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Bourbon Curious:A Tasting Guide for the Savvy Drinker with Tasting Notes for Dozens of New Bourbons
"The world has been waiting for this book."
—Jeffrey Morganthaler, author of The Bar Book and Drinking Distilled
In Bourbon Curious: A Tasting Guide for the Savvy Drinker, award-winning whiskey writer and Wall Street Journal best-selling author Fred Minnick creates an easy-to-read interactive tasting journey that helps you select barrel-aged bourbons based on your flavor preferences. Using the same tasting principles he offers in his Kentucky Derby Museum classes and as a judge at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, Minnick cuts to the chase, dismissing brand marketing and judging only the flavor of this all-American whiskey.
Bourbon Curious groups bourbon into four main flavor profiles—grain, nutmeg, caramel, and cinnamon. While many bourbons boast all four flavor notes, one delicious sensation typically overpowers the rest. This book reveals more than 50 bourbon brands' predominate tastes and suggests cocktail recipes to complement them. In addition, Minnick spends some time busting bourbon's myths; unraveling its mysteries; and exploring distiller secrets, disclosing the recipes you won't find on a bottle's label.
This updated edition contains all the best new bourbons and revised tasting notes on any bourbons that have undergone a substantial change since the original edition. And like good-tasting bourbon, Bourbon Curious is approachable to all!
—Jeffrey Morganthaler, author of The Bar Book and Drinking Distilled
In Bourbon Curious: A Tasting Guide for the Savvy Drinker, award-winning whiskey writer and Wall Street Journal best-selling author Fred Minnick creates an easy-to-read interactive tasting journey that helps you select barrel-aged bourbons based on your flavor preferences. Using the same tasting principles he offers in his Kentucky Derby Museum classes and as a judge at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, Minnick cuts to the chase, dismissing brand marketing and judging only the flavor of this all-American whiskey.
Bourbon Curious groups bourbon into four main flavor profiles—grain, nutmeg, caramel, and cinnamon. While many bourbons boast all four flavor notes, one delicious sensation typically overpowers the rest. This book reveals more than 50 bourbon brands' predominate tastes and suggests cocktail recipes to complement them. In addition, Minnick spends some time busting bourbon's myths; unraveling its mysteries; and exploring distiller secrets, disclosing the recipes you won't find on a bottle's label.
This updated edition contains all the best new bourbons and revised tasting notes on any bourbons that have undergone a substantial change since the original edition. And like good-tasting bourbon, Bourbon Curious is approachable to all!
256 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 7, 2015
99 people are currently reading
212 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews
November 4, 2019
Bourbon curious 2nd edition by Fred Minnick Recently released this is an imperative read for anyone who is interested in bourbon and whiskey. Anyone from a bourbon newb to a bourbon geek. Fred m
Minnick discusses the basic requirements for bourbon and then goes into much more detail about the elements. He discusses how each element effects the final product. From the selection and aging of the oak for the barrels to the grains, even their genetics, the distillation equipment and process itself, how the rack house construction effects the bourbon. It has a significant section on the process of tasting. The book ends with 127 pages of detailed notes and pictures of different whiskeys details and their tasting notes. There are tasting notes cover some products that few people will ever get to try everyday whiskey that anyone can buy off the shelf. There were several items that were very thought provoking like how modern grains vs heritage varieties may be affecting flavors of distillate and how since most timber is 2nd and 3rd growth it is different than barrels that may have been produced from old growth timber.
In summary this book is a must buy for any person even remotely interested in whiskey. Buy yourself a paper copy or buy and download yourself one and get yourself a pour of whiskey and ENJOY!
