2018_July-August.indd

the Wedding issue

CIGARS and BOURBON BARS

words DavidW. Brown W e are living in the golden age of bourbon. Opportunities abound for bringing bour- bon into the wedding, from a well-stocked, carefully considered bour- bon bar, to newlyweds giving their wedding party engraved “thank you” flasks along with the bourbon to fill them. In terms of bartending, there are four ways

to enjoy bourbon: neat, on the rocks, straight up and in cocktails. Each has its pleasures. Neat is the easiest. (And some say the best.) Just pour your bourbon into a glass and drink it. “On the rocks” is neat plus ice. Enjoying bourbon “straight up” means shaking or stirring it with ice, and then straining it, serving it cold but iceless. And cocktails mean enjoying the bourbon with mixers.

When stocking your bar, here are a few of the best bourbons humankind has yet conceived, and what you can expect from them. Buffalo Trace If you have a mouth, you will love Buffalo Trace. When you close your eyes and think of bourbon, this is what you are thinking of. It is the Platonic ideal of Kentucky whiskey, noted for its vanilla

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MY ROUSES EVERYDAY

JULY | AUGUST 2018