Bourbon Curious

(This review will appear on December 4, 2019, on the "Stories Are My Life blog - https://phlipside.wordpress.com/)

Bourbon Curious - A Tasting Guide for the Savvy Drinker with Tasting Notes for Dozens of New Bourbons by Fred Minnick (Quarto Publishing Group - Harvard Common Press)(2nd Edition)

Bourbon did not arrive in my life until my 50s.  Mine was a beer and martini family, with a little wine.  As an adult, it was beer, wine, and gin and tonics in the summer.  It was at a friend's house that my bourbon deficiency was noted and treated.  I'm afraid that it may have resulted in some happy, drunken texts on the subject as well.  Another story for another day.

What I discovered was the smooth feel of bourbon which ends in a wonderful bite.  The mellow flavors of vanilla, caramel, cinnamon and more that swirl through the dark liquid.  It truly was love at first sip.

I have spent several decades learning about wine.  While far from an expert, I can identify and enjoy some of the complexities of the fruit of the vine.  I wasn't sure where to start that same exploration of this most American of liquors.

Now I do.  "Bourbon Curious" is a perfect starting point for beginners, a fine refresher for advanced drinkers, and, best of all, a resource that clears away some of the mythic underbrush that surrounds bourbon.  Because most of what most people think they "know" about bourbon is wrong.  (No, it doesn't have to come from Kentucky.  You'll find out why.)

Enter Fred Minnick, an award-winning writer on the subject and a Wall Street Journal best-selling author.  This guy knows bourbon (he even teaches classes on the subject.  Add that to my bucket list!), but the best part of the book is that it is easy to read.  Filled with advice, history, mythology and good stories, "Bourbon Curious" will let you choose the bourbon path you want to follow.  As a beginner, I skipped over much of the brand recommendations.  I'm not ready for most of that.  Instead, I focused on the taste profiles, and I'm just starting to figure out which brand I want to try next.  I also feel like I have some understanding of the language used to describe the wonders of this amber delight.

So, here's a perfect book for this time of year.  If you have a bourbon lover on your list, add this book (and perhaps a bottle of their favorite) under the tree.  The same goes if you are trying to help someone understand your love for the American classic.  It will be appreciated, and keep the conversation going long into the new year.

"Bourbon Curious" is available now.

Rating - **** Recommended

This review was based on an Advanced Reader Copy from the publisher and conforms to our Review Policy.

Sooo... wow.
This isn't exactly a "simple tasting guide", it's more like a college textbook on bourbon.
I am "bourbon curious", but I'm not THIS bourbon curious.
I would recommend this book not for the bourbon curious, but for the Biggest Bourbon Lover you know. For the bourbon obsessed. For the person in your life who wants to know every last detail of the history of bourbon.
And if you know that person, or are that person, then this is your dream book. It's not a beautiful coffee table book, and it's not a book for someone who is merely curious or wants more information to enjoy their tastings. It's really an overload of verbose info laid out in more of a textbook fashion, followed by a detailed encyclopedia of every bourbon that takes over half the book.

I am bourbon curious, but this book was way too much for me. Someone else may love this book, but I am not that person.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book! I am not a huge drinker, but when I do, I drink expensive bourdon whiskey. This book was fascinating and super informative. I loved the attention to detail about the bourdon and the process of making it. I need this book to reference to!
#bourdoncurious #Netgalley

First, what a fantastic title. Recently I've been on "reading about food" trip. From the history of salt, five drinks that changed the world, to all about French foods, I want to learn about food. This is my that combines the history, with a practical how to guide. I loved how into Bourbon the author is. I mean I guess I should have guessed that, seeing as how he wrote a book about it, but the author's passion was felt in every turn of phrase, picture and story. I will admit, that prior to reading this book, I was a Bourbon acolyte and did not know a lot about Bourbon. While by no means an expert, after finishing this book, I feel like I have a decent, dare I say, intermediate knowledge about Bourbon? I hope that every subject under the sun has an author who can delight the reader with their knowledge and passion for the subject.