Minnick discusses the basic requirements for bourbon and then goes into much more detail about the elements. He discusses how each element effects the final product. From the selection and aging of the oak for the barrels to the grains, even their genetics, the distillation equipment and process itself, how the rack house construction effects the bourbon. It has a significant section on the process of tasting. The book ends with 127 pages of detailed notes and pictures of different whiskeys details and their tasting notes. There are tasting notes cover some products that few people will ever get to try everyday whiskey that anyone can buy off the shelf. There were several items that were very thought provoking like how modern grains vs heritage varieties may be affecting flavors of distillate and how since most timber is 2nd and 3rd growth it is different than barrels that may have been produced from old growth timber.
In summary this book is a must buy for any person even remotely interested in whiskey. Buy yourself a paper copy or buy and download yourself one and get yourself a pour of whiskey and ENJOY!
September 16, 2019
I loved this book! I am not a huge drinker, but when I do, I drink expensive bourdon whiskey. This book was fascinating and super informative. I loved the attention to detail about the bourdon and the process of making it. I need this book to reference to!
#bourdoncurious #Netgalley
#bourdoncurious #Netgalley
September 28, 2022
Book # 5 in my prep for Tennucky trip. Let's see : Country Music, Civil war, Bourbon, Race Horses, More Bourbon. I guess I'm ready.
The first half of the book is a nice primer about bourbon's history and production. The second half is about how to taste bourbon ( hint: you cannot do it by reading a book) and the author's tasting notes on a random sample of commercially available ( or just as often unavailable) bourbone
The first half of the book is a nice primer about bourbon's history and production. The second half is about how to taste bourbon ( hint: you cannot do it by reading a book) and the author's tasting notes on a random sample of commercially available ( or just as often unavailable) bourbone
March 11, 2020
Being a newcomer to the subtleties of Bourbon, I was beyond thrilled to receive this e-book from NetGalley!
This easy to read guide to understanding and enjoying Bourbon is broken down into three parts.
Part One - History, Legends and Contemporary Truths explains useful information as to the types of bourbon produced and its importance to the United States. Part Two - Sources of Flavor focuses on the production of the liquor. Lastly, Part Three - Tasting, identifies quite a few distilleries, the attributes of the bourbon they produce and what you should expect of it in a tasting, the color, nose, palate and finish.
I love this book and have already purchased a copy for my son. I may even purchase a few more for the men in my life as gifts throughout the year.
If you're interested in this type of beverage, I highly recommend this book.
Thank you Netgalley, the author and publisher for the e-book of this superb book.
This easy to read guide to understanding and enjoying Bourbon is broken down into three parts.
Part One - History, Legends and Contemporary Truths explains useful information as to the types of bourbon produced and its importance to the United States. Part Two - Sources of Flavor focuses on the production of the liquor. Lastly, Part Three - Tasting, identifies quite a few distilleries, the attributes of the bourbon they produce and what you should expect of it in a tasting, the color, nose, palate and finish.
I love this book and have already purchased a copy for my son. I may even purchase a few more for the men in my life as gifts throughout the year.
If you're interested in this type of beverage, I highly recommend this book.
Thank you Netgalley, the author and publisher for the e-book of this superb book.
June 29, 2018
Small print, stiff, thick pages, verbose prose bring down the good information in the book.
The format of the book is too cool for its own good. The small print makes Minnick’s colorful, if verbose, prose hard to read. The thick pages make holding it open a chore.
The format of the book is too cool for its own good. The small print makes Minnick’s colorful, if verbose, prose hard to read. The thick pages make holding it open a chore.
July 24, 2021
Great introduction to the history, traditions, processes, and tasting of bourbon. Also has a ton of great “style guides” to classic bourbon brands.
December 22, 2019
I have spent several decades learning about wine. While far from an expert, I can identify and enjoy some of the complexities of the fruit of the vine. I wasn’t sure where to start that same exploration of this most American of liquors.
Bourbon CuriousNow I do. “Bourbon Curious” is a perfect starting point for beginners, a fine refresher for advanced drinkers, and, best of all, a resource that clears away some of the mythic underbrush that surrounds bourbon. Because most of what most people think they “know” about bourbon is wrong. (No, it doesn’t have to come from Kentucky. You’ll find out why.)
