The market · Spirits · The Americas

Bourbon

American whiskey from at least 51% corn, aged in new charred oak barrels — the new wood gives the vanilla, caramel and sweet spice.

vanilla · caramel · toasted oak

Kinds

Wheated
Wheat as the second grain: softer and sweeter.
High-rye
More rye in the mash: spicier.
Bottled-in-bond
50%, at least four years old — strength and age for a fair price.
Barrel proof
Uncut, often 55–65%; for infusions and fat-washes.

Goes with

angostura bittersugarmintlemon juice

Cooked with, here

blanco tequilacharred corn syrupegg whitelemon juice

How much, here

Corn sour, charred cob syrup45ml bourbonRosa Ibarra · 36% of the dish

What cooks here have learned

“15ml tequila, bourbon down to 45”Rosa Ibarra · Corn sour, charred cob syrup v5

Knowing it

Where to buy
It has to be made in the US, not in Kentucky — though most is.
Worth knowing
The classic fat-wash: about 45g warm, strained bacon fat (smoked bacon) into a 750ml bottle, leave four hours, freeze, lift off the fat and strain through a coffee filter. Stir it with maple syrup and bitters.

Kitchens that keep it in

New York, Mexico City, London, BarcelonaThe cocktail barSpirit, acid and sugar balanced to the gram — and lately a lab's worth of technique: clarifying, fat-washing, infusing, carbonating, until a drink can taste of a whole dish.9 classics · 4 cooked here

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