Bourbon curious 2nd edition by Fred Minnick Recently released this is an imperative read for anyone who is interested in bourbon and whiskey. Anyone from a bourbon newb to a bourbon geek. Fred m
Minnick discusses the basic requirements for bourbon and then goes into much more detail about the elements. He discusses how each element effects the final product. From the selection and aging of the oak for the barrels to the grains, even their genetics, the distillation equipment and process itself, how the rack house construction effects the bourbon. It has a significant section on the process of tasting. The book ends with 127 pages of detailed notes and pictures of different whiskeys details and their tasting notes. There are tasting notes cover some products that few people will ever get to try everyday whiskey that anyone can buy off the shelf. There were several items that were very thought provoking like how modern grains vs heritage varieties may be affecting flavors of distillate and how since most timber is 2nd and 3rd growth it is different than barrels that may have been produced from old growth timber.
In summary this book is a must buy for any person even remotely interested in whiskey. Buy yourself a paper copy or buy and download yourself one and get yourself a pour of whiskey and ENJOY!

This book says that it is a simple tasting guide, but it is so much more than that. It gives an entire history of bourbon, the definition, how it is made and what influences the flavor, the quality of ingredients, how long it is aged, and of course how to taste it. It breaks the bourbons down into categories according to the most prominent flavor, which makes it an excellent drinking guide. If you're at a loss for what you should be drinking look no further than this "simple tasting guide."

Having been to many distillery's in the past year, Bourbon Curious peaked my curiosity to learn more about bourbon. Incredibly in-depth and detailed, Bourbon Curious would probably be better suited for aficionados rather than the casual sipper.

This book is aimed at hose who are serious about Bourbon to truly enjoy and appreciate this books. I learned a lot but I'll be honest, I didn't read all of it. I skimmed and read the areas that were of interested to me.
I love the photos graphs and how the layout was set up: quick cool facts, charts about each brand.
I would definitely buy this for someone who is serious about their liquor.

Being a newcomer to the subtleties of Bourbon, I was beyond thrilled to receive this e-book from NetGalley!
This easy to read guide to understanding and enjoying Bourbon is broken down into three parts.
Part One - History, Legends and Contemporary Truths explains useful information as to the types of bourbon produced and its importance to the United States. Part Two - Sources of Flavor focuses on the production of the liquor. Lastly, Part Three - Tasting, identifies quite a few distilleries, the attributes of the bourbon they produce and what you should expect of it in a tasting, the color, nose, palate and finish.
I love this book and have already purchased a copy for my son. I may even purchase a few more for the men in my life as gifts throughout the year.
If you're interested in this type of beverage, I highly recommend this book.
Thank you Netgalley, the author and publisher for the e-book of this superb book.

I love to drink my whiskey bourbons, and when I do, I like the good stuff. This is a great book that explains what makes bourbon bourbon, how it is made, and how to properly taste and drink it to get the full effect. This book is great for newbies to bourbon, but even veterans can take something away. I highly recommend this book, and will be giving it as a gift to family members who also love their bourbon. Thank you to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I actually read this novel in about a week, shortly before I fell down life’s rabbit hole five months ago. I am ticking it off my to be reviewed list now because of a resolution I made yesterday.

So what sticks with me about this book after five months? I definitely enjoyed the narrative portion better than the portion cataloguing and evaluating the myriad of American bourbons. The book was roughly divided in half between the narrative and the catalogue, if not skewed in favor of the catalogue.

The narrative section was quite well written, and reinforced what I had learned during my past year’s bourbon distillery tours in Connecticut and Texas. (I have toured Heaven Hill in Kentucky, but that was roughly nine years ago, so I really don’t remember much of it.). The occasional humor was tasteful and inoffensive, but I still laughed out loud at certain points.

The catalogue section was hyper detailed, so much so that my eyes started to glaze over after twenty or so pages. My guess is that only a madman (or madwoman in my case) would endeavor to read that section from front to back. It was clearly meant to be a reference: to look up the characteristics of a specific bourbon that you were contemplating buying or tasting, and to explore certain types of bourbons to select one to buy or taste. As a reference, the catalogue was fairly exhaustive.

I received this book as a digital advance reader copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Being from Kentucky, I feel like it's my duty to know as much as possible about bourbon and the bourbon industry. This book provides a lot of information about the different flavor profiles of bourbon and suggestions for brands to try based on those tastes. It's a concise and easy to read book for anyone interested in exploring the world of bourbon and would make a great gift for a bourbon enthusiast.

My Review:

Bourbon Curious is the first book I have read from this author and it's really good. This ARC was provided in exchange for my honest opinion.

The book is divided into four main parts as it regards to flavors which is very helpful. My favorite of course is the caramel. I also learned that there are more than fifty brands, who knew?

I highly recommend this book either for you if you are a bourbon drinker or as a guest, you can't go wrong.