Enter Fred Minnick, an award-winning writer on the subject and a Wall Street Journal best-selling author. This guy knows bourbon (he even teaches classes on the subject. Add that to my bucket list!), but the best part of the book is that it is easy to read. Filled with advice, history, mythology and good stories, “Bourbon Curious” will let you choose the bourbon path you want to follow. As a beginner, I skipped over much of the brand recommendations. I’m not ready for most of that. Instead, I focused on the taste profiles, and I’m just starting to figure out which brand I want to try next. I also feel like I have some understanding of the language used to describe the wonders of this amber delight.
Bourbon CuriousNow I do. “Bourbon Curious” is a perfect starting point for beginners, a fine refresher for advanced drinkers, and, best of all, a resource that clears away some of the mythic underbrush that surrounds bourbon. Because most of what most people think they “know” about bourbon is wrong. (No, it doesn’t have to come from Kentucky. You’ll find out why.)
Enter Fred Minnick, an award-winning writer on the subject and a Wall Street Journal best-selling author. This guy knows bourbon (he even teaches classes on the subject. Add that to my bucket list!), but the best part of the book is that it is easy to read. Filled with advice, history, mythology and good stories, “Bourbon Curious” will let you choose the bourbon path you want to follow. As a beginner, I skipped over much of the brand recommendations. I’m not ready for most of that. Instead, I focused on the taste profiles, and I’m just starting to figure out which brand I want to try next. I also feel like I have some understanding of the language used to describe the wonders of this amber delight.
June 18, 2020
Great quick read on the complexities and nuance of bourbon. I enjoyed the detail provided on several influential factors to flavor including production techniques, aging/barrel influence, ingredients, climate and, to a degree, terroir. It's important for any enthusiast to understand the level of craftsmanship involved even for mass produced brands.
Most useful to me was the basis provided by which to compare bourbons: color, mouthfeel, and flavor. The simplistic but effective "4 most common flavors" have been helpful in understanding my personal preferences and in growing my understanding and appreciation for the subtleties of each subcategory.
My only real complaint about this book would be the inclusion of several harder-to-find or limited release bottles in the tasting notes section. Maybe interesting to some, but a broader inclusion of bottom to mid-tier bourbons would have been more interesting and useful in my opinion.
If you're wanting more on bourbon history, this is not it but do read Minnick's other book "Bourbon: The Rise, Fall, and Rebirth of an American Whiskey".
Most useful to me was the basis provided by which to compare bourbons: color, mouthfeel, and flavor. The simplistic but effective "4 most common flavors" have been helpful in understanding my personal preferences and in growing my understanding and appreciation for the subtleties of each subcategory.
My only real complaint about this book would be the inclusion of several harder-to-find or limited release bottles in the tasting notes section. Maybe interesting to some, but a broader inclusion of bottom to mid-tier bourbons would have been more interesting and useful in my opinion.
If you're wanting more on bourbon history, this is not it but do read Minnick's other book "Bourbon: The Rise, Fall, and Rebirth of an American Whiskey".
September 4, 2019
Sooo... wow.
This isn't exactly a "simple tasting guide", it's more like a college textbook on bourbon.
I am "bourbon curious", but I'm not THIS bourbon curious.
I would recommend this book not for the bourbon curious, but for the Biggest Bourbon Lover you know. For the bourbon obsessed. For the person in your life who wants to know every last detail of the history of bourbon.
And if you know that person, or are that person, then this is your dream book. It's not a beautiful coffee table book, and it's not a book for someone who is merely curious or wants more information to enjoy their tastings. It's really an overload of verbose info laid out in more of a textbook fashion, followed by a detailed encyclopedia of every bourbon that takes over half the book.
I am bourbon curious, but this book was way too much for me. Someone else may love this book, but I am not that person.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This isn't exactly a "simple tasting guide", it's more like a college textbook on bourbon.
I am "bourbon curious", but I'm not THIS bourbon curious.
