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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2009
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 OPINION 
1

Kentucky Bourbon No Backwoods Booze

Sophisticated stuff sees popularity spike

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(Newser) – Bourbon is sweet, but that’s no reason to call it unsophisticated, as one lover of the stuff learned on a trip to Kentucky. Making the whiskey is a process so complex and nuanced that master distillers are few—and the job often stays within families, writes spirits expert and food blogger Jason Wilson in the Washington Post. “We're not about bib overalls anymore. This is a city boy's drink,” says one.

The rules for making bourbon are many, but they “leave a lot of room for individual style,” Wilson writes. Yeast strains vary. Water, which depends on a distillery’s location, affects flavor. Opinion differs widely on how long to age the whiskey. But America seems to have found a new appreciation for the drink: Sales of super premium bourbon and Tennessee whiskey have doubled in the past 5 years.

In this photo taken on Wednesday, April 8, 2009, guide Dave Salyers describes the bourbon making process to a group touring the Woodford Reserve distillery in Versailles, Ky.
In this photo taken on Wednesday, April 8, 2009, guide Dave Salyers describes the bourbon making process to a group touring the Woodford Reserve distillery in Versailles, Ky.   (AP Photo/Ed Reinke)
Fred Noe, seventh generation Beam family distiller and bourbon ambassador, proudly displays the new Jim Beam label during Bourbonfest in Bardsville, Kentucky.
Fred Noe, seventh generation Beam family distiller and bourbon ambassador, proudly displays the new Jim Beam label during Bourbonfest in Bardsville, Kentucky.   (PRNewsFoto/Beam Global Spirits & Wine, Inc., Matt Barton)
Barrels wait to be filled with bourbon at the Woodford Reserve distillery in Versailles, Ky.
Barrels wait to be filled with bourbon at the Woodford Reserve distillery in Versailles, Ky.   (AP Photo/Ed Reinke)
Bottles of bourbon are shown in a display case at the Heaven Hill Bourbon Heritage Center in Bardstown , Ky.
Bottles of bourbon are shown in a display case at the Heaven Hill Bourbon Heritage Center in Bardstown , Ky.   (AP Photo/Ed Reinke)
A woman walks away from her distillery tour with a souvenir to savor, sip by sip.
A woman walks away from her distillery tour with a souvenir to savor, sip by sip.   (AP Photo/Ed Reinke)
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MrBisme
Apr 30, 09 7:04 PM CDT
Maker' Mark followed closely by Buffalo Trace as far as reasonably priced fantastic Kentucky Burbon's go. After drinking these, nothing else even comes close. Reply
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