Bully Boy 250TH Edition Bourbon

Bully Boy's 250th Edition Bourbon is a bourbon, so it's built on a mash bill that is at least 51 percent corn and aged in new charred oak. The label doesn't give an age, proof or mash bill, so what follows describes the style and what a bourbon like this usually does in the glass, not measured details of this bottle. The "250th" name points to the United States semiquincentennial, and the bottle is a commemorative release from a Boston-area distillery. Expect the standard bourbon profile: caramel and vanilla from the charred barrel, a toasted-oak backbone, and a corn sweetness, with some baking spice or light rye pepper depending on the grain bill. For a first pour, use a Glencairn glass. The tapered bowl collects the aromas, and a few seconds of nosing will show whether the barrel notes lean toward vanilla and brown sugar or toward toasted wood and spice. Pour about an ounce and a half. Taste it neat first, then add a few drops of room-temperature water. Water loosens the tighter oak and spice notes and brings the sweeter grain and caramel forward, and it softens the alcohol if the proof is on the higher side. A single large cube in a rocks glass works if you want a slower, cooler pour. It mutes some of the aroma, though, so it suits a relaxed drink better than close tasting. In cocktails, bourbon is at its best in an Old Fashioned. Use a sugar cube or about a quarter ounce of rich syrup, two dashes of Angostura bitters, a wide orange peel and a large cube. The corn sweetness and vanilla need very little added sugar. A Manhattan with sweet vermouth and a dash of aromatic bitters, stirred and served up with a cherry, puts the oak and spice against the herbal vermouth. For a Whiskey Sour, shake two ounces of bourbon with three-quarters of an ounce each of fresh lemon juice and simple syrup, and add an egg white if you want a silkier texture. For a Highball, pour over ice, add cold soda water at roughly three parts to one, and finish with a lemon twist. That gives you a long, dry drink where the vanilla and caramel still show. At the table, bourbon suits smoked or barbecued meats, aged cheddar, pecans and dark chocolate, since the sweetness and oak match char and richness.