by Mike » Fri Jun 28, 2013 5:28 pm
As one grows in experience with enjoying any alcoholic drink, one learns that the finish completes its story. Most of us start out, as is to be expected, with the initial impressions......... does it have good upfront sweetness, is there a mid-palate taste, and, by that time we have made a decision as to its quality, we have little time for the finish. First impressions count for a lot, too much in fact.
I give as an example, the famous/infamous Maker's Mark, a favorite whipping boy for self-described bourbon experts (e.g. me)......... in part, because it is very popular with the would be hip among bourbon lovers. But also because it perfectly describes what I wish to convey. Long, long, have I said that Maker's Mark is a very good bourbon, but not a great bourbon. It never achieves greatness........ why?....... because it has a poor finish, it dies at midpalate.
Why is that? In its way, Maker's Mark is a masterpiece of bourbon making, even as it is not a masterpiece of bourbon. It is a wheat bourbon, softer from the get go, and, in my opinion, something of an challenge for a good finish. But, it has more upfront sweetness, and less bourbon bite, which to first time bourbon drinkers, and those not really interested in exploring bourbon in its varieties, is an asset. It allows the timid among bourbon drinkers to claim bourbon as their drink.
Now, before you run me out of town on a rail, I am not really interested in the Marker's Mark only bourbon drinkers....... God Bless Them, I say, let them make their noise and dance on the tables. I am about the business of bourbon here!!
Maker's Mark is young bourbon, and relies on first impressions, and it (OK, Y'ALL THIS IS AN OPINION) dies mid-palate. Only real bourbon lovers will notice that (ever wonder why Jack Daniel's Black Label and Jim Beam White sell more than ALL other American Whiskies combined sell.......... may I be so bold as to remind you that you are reading from the site called 'BourbonEnthusiast').
Again, Maker's Mark is not a bad bourbon, and I drink it on occasion (although there is none in my cabinet, and when I do drink it is in from 50 ml bottles). Maker's Mark 46 is a much better bourbon, primarily because it has more oak exposure (although somewhat forced, but nothing wrong with that), and the finish makes it a more complete bourbon.
So, what does a great finish to a bourbon whiskey achieve? It repeats the story of what the bourbon is......... not in detail, but in essence. Nothing that is important in the taste of a bourbon (at least not in a great, and especially not in an exceptional bourbon) is left out in the finish. The bourbon's story will be retold, in an abbreviated form, in the finish. If the story was not a good one, the finish will have nothing to retell.
Want to know the difference twixt a good, a great, and an exceptional bourbon? To a great degree, it will lie in the finish, where the bourbon story lives again. Cheap bourbons may have a good and quite passable opening, but the finish will not bear out their story. Try it and see for yourself.
Allow me to reiterate a warning all should note regarding alcoholic beverages, THEY ARE DANGEROUS. THEY ARE DANGEROUS TO ALL YOU HOLD DEAR. AN ASSUMPTION BEHIND EVERYTHING I SAY REGARDING BOURBON LIES THE BELIEF THAT YOU ARE A MATURE INDIVIDUAL WHO KNOWS AND HAS THE GOOD SENSE TO WEIGH THE RISKS OF ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION. ALCOHOL CAN AND DOES, WAY TOO OFTEN, RUIN LIVES. THE OTHER SIDE OF THAT COIN IS THAT SERIOUS REGULATION OF ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION HAS PROVED TO BE IMPOSSIBLE AND INVITES CORRUPTION ON A MASSIVE SCALE.
And, really more important, the consumption and enjoyment of bourbon embodies the story of human beings as they deal with the issues of life...... as we must learn to measure our responses to life, so must we learn to measure how we consume bourbon. To deny ourselves the pleasures of bourbon in an attempt to avoid the contentious issues of life, is to deny that we can manage them. Some, too many perhaps, can not manage these issues (and all of us at times fail to manage these life issues well) in regard to alcohol, or drugs, or other forms of addiction........... but, live with them we must. They ARE our issues.
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rage at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light. - Dylan Thomas