An important bulletin for you bourbon fans!
About a week ago, I came across this. blog post about bourbon and, specifically, how to get a more refined, aged flavor out of cheaper bourbons.
I'll wait while you read it.
http://food-hacks.wonderhowto.com/how-to/make-instant-aged-bourbon-out-cheap-stuff-0164950/
Finished? Good!
I decided to give it a shot on my own because I a) enjoy bourbon and b) enjoy getting more bang for my buck, so to speak. So I assembled the ingredients.
I stuck with Evan Williams bourbon in this case because it is cheap, not terrible, and easily found.
Before doing the hack, I poured myself a small glass of the whiskey to try, just for comparison.
Like most bourbon, Evan Williams has a mild sweetness balanced by mild spicy overtones. The alcohol flavor is a little harsh but, unlike a lot of discount whiskies, not with the overwhelming aroma of nail polish remover.
For those of you too lazy to read the other blog post, the other ingredients are vanilla extract, liquid smoke, and dry sherry. According to the hack, to each 750 mL of bourbon you add 3/4 tsp of vanilla, 1/8 tsp of liquid smoke and 1 tbsp of the dry sherry. Since I had a decanter handy, I decided to incorporate everything in there first, to keep things handy and not because I want to make folks think the actual whiskey in there was just $10 a bottle Evan Williams.
After mixing, I tried the results and I am pleased to report GLORIOUS SUCCESS! After mixing, the flavor of the Bourbon is improved markedly. The hallmarks of bourbon aren't lost and are in fact smoothed out more.
I'll just be over here. Try it on your own at home!