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Bourbon Tour, Oct. 2-4.

Unread postPosted: Fri Aug 29, 2008 5:45 pm
by cowdery
I'm told that American Table Culinary Tours is having trouble filling up its Kentucky Bourbon Trail tour, scheduled for October 2-4. If you're interested, you have to register by next Wednesday, September, 3. The web site says Monday, but the Director of the group tells me they can take registrations until Wednesday. The nice thing about a tour like this is that you don't have to drive. Anyway, the details are here.

Re: Bourbon Tour, Oct. 2-4.

Unread postPosted: Fri Sep 05, 2008 12:34 pm
by bourbonv
The tour is on and they have asked me to do double duty on Saturday and do a talk on whiskey punches. So Gary, have you got any ideas on what I should talk about? I am thinking some old recipes and their role in pre-prohibition bourbon drinking.

Re: Bourbon Tour, Oct. 2-4.

Unread postPosted: Sat Sep 06, 2008 3:09 am
by gillmang
Mike, you may want to discuss the punch recipes in Jerry Thomas' famous book on cocktails (which you probably have in its original form but is available online, too, I can direct you if necessary). He has many recipes for whiskey and other punches, some as I recall specifically for bourbon. This may be a good way to elucidate the 1800's idea of punch and the role spirits and whiskey played in its composition.

Gary

Re: Bourbon Tour, Oct. 2-4.

Unread postPosted: Sat Sep 06, 2008 9:35 am
by bourbonv
Gary,
That is similar to what I had in mind. I was also going to discuss the role of the punch at social functions of the 19th century.

Re: Bourbon Tour, Oct. 2-4.

Unread postPosted: Sun Sep 07, 2008 6:06 pm
by cowdery
The Old Fashioned is a good example of a whiskey punch that was ultimately converted into a by-the-drink recipe.

I'm glad to hear the tour came together.

Re: Bourbon Tour, Oct. 2-4.

Unread postPosted: Mon Sep 08, 2008 8:11 am
by gillmang
Exploring the sematic origins of punch may be of interest too, the term derives from a Hindi word I believe which meant a beverage of 4 or 5 ingredients. The British would have adopted, or adapted, the word for an alcoholic mixture and thence to America via the Colonial influx and trade.

Today you hear the term only rarely in a bibulous context, it died out rather abruptly after the Second World War, although traces remain.

I like punches which incorporate Champagne, it seems to give a festive and the final luxuriant/decadent touch to a riot of flavors and colours. Perhaps it is true to say I like the idea of punch more than punch itself. At the last SB Sampler, I offered a punch to all comers as a prelude to our Friday night dinner and received plaudits all round. The recipe was called Bourbon Punch and came from the Internet. It had a peach concentrate in it that gave a great flavour when combined with the bourbon (I used Very Old Barton in different proofs, kindly provided by SB-er Dave Gonano). I was worried how to handle the peach element until by pure chance, when having a coffee in a Timothy's behind a LCBO outlet in Toronto (local fine coffee chain), I saw a row of fruit extracts for sale under the Timothy name. They make them for addition to their coffees. They are made from natural ingredients and sugar and the peach one worked well in the punch. The other ingredients were Champagne (we used Californian which was fine), and orange juice and lemons, and I think that was it. It was very potent and most agreed it drank best on ice.

Gary