My recent post about which Girl Scout cookie goes best with bourbon drew lots of attention and comment, and many of you have subsequently been busy conducting your own taste tests.
Several people noted that Maker’s Mark paired well with Thin Mints. (As you might recall, I found in my sample that Thin Mints went best with the 1792 Ridgemont Reserve, calming the fire set by pairing the minty cookie with Rock Hill Farms.)
“Thin Mints are dynamite with Maker’s Mark! It’s kind of like a wintertime mint julep with chocolate,” one reader wrote.
Clearly, more research was in order. So I poured a little Maker’s Mark, crunched into a Thin Mint and took a sip. It is a nice pairing. And it makes sense that it would be, because Maker’s is a wheated bourbon – in other words, the small grain used in the mash bill is wheat, rather than rye. Rye tends to add a spicy note to bourbon that exploded when combined with the mint in the cookie; the wheat complements the mint rather than competing with it.
To further test this combination (I am nothing if not thorough), I tried a Thin Mint with Larceny, a new wheated bourbon from Heaven Hill. I liked this pairing even better. Larceny has a slightly higher proof than Maker’s and a bit more complexity to my palate, which made for a more interesting overall taste sensation.
Any other favorite pairings out there? Let me know.
