Making its Mark

14-Sep-11 -  It seems like only a year or two ago, but my last visit to Kentucky was in 1999, and I brought back with me some wonderful memories, and a taste for 'the real Bourbon' which has never left me. I say  the 'real' Bourbon, because American legislation is rather wide-ranging on the subject. With the success of the original Kentucky product, every distillery in America began to call its whiskey 'Bourbon' and, rather in the manner of Mr Bowler's hat, Mr Biro's ball-point pen and Mr Mackintosh's raincoat, it became a generic, and now all whiskey distilled in America can legally call itself Bourbon. For this reason, the original is now always labelled 'Kentucky Bourbon' to let the customer know that it is the real product. Confusingly, however, the whiskey was never distilled in Bourbon county: the barrels were branded 'Bourbon' because, at that time, Bourbon county was on the bank of the Ohio river, and was a loading point for freight travelling along the river. Since then the county has shrunk considerably and is now landlocked.

One of my first visits in 1999 was to the Maker's Mark distillery in Loretto, in Marion county. It was founded in 1954 by Bill Samuels, who decided he was going to produce a 'small batch' Bourbon to rival the big-selling bands. Interestingly, he also spelled it 'whisky' in the Scots manner, rather than 'whiskey' as nearly all other brands do - marking their Irish heritage. The distillery is a listed monument, and beautifully preserved as well as being a working complex, and Bill Samuels's son, also Bill, took over from him eventually. He retired this year, and his son Bob now runs the outfit. Ownership, however, has passed from hand to hand since 1981 and it now belongs to Fortune Brands, but the Samuels family have always been and are still in charge of production. The tasting room is filled with American memorabilia, including the six-shooter which once belong to Frank James, brother of Jesse. We had a fried chicken lunch there and drank - er - Coca Cola. American drinking habits are rather unusual by European standards.

The whisky itself, however, is one of the best from Kentucky, and as well as tasting it we were allowed to dip a souvenir (half) bottle into the trademark red wax to take home. The reason it's in the news at the moment is because Harrod's is hosting a 'pop-up' bar this month and next, featuring Maker's Mark in various guises: from mint julep and other cocktails to the opportunity to dip your own glass in the red wax.

If you've seen other entries on this blog you'll know that I'm not a fan of cocktails. I believe that if a spirit is good, then it's good enough to be enjoyed by itself. By the time you've filled the glass with half a dozen other ingredients, you might as well have used the 'Fred Bloggs' brand from your local supermarket. For me the perfect way to enjoy Maker's Mark is just with ice. It's bottled at 45% abv (so it doesn't need chill-filtering) and the trick is to hit the moment juste when the ice has melted sufficiently to get the strength down to about 35% abv, so the flavours and nuances of the spirit are not masked by the alcohol. We make ice-cubes from filtered water (no bleach in our whisky, thanks) and it takes about ten minutes for the magic to emerge: smoky aromas with a light toffee-caramel foretaste and a very soft, smooth and mellow mid. As the ice melts further the whisky becomes gentler and finishes almost with a sigh - something over which to linger, and much too good to mix! It's widely available from about £25 to £30 and with a will of iron you might make the bottle last... Well, almost all week.

Remember that you can usually find wines at 

www.wine-searcher.com
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