How to Taste

When I first heard the name “Michter’s” a few years ago, I assumed it was a Dutch surname. I knew that the brand name had originated in Pennsylvania in the mid-1970s at a distillery that went bankrupt in 1990, and…

The host of a private bourbon event, “Cooking with Bourbon,” that I attended last week started us off with a version of the Flavor Wheel exercise that chef Ouita Michel shares during Woodford Reserve’s Bourbon Academy to illustrate how well (or…

  Fall arrived in Kentucky bearing a hint of chill in the air. Which, of course, makes me think of bourbon. While I enjoy bourbon year-round, I especially appreciate its warming qualities during the fall and winter. One of the…

Jim Beam master distiller Fred Noe began a private tasting for members of the Bourbon Women Association (and a couple of spouses) by sharing the four-step bourbon-tasting process he learned from his father, Booker Noe: 1. Observe the color. Generally, the…

That was the name of an educational tasting session led by master taster Peggy Noe Stevens, founder of the Bourbon Women Association, at the Kentucky Bourbon Festival in Bardstown, Ky., on Friday. The sold-out event drew women (and a few…

I once had the great good fortune to participate as Chris Morris, master distiller for Woodford Reserve, created two Personal Selections for Bluegrass Hospitality Group. We started with 10 samples, narrowed that to four, combined those into six new blends and finally…

If you’re just beginning to explore the wide world of bourbon, you may be a little intimidated. What’s the best way to get started? I asked Peggy Noe Stevens, the world’s first Master Bourbon Taster and the founder of the…