The 'Finish' of any alcoholic drink retells the story

[Mike]

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.

[ebo]

Thank you for another great post, Mike. I do so enjoy reading your posts.

[393foureyedfox]

especially after he's had a drink or five

[Squire]

Got to agree Mike, an otherwise fine whisky without a finish is like an attractive woman without makeup.

[393foureyedfox]

or finding that the hot woman you brought home wasnt a woman....


or so ive heard

[Wasatch]

Very nicely said Mike.

[Bob Barker]

Great explanation and I totally agree that makers mark is a crowd pleaser not a bourbon of serious merit.

[EllenJ]

In another recent post, I noted that in some cases a lingering finish is NOT what is desired.

Like most of us here, I prefer to drink my whiskey neat. And, unless the finish is a bad one, the longer it lingers the more I enjoy it. At a recent gathering, Vince brought (and left, OMG! Thank you, Vince) two bottles of 10+ year old barrel-strength Four Roses, the OBSF and OESF mashbills. Holy Goodnight! The flavor of both then continues to linger right into nextl Tuesday! And it just keeps changing the whole while. Fabulous stuff...

... to sip neat. Perhaps not so fabulous to make a Manhattan or an Old Fashion from. Nor any of a number of other classic whiskey cocktails. Some (me included) feel that the whiskey should dominate the first sip of a Manhattan, and the vermouth and bitters should be the lingering factor, with the wormwood in the vermouth as the final note. That also makes you want to order another one right away, and I think that's why even knowledgable bartenders tend to favor Canadian whisky over bourbon in such cocktails. Typically, the flavor of Canadian whisky practically slams shut immediately after swallowing.

So, while myself and many of us prefer drinking a bourbon with a powerful nose and front end flavor, a mid-taste with layers of different treats-for-the-tongue, and a long and ever-changing finish, I think there are many in the bar biz (certainly a major target customer base) who would just as soon have a subdued lingering whiskey flavor, or even none at all.

[393foureyedfox]

i like a good bite as it hits the mouth (bookers is the best example i can think of) and a lingering aftertaste and continued bite (think the maply, cinnamony warmth of KC 120). i drink 'em neat too. something odd about 'cold' bourbon if you add ice to it, to me at least. oddly, ive never had a cocktail.....so i dont know what my take would be on those. friends used to tease me that i 'drank like a girl' because i enjoyed vodka or rum mixed with fruit juices....then when I found a bourbon that peaked my interest, i ended up taking right to drinking 120 proofers neat and would rather do without than have an 80 proofer. odd, i guess.

[devilscut]

That is actually the correct way to do it. I might only add to that; maybe a drop or two of distilled water and in the right glass, like a Glencairn.

[Squire]

Your point is well taken John.

[gillmang]

Vince made one of the finest minglings I've had in a long time. He combined both 4R BS bourbons (low and hi-rye specs) equally and it produced a "silk bomb" if that makes any sense. All present agreed it trumped the two on their own.

Finish is wood-driven basically. It's good if you like that style of whiskey. I do, since it's integral to the palate of bourbon and straight rye.

Canadian whisky, unless very old in which case even reused barrel tannin finds its way into the spirit, has no back end because it eschews the new charred barrel, at least for 100% of the aging.

Gary

[GBrough]

Mike you have taught me how to enjoy bourbon more than people i know in real life. The reason i dont like MM is it dies mid palate then it gets bitter near the finish my hatred of Old No.7 is due to an overall bad impression based on my palate which is creamy and spicy and it lacks all of it.

All whisk(e)y has a story to tell, it just takes time to tune in on it.

[393foureyedfox]

All whisk(e)y has a story to tell, it just takes time to tune in on it.

like some good jazz.....no one gets it at first, but one day it just hits and its like an ear orgasm...

Makers is the Bieber of bourbons....interesting for those who dont require much input/stimulus.

[EllenJ]

Vince made one of the finest minglings I've had in a long time. He combined both 4R BS bourbons (low and hi-rye specs) equally and it produced a "silk bomb" if that makes any sense. All present agreed it trumped the two on their own

Allowing for a little bit of oversimplfication, what Vince produced was basically Mariage, a Four Roses specialty bottling. Mariage is a mixture of just two of the ten "recipes" (which two are used changes with each release) and is bottled at barrel strength. I missed Vince's offering, but he left both bottles (thank you, Vince) and I poured that same combination earlier this evening even before reading your post. It's everything you say it is, but then I've always loved the Mariage combinations.