Not really, but it sure does feel that way, doesn’t it?
Sebastian is crazy busy at work today. Sure, it’s the last day before vacation for him, but would you know that they scheduled some crazy something today that meant he had to get up and leave earlier than normal after working later than usual and having put in most weekends the last month. In theory, I know a little more about what’s keeping him busy at work that I’m sure you fellow techies would understand, but if I screw something up in explaining it, I’ll look like an idiot to this audience. So instead, we’ll go with the highly technical “some crazy something.”
I, on the other hand, am doing household things. Like battling Wegmans for groceries for 3 hours. They were so busy that they had police running the traffic at intersections for the store. None of the stores selling Christmas presents in the same shopping center were busy, but Wegmans was crazy. They were also out of cranberries and I got the very last head of cauliflower. Fortunately, I know they were out of cauliflower because I got the very last head. Hahaha!
Now instead of reading the news, checking my email, and going to look for interesting gun news for commentary, I’m going to buy bourbon. Then I’ll come back and take a stab at a post to amuse and horrify anyone who is involved in the insurance industry – and it’s about guns, too! But the bourbon, in addition to making my cranberry sauce more flavorful and bourbon balls more spirited, will make the post writing flow a little easier.
So which bourbon will you get?
You know, I probably should have looked for recommendations before I left for the best bourbon for cooking. I am not a bourbon drinker, so I can’t exactly tell you much about the limited options available to us courtesy of the state monopoly on liquor – at least not beyond “tastes like ass” is on the bottom shelf and “nicest the state will allow us to buy” is on the top shelf.
My mom uses plain Jim Beam in her version of the cranberry sauce, and I opted for Maker’s Mark. I figured that was a nice mid-range option that will work for the cranberry sauce and make sure the bourbon balls don’t taste like the bottom shelf options.
I’m prepared for people to tell me I made a huge mistake. So flame on if you have better selections for cooking.
Cooking tends to take the nuance out of wines/spirits, leaving you with a few essential flavorings (which is the point of using them in recipes), so any decent bourbon that actually tastes like bourbon should perform satisfactorily. You are entirely right to avoid any “bourbon” that has an off-putting smell or aftertaste (anything solvent-like); that would spoil your recipes for sure.
BTW, Merry Christmas to you and Sebastian, and thank you for your all-year-long efforts for the pro-freedom people.
Thank you! Merry Christmas to you, too!
I figured it wouldn’t make a difference whether I got top shelf or mid-range. I went with the method I use for cooking with wine. I’ll only use something someone is willing to drink. I won’t use bottles that I know we won’t touch because why would I want to put bad flavor in my meal? I also won’t use the most expensive bottles, either.
When I buy bourbon for Sebastian, I usually go with the stuff considered top shelf for Pennsylvania.
Ummmm, Maker’s Mark is a fine cooking.. or drinking.. bourbon. Jim Beam is fine as well, and I just made a bourbon pecan pie using Basil Hayden’s. This bottle of Basil I didn’t particular care for in drinking, but I’ve had previous examples that were great. I suspect variations in small batch production.
I once channel surfed over to America’s Test Kitchen where the episode was on the effect of wine at various price points in the same recipe, starting with ‘cooking’ wine. And, the better the wine, the better the result, though indeed there was a point of diminishing gains.
Maker’s Mark is good stuff and I love it. However, given this is a gun blog among other things, I would have opted for Knob Creek or Bulleit.
Merry Christmas to both Bitter and Sebastian.
My personal favorites are Knob Creek and Basil Hayden’s. Knob Creek has the best flavor of any bourbon I’ve yet tried; I imagine it’d go awesomely with peppered, buttered cornbread. Basil Hayden’s is more subtle: the taste if fairly nondescript, but it leaves me with a very soft, nice buzz that I haven’t had in anything else. So: Knob Creek for sessions, Basil Hayden’s for a single drink.
It pains me to say this, being originally from Virginia, but avoid Virginia Gentleman or anything from the Bowman distillery. Every time I’ve tried it (being a slow learner and all) I’ve woken up the next morning with a pounding headache, even after only one or two drinks of the stuff.
Bulleit is very good, but a tiny bit sharp for my tastes. Maker’s Mark is probably one of the best for cooking and blending, but I can’t stand it by itself.
I need to find a wife who will buy me bourbon and take my tastes into account.