So, with the Canadian Thanksgiving long weekend all but upon us, I thought I would impart some bourbon wisdom. Plus, there are many other celebrations going on around the planet this weekend too.
I have been sampling various bourbons for some years and have discovered a few truisms regarding bourbon. At least to me.
What Does NOT Go With Bourbon:
Iced tea or Dr. Pepper. It just tastes weird. Ginger ale is so-so. Oh yeah, root beer blows with just about any hard liquor. The "Doctor" can be alright with certain vodkas though and ginger ale is good enough with rye whisk(e)y or Canadian whisky.
Peanuts. I recently learnt munching on peanuts and tippling bourbon, makes the brown liquid taste odd. I do not know if other nuts or legumes do the same though. If I recall, Canadian Whisky is just fine with the dressed up fellow, but it certainly is not anything like port wine and walnuts; oh, and a salty cheese: Mmmm.
Sesame snaps. They help provide a jet-fuel like taste to the drink. Better than the peanuts though?!
Eyeballs. Yup, eyeballs. My brother and I were camping in Maine and we bought a large bottle of white label Jim Beam. We wanted a shot, but decided it was uncouth to guzzle from a baby Texas mickey (it had a handle, it was a jumbo bottle, almost jug-like). So, my brother said he would pour a shot in to my mouth. Not to worry, he claimed he had done it before. Well, would you not know it? He missed and poured an ounce of the stuff right in to my left eyeball. It stung like a bejesus and lasted over half-an-hour. That was the night I got a fire going in a major rain storm with wet wood. At least I could see what I was doing still.
Stupidity. Being reckless, careless, dumbass, unsafe, blind drunk, stupid, and any other version of irresponsible behaviour does not go with bourbon or any other intoxicating or mind altering substance. Say no to dumbassedness!
What Does Go With Bourbon:
Pepsi. I learnt this in Moscow, Russia. A friend and I wanted to cut our bourbon with water, soda water even, but at the time we were there, it was occasionally a pain to get easily and not cheap. The tap water was dangerous to drink. The local bottled water was cheap, but it was suspect. You would be best to get imported mineral water from Poland, France, or Germany. The guy at the kiosk sold us some Pepsi to go with it, I cannot recall from what country though, but it was way cheaper than water. We were suspicious of what it would taste like, especially with my past experiences with iced tea and Dr. Pepper. Well, we tried it anyway and it was alright, but the carbonation went all strange and would dissipate quickly. That was no big deal. Now, at the time I was a Coca-Cola guy, through and through. When I got back home to Canada, I tried it with Coke. Not the same at all. Not so good and too fizzy. RC Cola is not too bad as well, if you can find it.
1st Lt. David Donovan in his Vietnam service memoir, Once A Warrior King (which I am currently rereading, again), mentions bourbon with Shasta cola (p. 143). He does not disparage it, but then again, he does not praise it. Plus the cola was warm. If I find it, I will have to try it out to find out for myself.
Water. Bourbon and water. The old standby.
Dried apricots. Very tasty with the drink. They actually killed off the high-octane result of the sesame snaps as mentioned above. I bet fresh apricots, not to mention peaches and nectarines, would work out too.
Steak. Well, just about any brown liquor goes great with steak. Beer too.
Ribs. A natural accompaniment to pork ribs, even beef, is the brown stuff. Particularly, bourbon.
Smoked sausage. Notably, Polish, or Slavic or Central European, types. Then again, what does not go with kiełbasa or kabanos?
Everything is more fun with sausage!
Moderation. Have a good time, but do not be a dumbass. See Stupidity, under the NOT category.
blbbl
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