Sipping the New Bourbons at Bending Branch

Bending Branch has started offering bourbon. Not just any kind of bourbon, but authentic Kentucky bourbon. Amie Nemec and I recently visited Bending Branch to do a tasting of the bourbons with CEO Dr. Bob Young and President Alison Young who also holds the title of Master Blender.

After a little tour of the pavilion with the bourbon trailer, which is used for food prep, we sat underneath the shade of the large tree to do the bourbon barrel tasting. Dr. Bob explained the bourbon products that were launched in February are true Kentucky bourbons.

Dr. Bob and Alison toured Kentucky distilleries to find the best in the state from which to source their bourbons. Why Kentucky bourbon? Dr. Bob grew up in Harrodsburg, Kentucky, so he has a longing for the area and a natural love of bourbon. He explained the first corn crop used for distilling bourbon was done in 1775 in Harrodsburg, so bourbon has always been a way of life in Kentucky.

There are currently four bourbons offered by Bending Branch:

• Bending Branch 1840 Kentucky Straight Hye Rye Bourbon
  • Mash bill: 75% corn, 21% rye, 4% malted barley
• Bending Branch 1840 Kentucky Straight 4-Grain Bourbon
  • Mash bill: 64% corn, 12% wheat, 12% rye, 12% malted barley
• ChickenDuck High Rye Bourbon
  • Mash bill: 75% corn, 21% rye, 4% malted barley
• ChickenDuck Wheated Bourbon
  • Mash bill: 51% corn, 45% wheat, 4% malted barley

What does all that mean? The mash bill (recipe) almost looks like a description of a blended wine. It is very similar. For a whiskey to be considered a bourbon, its mash must contain at least 51% corn. The rest of the mash can then contain other grains, but no additives can be added to the mash. There are some other requirements too, but the mash was interesting to see, especially when we learned that Dr. Bob invented the mash bill for the 4-Grain bourbon. He said there are few four-grain bourbons in the world, but they are getting more popular.

But what is a ChickenDuck? Alison named the bourbon after two of the original chickens and ducks that roamed the vineyard. It’s also a name that will stick in your mind. Bending Branch has always been the innovators of products like being the first Texas winery that had a Flash Détente unit. Innovation is taking place with the ChickenDuck bourbons too mixing tradition along with cutting-edge technology. The advanced extraction technology used in ChickenDuck gives them the qualities of bourbons aged four years, but they were only aged for six months. Don’t tell your favorite bourbon lover that when you have them taste the ChickenDuck!

The 1840 bourbons are born in Kentucky and aged both in Kentucky and finish aging in Texas. The ChickenDucks are aged entirely in Texas. The plan is to continue doing the 1840 bourbon aging in both Kentucky and Texas, but ChickenDuck will continue to age only in Texas.

At the time of our visit, the bourbons were only being served neat, but the plan is to do cocktails soon. I primarily drink my spirits neat but count me in for an Old Fashioned next time!