I would recommend this book not for the bourbon curious, but for the Biggest Bourbon Lover you know. For the bourbon obsessed. For the person in your life who wants to know every last detail of the history of bourbon.
And if you know that person, or are that person, then this is your dream book. It's not a beautiful coffee table book, and it's not a book for someone who is merely curious or wants more information to enjoy their tastings. It's really an overload of verbose info laid out in more of a textbook fashion, followed by a detailed encyclopedia of every bourbon that takes over half the book.
I am bourbon curious, but this book was way too much for me. Someone else may love this book, but I am not that person.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
September 19, 2019
First, what a fantastic title. Recently I've been on "reading about food" trip. From the history of salt, five drinks that changed the world, to all about French foods, I want to learn about food. This is my that combines the history, with a practical how to guide. I loved how into Bourbon the author is. I mean I guess I should have guessed that, seeing as how he wrote a book about it, but the author's passion was felt in every turn of phrase, picture and story. I will admit, that prior to reading this book, I was a Bourbon acolyte and did not know a lot about Bourbon. While by no means an expert, after finishing this book, I feel like I have a decent, dare I say, intermediate knowledge about Bourbon? I hope that every subject under the sun has an author who can delight the reader with their knowledge and passion for the subject.
November 15, 2018
If you are curious about bourbon this is a great book to get you going. It starts off with a history of the drink as well as a definition of what bourbon is.
All bourbon is whiskey, but not all whiskey is bourbon.The history section is very interesting, but cursory enough that I will probably check out Bourbon Empire at some point. The next section talks about how bourbon is made and what influences the flavor, exploring the distilling processes, what secondary ingredients, after corn, are used (rye or wheat), the quality of the ingredients, the yeast, the wood in the barrels, and how long it is aged.
Bourbon is all about the barrel.The third section explores how to taste a bourbon. It makes a great reference as it groups bourbons into different categories based on the prominent flavor of the drink (grain-forward, nutmeg-forward etc). Each section also covers various bourbons and provides information such as the distillery, mashbill, proof, distillation and filtering techniques, age, and barrels per bottling (for blends).
November 29, 2020
Really enjoyed this book. Very informative. I really enjoyed learning about some history, distilling process and detailed information about specific brands. This really helps clear up many common misconceptions. This is an excellent book for anyone interested in bourbon. I really enjoyed the first couple chapters. I have the book on Audible and the physical book, and I’ll definitely go back over the first couple chapters to take some more notes. I really like how Fred doesn’t overly praise specific brands, and doesn’t appear to be obsessive over any particular bourbon. He comes off as impartial and allows for an honest book filled with history and information not commonly found.
February 19, 2020
I love to drink my whiskey bourbons, and when I do, I like the good stuff. This is a great book that explains what makes bourbon bourbon, how it is made, and how to properly taste and drink it to get the full effect. This book is great for newbies to bourbon, but even veterans can take something away. I highly recommend this book, and will be giving it as a gift to family members who also love their bourbon. Thank you to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
October 3, 2019
This book is aimed at hose who are serious about Bourbon to truly enjoy and appreciate this books. I learned a lot but I'll be honest, I didn't read all of it. I skimmed and read the areas that were of interested to me.
I love the photos graphs and how the layout was set up: quick cool facts, charts about each brand.
I would definitely buy this for someone who is serious about their liquor.
I received an ARC through NetGalley; all opinions are my own.
I love the photos graphs and how the layout was set up: quick cool facts, charts about each brand.
I would definitely buy this for someone who is serious about their liquor.
I received an ARC through NetGalley; all opinions are my own.
November 19, 2019
My Review:
Bourbon Curious is the first book I have read from this author and it's really good. This ARC was provided in exchange for my honest opinion.
The book is divided into four main parts as it regards to flavors which is very helpful. My favorite of course is the caramel. I also learned that there are more than fifty brands, who knew?
I highly recommend this book either for you if you are a bourbon drinker or as a guest, you can't go wrong.
