Tasting!

May 18th, 2004

I filled the barrel on May 8th, which was a Thursday, the same day I bottled the previous batch. I did this with the intention of tasting on Thursdays, just as before. However, due to one graduation after another, I was unable to meet my Thursday target. Instead, I pushed the first tasting back to Sunday.

The color is nice, a golden honey, deep and rich. Darker than the original, as expected. Between the char and the maple, this should be a fairly dark bourbon, when all is said and done. The odor is nice and sweet, with a subtle hint of oak. So far, nothing unexpected. Then I tasted it.

My first sip went straight to the back of my throat, causing me to cough and sputter as the alcohol splashed down my throat, burning through an involuntary inhalation. An inauspicious start. Calming myself, I took my time and tilted the glass back. What poured over my tongue was unmistakably bourbon, slightly smoky, a little warmth, but then quickly subsumed by the intense maple flavor. I took another sip, rolling it in my mouth, letting the flavors mix and swirl and fight each other. They need time, I said to myself. They're still separate flavors. Over time, they should meld together, smoky, and maple-y, and bourbon-y.

I finished the glass and smiled. This could be awesome.

May 25th, 2014

Another Sunday tasting. As I wrote about in another blog, my fiance and I had to do some serious housekeeping this past week, which consumed most of my Thursday and Friday nights, as well as most of the day Saturday. Not a big deal, Sunday worked fine, as tasting the bourbon helped settle our nerves. Much like the second tasting of my first attempt, there is not much to report. The flavors continue to meld, that maple still fighting to assert itself over the bourbon. I still have hope that they will play nice.

One thing that did occur to me about the maple bourbon was how versatile it seems like it will be. With some ice and some lemon, it should be a great drink for a hot summer day. Straight up, though, I think it will be perfect for taking the chill off on a cold winter night. I'm beginning to sound like a broken record*, but I am excited.

Also, I know that I've been bad at keeping this up-to-date (cf three postings today, covering the last three weeks; also, the rest of the blog), but I am going to try to use this as my scientific notebook from now on, recording my weekly observations directly in here, instead of into a paper notebook, and then transcribing.

Up next: more tastings!


*I am not going to say, "ask your parents what a record was", because A) vinyl records are still popular today (though not as prevalent), and B) the "broken record" concept is still used so much in pop culture, that does anyone really not get the reference? I chalk it up with the criticism "You weren't even alive when this came out" when a person claims to like music older than them. What does that matter? Unless an 18-year-old is claiming to have personally been at an original line-up Pink Floyd show, who cares?