Bourbon & Food Pairings: The Best Things to Eat with Bourbon
Having a bourbon straight-up after a long day of work or maybe an old fashioned during happy hour are common these days. And you may think of bourbon as only a pre-dinner drink, but in fact bourbon pairs well with many dinner and dessert options. Not sure where to start? Don’t worry, we have you covered with these great bourbon and food pairings guaranteed to spice up your next dinner party.
Complementing and Contrasting
Food and liquor pairings are all about complementing the flavors of the spirit or contrasting them. Bourbon tends to be sweeter than other whiskeys, coming from the aged process in the charred oak barrels. However, some bourbons are described as spice, wood-forward, or grain-forward. It is important to understand the specific bourbon you are drinking to help you determine what flavors go best with it. Typically, you are looking for foods that complement the flavor of the bourbon, helping to bring out the subtle notes. Or you are looking for foods that contrast the flavor, but still go well with your spirit.
Fatty Meats & Cheeses
Bourbon has a higher alcohol content than wine or beer, which you typically find in food pairings, but that doesn’t mean you cannot enjoy your appetizers and dinner with your favorite cocktail. Consider coating your mouth with fatty meats like ham and salmon. When the bourbon hits your mouth, it does amazing things to the fat and flavors in these meats.
Another great way to enjoy bourbon and food is combining it with aged cheeses. Try it with an aged gouda or a beautiful 10-year-old aged cheddar. Your pallet will be surprised by all the new flavor combinations you will encounter in these pairings.
Spice & Smoke
Sometimes pairing a bourbon with a spicy meal can be overwhelming to the pallet, but it can be fun to experiment with different spice recipes. The heat from paprika or jerk seasoning can be a very different experience than the spice from a habanero or jalapeño pepper.
Although spicy foods may or may not pair well with your bourbon, smoky flavors are a sure win. Enjoy your bourbon with grilled meats, especially fatty ones like brisket or rib-eye steak. The smoke from the grill will complement the charred oak flavor in the bourbon.
Bourbon & Dessert
The sweet flavor of bourbon goes extraordinarily well with desserts. Milk chocolate is a fantastic pairing with bourbon. Try a few pieces the next time you are enjoying your after-dinner cocktail. Baked goods can also pair well with bourbon, particularly pecan pie–which more often has bourbon inside the recipe in addition to a cocktail on the side.
Southern Recipes
When in doubt, stick to southern recipes. After all, bourbon did originate in the south and although great bourbons are made throughout the country, you will find delicious pairings with any southern dish.
Cheers!
We don’t just make whiskey, we make a difference.
Tell us what you want to see in future blog posts. You can do that by sending your feedback to Josh at jvandenberg@eightoaksdistillery.com.
We’ll work as many questions into future posts as we can, and for those topics selected we’ll make sure to send you a fun prize pack.