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The Book of Bourbon: And Other Fine American Whiskeys
Single-malt scotch swept North American during the 1980s. Now, the same connoisseurs, curious consumers and longtime bourbon-only drinkers are vividly seeking out the new batch of America's own homegrown whiskys - both the "boutique" bottlings and the sturdy old standbys. The Regans explore "the king of American whisky" from it's humble backwoods origins to its humble modern refinements, including a wealth of lore, anecdotes, and history, along with tasting notes and more than 50 recipes.
- GenresNonfictionBooze
364 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1995
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
October 28, 2014
Written in the mid 1990s, it is a little out of date, but the bones are good. Would definitely have an audience if updated.
February 25, 2014
The history portion of this book is super fascinating! I appreciate how they didn't shy away from some things, they just mentioned it as fact and kept the narrative rolling. I wish there were more recipes and a little less time spent on breaking down allllll the distilleries, but then again I was most interested in the history part. I got what I wanted. Great casual tone of voice, too. Put a smile on my face.
November 15, 2021
I must admit that, having been reading a lot about whisky lately, I skipped the historical portions of this book. While each book includes some information that others don't, the basics remain the same, and reading them over and over is tedious.
But there's information here about - as the title says - bourbon and other American whiskies, as opposed to whisky in general. (I perhaps ought to say a bit about spelling. The Scottish spelling is "whisky," which Canada follows. The Irish and American spelling is "whiskey." Since my ancestors are Scottish, I've adopted the Scottish "whisky," though I'll occasionally use the Irish "whiskey" just for variety. Either is correct, and indeed some American distillers use the Scottish spelling.) Whisky is, of course, a worldwide product, which originated in Scotland and Ireland (though distilled grain is far older than whisky as we know it). But when distillers came to the New World, they found corn, a grain that was new to them, and in areas where corn grew better than wheat or barley or rye, corn became the main distilling grain. Thus came corn whiskey, which in turn gave rise to the bourbon and Tennessee whisky varieties. Corn produced a peculiarly American whisky, which in turn led to these sub-varieties.
And that's interesting information, at least to me - I've only been drinking whisky since September of 2020, after a gap of nearly 40 years, and way back then all I cared about was the effect, not actually enjoying the stuff. I literally didn't know until recently that the color of whisky comes from aging in wooden barrels, and the only real difference between corn likker and - for instance - bourbon is that aging (the mash bill may be a factor too, but doesn't affect the color of the spirit as it comes off the still). Things like that may be old hat to experienced whisky drinkers, and bore them; to me they're new, and as long as I haven't read them 20 times already they're interesting.
And good writing helps - it always helps, regardless of the nature of the book. The authors, Gary Regan and Marder Haidin Regan, write well, and provide a lot of technical information without burying you under a lot of technical jargon. For instance, it was in this book that I found out what a doubler is - it isn't, after all, an industrial-sized thumper, but essentially a second still which receives the spirit from the main still, and gives it a second distillation to up the proof (the same result as a thumper, but using a different method). If I hadn't read the various other books first, I would've devoured every word of this one, it's that good.
But there's information here about - as the title says - bourbon and other American whiskies, as opposed to whisky in general. (I perhaps ought to say a bit about spelling. The Scottish spelling is "whisky," which Canada follows. The Irish and American spelling is "whiskey." Since my ancestors are Scottish, I've adopted the Scottish "whisky," though I'll occasionally use the Irish "whiskey" just for variety. Either is correct, and indeed some American distillers use the Scottish spelling.) Whisky is, of course, a worldwide product, which originated in Scotland and Ireland (though distilled grain is far older than whisky as we know it). But when distillers came to the New World, they found corn, a grain that was new to them, and in areas where corn grew better than wheat or barley or rye, corn became the main distilling grain. Thus came corn whiskey, which in turn gave rise to the bourbon and Tennessee whisky varieties. Corn produced a peculiarly American whisky, which in turn led to these sub-varieties.
And that's interesting information, at least to me - I've only been drinking whisky since September of 2020, after a gap of nearly 40 years, and way back then all I cared about was the effect, not actually enjoying the stuff. I literally didn't know until recently that the color of whisky comes from aging in wooden barrels, and the only real difference between corn likker and - for instance - bourbon is that aging (the mash bill may be a factor too, but doesn't affect the color of the spirit as it comes off the still). Things like that may be old hat to experienced whisky drinkers, and bore them; to me they're new, and as long as I haven't read them 20 times already they're interesting.