Bourbon Curious is the first book I have read from this author and it's really good. This ARC was provided in exchange for my honest opinion.
The book is divided into four main parts as it regards to flavors which is very helpful. My favorite of course is the caramel. I also learned that there are more than fifty brands, who knew?
I highly recommend this book either for you if you are a bourbon drinker or as a guest, you can't go wrong.
November 24, 2019
Being from Kentucky, I feel like it's my duty to know as much as possible about bourbon and the bourbon industry. This book provides a lot of information about the different flavor profiles of bourbon and suggestions for brands to try based on those tastes. It's a concise and easy to read book for anyone interested in exploring the world of bourbon and would make a great gift for a bourbon enthusiast. My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing a galley of this book for review.
January 2, 2020
This book was a Best of the Best for the month of January 2020, as selected by Stevo's Book Reviews on the Internet / Stevo's Nobel Ideas. You can find me at http://forums.delphiforums.com/stevo1, on my Stevo's Novel Ideas Amazon Influencer page (https://www.amazon.com/shop/stevo4747), on Twitter (https://twitter.com/Stevo4747), on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/brocksteve/) or search for me on Google for many more reviews and recommendations.
December 27, 2018
Great book for those looking to learn more about bourbon and enhance their understanding of the history and techniques behind this amazing spirit. The content of the book was great, but the stuff pages and binding made those book a challenging book to read.... physically..... seriously, my fingers and hands started to get sore!
March 30, 2020
I enjoyed mostly the history portion of this book. The tasting portions, especially the parts where “you write things in” were eye-rolling, almost satire-tier. The portions about how it is made seemed like a Wikipedia article with extra words added in like he was writing an English paper and needed to hit a word minimum.
I’m glad he made lots of money with this book and spends his days drinking.
I’m glad he made lots of money with this book and spends his days drinking.
July 11, 2021
Excellent read for the first half, you’ll learn the process of producing bourbon and then learn some tricks for tasting it properly. The second half will be a useful reference as you buy and try the main bourbons available for purchase. Worth the purchase as a hard back so you can keep it on the coffee table near your glass of bourbon!
December 28, 2021
Very interesting read. Minnick puts Bourbon into historical context which is both informative and entertaining. It did make me feel inadequate in my tasting competence. He finds so much complexity in each sip. The book uncovers how we fall for marketing and promotion, just like in everything else. Very much worth the time.
November 27, 2017
Wonderful Bourbon Journey
Reading this book was an amazing journey through all things bourbon. The history was stellar and I particularly liked how Fred highlighted people from different aspects of the production process. What a great read!
Reading this book was an amazing journey through all things bourbon. The history was stellar and I particularly liked how Fred highlighted people from different aspects of the production process. What a great read!
June 3, 2018
The best book about bourbon I’ve read yet. Makes things much easier for me to understand, written in detailed, but easily accessible language. The author is a bourbon nerd and his love of bourbon and sharing its joys are apparent. Very useful, will keep this one in my liquor library!
June 27, 2020
Bourbon Curious is a great guide to exploring the world of bourbon. It is easy to read and a great resource for anyone wanting to give bourbon a taste. Minnick provides a brief history, tasting notes, and even provides cocktail recipes to pair them with.
January 17, 2023
Great book. Easy read. This book is for anyone starting to learn about bourbon. It offers history, the distilling process, and, most important, how to enjoy bourbon. Minnick is wonderfully delightful.
August 6, 2018
Great book on all the bourbon basics you need from master taster Fred Minnick. From history to distilling methods to tasting notes on a tom of popular brands, this is a great bourbon 101 for anyone.
August 22, 2018
What’s the difference between bourbon and whiskey? Read the book to find out and tons of other answers.
January 29, 2019
I recently started enjoying a little bourbon from time to time. This book helped me understand the complexities better.
October 29, 2019
Pretty good overview. Nothing new here if you've read a few books on the subject.
June 15, 2021
Interesting and informative.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews