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Filson Club Bourbon Academy 2010, Classes 1 and 2 are in the books and so far it has been a wonderful experience and a must for any Bourbon lover, like myself.  Our “Bourbon professor” Mr. Mike Veach is a wealth of knowledge and has done a great job teaching our classes.   The setting is perfect, Monday nights after work, in the spectacular Filson Club Historical Society Building on South 3rd Street.  We are the only ones in the building during class, there are 10 of us in this current class.   My class mates are equally enthusiastic about Bourbon as I am and all come from different walks of life, which makes this experience all the better.   The small class size makes it perfect for an in-depth discussion on Bourbon between Bourbon lovers.  We lecture and taste Bourbons around a great big oval shaped mahogany table, in a parlor on the first floor, surrounded by old old painting of various historical figures and an endless maze of hardwood walls, ceiling and floor.  Perfect for a Bourbon lecture and tasting.   We are working our way through the history of Bourbon and have covered the early days going back to the Whiskey Rebellion and in our second class have covered the Industrial Revolution and it’s affects on the Bourbon industry.   Mike has provided us with some interesting copies of historical documents from the Filson Club, some dating back to the 1790’s, referencing Bourbon and the Bourbon industry.   It is very profound to think that we are all sitting around this table in 2010 as Bourbon fans all discussing Bourbon and it’s almost 200 plus year history - I can’t help to think that we are the modern day Bourbon ambassadors and we need to carry forth the word and tradition surrounding this great product!   The questions are endless and it is refreshing to see the enthusiasm surrounding Bourbon in and around the city an state. 

The first night much of the lecture was discussing our theory’s and the historical facts about how Bourbon came about, and we learned some really interesting things about how the Whiskey Rebellion and the Louisiana Purchase played key roles in creating what we know today as Bourbon.    Mike also covered the sources of flavors of Bourbon, which we have referenced many times.  He has six - the grain, water, fermentation, distillation, maturation, and bottling.     We talked about the different categories of flavors - friut, candy, spices, wood, floral, and garbage (unwanted).   The first night we tasted Old Forester Signature Bourbon - 100 proof, no age statement (8-12 years old).  We learned that Brown-Forman’s mash bill is about 72% corn, 18% rye and 10% malted barley, for this Bourbon.  The water is from Louisville tap water, which is purified through reverse osmosis.   It is the only Bourbon made entirely in Louisville  They let the mash ferment for 5-7 days, it is distilled at 140 proof, barreled at 135 proof and bottled at 100 proof.   Also we learned that Old Forester was the first Bourbon to be sold in a bottle.  A very fine traditional Bourbon and for the price is is one of the best we have all had. 

The second class consisted of a history lecture on how the Industrial Revolution has shaped Bourbon.    The inventions of the steamboat, railroads, and the column still were discussed and each of there importance in history in regards to Bourbon.   We also covered he Civil War and what it meant to the Bourbon industry, and like many wars before it, it brought back the whiskey tax to help pay for war debts.  An interesting fact we learned, was for many years in the 1800’s, the  whiskey tax paid for about 60% of the federal budgets and before income tax it was the single biggest income for the federal government.  We lastly covered the mid to late 1800’s of Bourbon history, and the beginnings of branding and advertising of Bourbon.   In fact we learned that the term “brand” came from the Bourbon Industry because distilleries started branding their Bourbon marks on their barrels, because the barrels often times stood in saloons were patrons could see them and he distillers wanted to market their Bourbon’s to them.   The second night we tasted Wild Turkey 101, a traditional Bourbon.  We learned that this Bourbon is a mixture of 6, 7, and 8 year old Bourbon, so their is no age statement on the bottle.   We also tasted Old Fitzgerald 1894 - one of only 5 families of wheated Bourbons.  The1894 stands for the year that Stizel-Weller distillery first opened, which made Old Fitzgerald for many years.   Next we tried a Tennessee whiskey for comparison, George Dickel.  The nose and taste were really good, but the finish was not pleasing to many of us.  Lastly we tasted a rye whiskey, Old Overholt, made by Jim Beam.    Looking forward to next Monday’s class.  We will be tasting small batch and single barrel Bourbon’s, so stay tuned for a recap of this class and the last and fourth class in March.  Sincerely, Bill.