And good writing helps - it always helps, regardless of the nature of the book. The authors, Gary Regan and Marder Haidin Regan, write well, and provide a lot of technical information without burying you under a lot of technical jargon. For instance, it was in this book that I found out what a doubler is - it isn't, after all, an industrial-sized thumper, but essentially a second still which receives the spirit from the main still, and gives it a second distillation to up the proof (the same result as a thumper, but using a different method). If I hadn't read the various other books first, I would've devoured every word of this one, it's that good.
January 14, 2018
This is truly everything you will ever need to know about bourbon: detailed history, how to taste, brand by brand information, recipes and more.
May 20, 2018
A great book for the beginner but a bit dated. I participate enjoyed the part about setting up a tasting. Some decent recipes - how to make your own orange bitters! That might be worth it alone.
November 24, 2014
Prior to visiting Kentucky, I looked for travel books on the region and its whiskey industry. Surprisingly enough, there's not a travel guide dedicated to Kentucky--the usual suspects such as Lonely Planet cover it by merging it with a number of other states, including Tennessee--and a "whiskey trail" book hasn't really been done, although this book by Gary and Mardee Regan is close. I found this ten-year-old book earlier this year during one of my used-book searches for cocktailian tomes. It had two things going for it: I knew the author, and it filled a gap in my library of bachannalia on this quintessential American liquor. While it didn't prove as useful as a guide to the state, it was invaluable in my education on how American whiskey is made, so that when I did make it to the Jim Beam and Maker's Mark distilleries, I already knew much of what their short films and tours showed me, so that I could concentrate on the first-hand experience and the fine details, rather than starting from scratch.
Describing how whiskey is made is a third of this book. One third is given up to covering as many of the labels existing at the time (1995), including not only tasting notes but extended histories that cover who originated the label/recipe, if it changed, and, finally, who owns the rights to it. Due to both the economy of scale needed to produce bourbon, the limited audience (as opposed to, say, wine or beer), and the after-effects of Prohibition, around ten companies are responsible for the whiskey that you can purchase in your local liquor store. Even Maker's Mark, which prides itself as a family-operated business, is owned by the same larger conglomerate that owns Jim Beam.
The final third of the book provides recipes for cocktails and food that can be made with bourbon. There's nothing there that's much different than what you can get in a standard Bartender's bible for cocktails, although it's useful if you already are feeling like something with whiskey in it to be able to pick up this book and have all the recipes fit your desire. All in all, this remains a useful book, although the whiskey industry has changed enough in the last ten years that an updated version would be different enough to justify a second printing.
Describing how whiskey is made is a third of this book. One third is given up to covering as many of the labels existing at the time (1995), including not only tasting notes but extended histories that cover who originated the label/recipe, if it changed, and, finally, who owns the rights to it. Due to both the economy of scale needed to produce bourbon, the limited audience (as opposed to, say, wine or beer), and the after-effects of Prohibition, around ten companies are responsible for the whiskey that you can purchase in your local liquor store. Even Maker's Mark, which prides itself as a family-operated business, is owned by the same larger conglomerate that owns Jim Beam.
The final third of the book provides recipes for cocktails and food that can be made with bourbon. There's nothing there that's much different than what you can get in a standard Bartender's bible for cocktails, although it's useful if you already are feeling like something with whiskey in it to be able to pick up this book and have all the recipes fit your desire. All in all, this remains a useful book, although the whiskey industry has changed enough in the last ten years that an updated version would be different enough to justify a second printing.
November 15, 2011
A good place to start for anyone interested in American whiskey (Bourbon, Tennessee, & Rye). Includes a concise history of American whiskey; synopses of major whiskies; a whiskey production primer; and more. The tasting notes might cause some eye-rolling, but the Regans confess the art’s subjectivity right off, freeing it from any pretense. The same cannot be said of the “respect” American whiskey has earned since the 1980s, which by-and-large has made most whiskey synonymous with the 1% – a connection that’s earned the craft of distillation as much popular respect as a pre-Volstead saloon. A revised edition would be nice: unique, upstart distillers emerged in the early ‘00s (e.g., Wasmund's Single Malt) & Rye has had a resurgence.
September 5, 2023
I purchased this book shortly after it was published back in 1995, and have re-read it several times since then. It is an excellent introduction to everything you need to know about bourbon! Having said that, this was twenty seven years ago, and before the rebirth of bourbon as a popular drink. I need to find out if this was updated, or if there is another similar book out there that was published more recently.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews