Archive for June 2018

A glass of bourbon

Because I believe in doing proper research for the articles we run here on Interesting Thing of the Day, I am, as I write about National Bourbon Day (June 14), consuming a glass of Old Forester Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whisky (“The First Bottled Bourbon, Estd 1870,” reads the bottle). I’m doing this for you. Because I care.

Bourbon, which by definition can be made only in the United States, has a specific legal definition. According to the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations, Title 27, Chapter I, Subchapter A, Part 5, Subpart C, §5.22, paragraph (1)(i):

“Bourbon whisky”… is whisky produced at not exceeding 160° proof from a fermented mash of not less than 51 percent corn… and stored at not more than 125° proof in charred new oak containers….

In other words: whisky distilled mostly from corn, aged in oak barrels. Yes, I’m deliberately yada-yada-ing some details, but you can look them up if they’re really important to you. What’s important to me is the flavor (delicious) and the intoxicating effect (significant and rapid). I’m told it’s also useful in certain cocktails, but I prefer mine unadulterated, if it’s all the same to you. Cheers!

Image credit: ctj71081 [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Flickr


Source: Interesting Thing of the Day

A moonshine still

I’m not sure what it is about June that requires so much hard alcohol. But in addition to National Moonshine Day (the first Thursday of the month), we can also look forward to World Gin Day (June 9), National Bourbon Day (June 14), and National Martini Day (June 19). In any case, we start with the hardest and most notorious of these—moonshine, which is a high-proof alcoholic beverage distilled mainly from corn mash. That sounds innocent enough, I suppose, but moonshine is typically associated with illicit production (most notably during Prohibition), and until 2010, moonshine was entirely illegal in the United States. Now it can be distilled legally with a proper license, and indeed, brands like Midnight Moon can be found wherever spirits are sold. It can also—under just the right circumstances—be used to fuel a car. But how you obtain your moonshine and what you do with it is none of my business.

Image credit: By Brian Stansberry [CC BY 3.0], from Wikimedia Commons


Source: Interesting Thing of the Day