Punchers Bourbon

Punchers Bourbon is a bourbon from Esplanda. The details on file give no age, proof, mash bill or distillery location, so the notes below describe what the category usually delivers, not a measured profile of this bottle. By US rules, bourbon is made from at least 51 percent corn and aged in new, charred oak. That is where the style gets its caramel and vanilla sweetness and its toasted wood backbone. Expect a nose of vanilla, brown sugar and light oak, and a palate with some corn sweetness. Rye or malted barley in the grain bill, if present, would add a little baking spice and dryness. Finishes in this style tend to be warm and lightly charred, without peat smoke. To judge it first, pour a small measure neat and let it sit a minute. Nose it before sipping, because the aromas of vanillin and char are easiest to read before the alcohol dulls them. If it feels hot or tight, add a few drops of room-temperature water. Water loosens the tighter oak and spice notes and lets the grain sweetness show. A single large ice cube is the better choice if you like it cold. It chills slowly and dilutes less than small cubes, so the sweetness stays rounded and the oak doesn't turn bitter. Crushed or small ice will thin a bourbon of unknown proof quickly. An Old Fashioned (two ounces of bourbon, a sugar cube or a teaspoon of rich syrup, two or three dashes of Angostura bitters, an orange peel) shows off the vanilla and oak. A Manhattan, made with sweet vermouth and bitters, suits bourbon's rounder profile, and it is a little softer than the rye version. For a Whiskey Sour, shake bourbon with fresh lemon juice and simple syrup, and add egg white if you want a silkier texture. A Highball is the simplest option: bourbon over ice, topped with soda water and a lemon wedge, or with ginger ale for a sweeter drink. For glassware, a Glencairn or tulip-shaped glass concentrates the aromas, so use it when you want to compare the nose and palate. A rocks glass is the right choice for sipping over ice and for building an Old Fashioned directly in the glass. A tall highball glass keeps the soda carbonated and the drink cold.