True American Spirit
BOURBON takes center stage as the liquor of choice in bars and restaurants across the country. BY BARRY KAUFMAN • PHOTOS BY ROB KAUFMAN
Bourbon.
The name alone conjures up an almost instantaneous relaxation of the nerves. In our mind’s eye, we hear the word and instantly we’re transported to a front porch, a gently swaying swing chair, and a rocks glass sparkling with that caramel-colored nectar of Kentucky. It’s a liquor made for the slow pace of the south. Vodka wants to take you out clubbing. Scotch wants to set you down in a leather wingback surrounded by old books and put a cigar in your hand. But bourbon, bourbon just wants you to relax and unwind. In these stressful times, it’s no wonder bourbon’s popularity is on the rise. Couple that with the true patriotism of the only spirit created in the U.S., and you have the perfect storm for making bourbon the fastest-rising spirit in the country. According to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, in 2017, over 23 million 9-liter cases of American Whiskey were sold in the United States, generating over $3.4 billion in revenue for distillers. That includes Tennessee whiskey along with their cross-border competition in Kentucky, but the number is impressive nonetheless. Especially when you consider that just a few years ago, bourbon was considered passé. Writing in Nation’s Restaurant News, David Flaherty wrote, “Changing tastes in the 1960s and early ’70s hit bourbon hard, and “white spirits” such as vodka and unaged rum became popular. Whiskey came to be thought of as a bygone drink of the older generation. By the 1980s, the bourbon industry had seen such a slump that many large distilleries once thought untouchable closed their doors.” 28
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