Many National Bourbon Day Cocktails in Kentucky Aren’t Worth Celebrating
Last year at a high-level Kentucky whiskey industry event I requested a Manhattan. When the genial “bartender” merely poured me bourbon on the rocks, I asked about the vermouth and bitters. “I don’t know about that,” she said. “Can you tell me what to put in?” I settled for whiskey on the rocks.
In case you didn’t know, National Bourbon Day was celebrated on June 14. In Kentucky, the day sees celebrations cheering the most American of spirits, though most gatherings are small, subdued and at bars where one visits regularly on Friday.
Distilleries mark the day with clever cocktails at their visitor experiences, as do the state’s growing number of rock solid and innovative cocktail bars. Elsewhere, however, and especially outside of larger cities Kentucky cities, bourbon cocktails are lacking.
I know, clutch the pearls! Many Kentucky barkeeps haven’t mastered even the basics of bourbon cocktails. Order an old fashioned at many bars, office parties or wedding receptions here and you’ll get a hapless rendition of the easy-peasy, three ingredient standard. It’ll be 90-proof (or less) bourbon, some cane simple syrup, and a muddled fruit mass of an orange slice and a shockingly fake red maraschino cherry (stem likely attached).