Cocktails with Bourbon
Bourbon is an American whisky distilled from a fermented mash of at least 51 percent corn and aged in charred new oak.
ABV40–50%
Taste profile
Corn-sweet on the palate, carrying vanilla and caramel from the char, with a woody, toasted-oak aroma and a medium, rounded body.
How it's used
Poured as the base measure, it anchors stirred and built drinks with high strength and barrel-derived aroma; smaller quantities lend corn-sweet, oaky depth as an accent. It needs no added sugar of its own, so its rounded sweetness is often balanced against acidity or bitterness in the build.
Substitutes for Bourbon
Another American charred-oak whisky preserves the profile best: Tennessee whiskey is the closest swap, matching the corn mash and new-oak aging with only a slight charcoal-mellowed softening of grain edge, while rye whiskey holds the strength and barrel character but runs drier and spicier from its rye-dominant mash.
Often confused with
Bourbon requires a mash of at least 51 percent corn, whereas American rye whiskey requires at least 51 percent rye. The two otherwise share the same distillation ceiling of 160 proof, barrel-entry ceiling of 125 proof and new charred oak aging; the corn base skews bourbon sweeter and fuller, while rye is drier and spicier.
