By Richard Thomas Bourbon and scotch are arguably the two most famous styles of whiskey. Irish whiskey has its niche, of course, as do non-bourbon American whiskeys like rye. Yet the two big contenders are whiskey’s Kentucky gentleman and its Scotland laird, and that simple fact leads to inevitable comparisons. The ill-informed unfortunately come away with the idea that scotch ...

By Richard Thomas Bourbon pork chili is an idea I came up with for October and November chili parties, born of the need to come up with variations on old fashioned chili con carne. My recipe is a variant of the Cincinnati-style chili recipe my Mother taught me, and the differences stem from three ideas: Turkey chili is common enough, ...

By Richard Thomas Like the bourbon that goes into making it or the colonels of legend who supposedly drank it, the mint julep is every bit as much a part of Kentucky culture as horse racing and hot browns. While the term “mint julep” first appeared in 18th Century America and early juleps were made using rum and gin, under ...

By Richard Thomas With its combination of sweetness and charred smokiness, bourbon was made for pork. That should come as no surprise to any student of Southern culture, since pork was the staple meat Old South. Think about southern hams, southern sausages and the barbecue of North Carolina and Tennessee, or the myriad recipes for pork-flavored soups and stewed greens. ...

By Richard Thomas Rating: A+ Although Pappy Van Winkle has only a middling history as Kentucky bourbon’s go, the label is one of the most rarefied on the market today. As the story goes, Julian P. Van Winkle graduated from Centre College in Kentucky in 1892, went to work for a wholesaler, and gravitated into whiskey-making when he bought the ...