Taffers Brown Butter Bourbon

Taffers Brown Butter Bourbon comes from Esplanda in Massachusetts, and the name tells you where the flavor is aimed. Brown butter is toasted milk solids, so expect nutty, caramelized, slightly savory-sweet notes layered over the corn-forward sweetness and vanilla that bourbon usually has. The label doesn't give an ABV, age or mash bill, so treat the broader profile as typical of the style rather than measured. Bourbons like this usually bring oak, light char and baking spice, and a butterscotch or toffee note would suit the brown butter theme. Neat is the best first pour. Use about an ounce and a half and let it sit a minute so any alcohol heat settles and the toasted, buttery aromas open up. If it reads sweet or hot, add a few drops of room-temperature water, which often loosens the aromatics. Serving it over one large cube works well too. It chills the pour slowly without diluting it quickly, and a flavored bourbon can taste flat if it goes too cold. A Glencairn is the glass for nosing and small pours. A rocks glass is the better choice for ice or relaxed sipping. In cocktails, the brown butter character suits drinks that already have a sweet or toasty backbone. An Old Fashioned is the clearest fit. Use a small amount of demerara or plain syrup, since the spirit may bring sweetness of its own, plus two dashes of Angostura or orange bitters and an orange peel expressed over the top. A Manhattan with sweet vermouth and aromatic bitters should pair the nutty notes with dried-fruit richness. For a Whiskey Sour, use fresh lemon juice and an egg white if you like. The acidity cuts through the buttery notes, and a dash of bitters adds spice. As a highball, pour over ice with a good ginger ale or soda water and a lemon wedge. That makes a lighter drink that keeps the toasted aroma. At the table, the flavor points toward things that already pair with browned butter: roasted squash, apple or pear desserts, shortbread, pecan pie and aged cheddar.