, or other bourbon distilleries that sell their surplus to other labels. Sometimes newer distillers do this until their own bourbon ages at least two years. Angel’s Envy, Barrell Bourbon, Blood Oath, Jefferson’s, Kentucky Owl, and Rebel Yell are some of the more well-known bottlers of distillate they’ve purchased from other bourbon producers.
Indices
One of the most valuable parts of the book is the Indices that index all the bourbons reviewed alphabetically, by proof, by special style, and according to price. It provides a quick way to reference a particular bourbon you have or are interested in tasting.
The Bottom Line
In my opinion, the strongest element of The Bourbon Tasting Notebook is it acts as a travel guide, leading you systematically around the bourbon universe. As you explore, you can evaluate which bourbons you like the most and keep a record of the ones you have and have not tasted.
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