Yesterday’s pop quiz question about adding flavor to bourbon reminded me that I hadn’t yet opened my sample size of Evan Williams Cherry Reserve, the latest entry in the growing category of flavored bourbons. I have to say, I was a little offended at first by this trend, an obvious tactic to court women as customers. While I applaud the fact that distillers are finally acknowledging the other half of the population, I don’t need - or particularly want - them to add fruit flavors to bourbon. But then I realized that I don’t have that same reaction to flavored vodka or rum, so I decided to get over myself and at least try a few of these new products. 

Evan Williams says this 70-proof liqueur has ”the smoothness of Evan Williams with a sweet cherry taste,” and they are not kidding. It tastes very much like the goo inside a chocolate-covered cherry - way too sweet for me to ever imagine drinking it straight. But I have to say, it did make a very nice Manhattan (when mixed with some full-strength bourbon). If forced to choose, I prefer it to Jim Beam’s Red Stag, which tasted more like cough syrup to me. Maybe the key is when distillers embrace the fact that they’re not bottling bourbon and use the term “liqueur” on the label. That’s also what Wild Turkey calls its American Honey, another brand that I find mixes well in cocktails.    

As promised, the answers to this morning’s Pop Quiz:

1. TRUE. Under the 1964 law that governs the production of bourbon, at least 51 percent of the grain used must be corn - most distillers use 65 to 75 percent.

2. FALSE. While barrels are indeed charred before being filled with bourbon, it’s not to seal them. As the bourbon expands in the summer and contracts in the winter, some of it is absorbed into the wood, passing through the char and picking up flavor and color.

3. FALSE. Nothing may be added to bourbon but water. Products like Jim Beam Red Stag, Evan Williams Cherry Reserve and Wild Turkey’s American Honey are no longer straight bourbons and their labels must say so.

4. TRICK QUESTION! True, a barrel that’s been used once can never again be used for bourbon. But it could be used to age something else - Scotch, for instance, or a bourbon-barrel stout.

5. FALSE. Bourbon, America’s only native spirit, must be produced in the United States. It doesn’t have to be produced in Kentucky, although 95 percent of it is.

How’d you do?

As promised, today we share the recipe for our original cocktail: the Lawrenceburg Lemonade. This isn’t a sticky-sweet drink like its Southern cousin, Lynchburg Lemonade. It pays homage to Anderson County, Ky.’s two fine distilleries, Wild Turkey and Four Roses – and to my husband’s hometown. It gets sweetness from American Honey, a great bourbon liqueur. Lawrenceburg Lemonade is a little lighter than some cocktails, which might make you think of it as a summer drink. But with the warm weather we have been having here in Kentucky, it’s also enjoyable in the dead of winter.

Lawrenceburg Lemonade

1.5 oz. Four Roses Yellow Label

1.5 oz. Wild Turkey American Honey

Two dashes of lemon juice

A splash of water

Serve on the rocks

As a bourbon blogger, I feel it’s my duty to introduce my friends to brands they might not have tried yet. So last weekend, my husband and I held a “Bourbon and BBQ” soiree. We served barbecue because A) its smoky flavor holds up well to bourbon and B) you need a good solid base if you’re going to taste several bourbons, especially the high-powered trio I selected: 

I conducted this tasting from lowest proof to highest, meaning we started with the 100-proof Rock Hill Farms, center. I’ve mentioned this Buffalo Trace-produced bourbon before in this blog; its rich, warm, spicy notes pair particularly well with chocolate, so I served each guest a small square of the Mississippi Mud cake I had baked for dessert to sample with it.

From there, we moved to Noah’s Mill, a 114-proof bourbon from Kentucky Bourbon Distillers in Bardstown, Ky. This is another great after-dinner bourbon, with a long, buttery-smooth finish and notes of toffee.

Finally, we sampled Booker’s by Jim Beam. When I announced the high proof - 130! - several tasters looked apprehensive, but everyone agreed that this bourbon goes down smooth, with none of the burn that you might expect. It was a great finish for our tasting.

Tomorrow, I’ll share the recipe for the signature cocktail we created for the party: the Lawrenceburg Lemonade.