Now You're Cooking with Bourbon...
Image via Southern Living. |
Now, it was a sunny, lazy Sunday morning -- kind of a picture-postcard day -- and we decided it would be a lovely time to play "native Kentuckian" for these folks. (
Later, my beau would jokingly say of the encounter, "This is so going in HerKentucky, isn't it?") So, I gave our new friend a mini lesson on
Derby Pie -- how nearly every Kentucky restaurant sells a variant of Derby Pie, but are bound by trademark restrictions to call it something else, how she definitely wanted to try it before she went home, etc. As she asked more questions about the pastry and its preperation, I went into the basic instructions of how to make a Kentucky pie-- chocolate, walnuts, and a heavy splash of
Maker's Mark.
"Does it have to be
Maker's Mark, or can you use any bourbon?" the lady then asked.
Image via Maker's Mark. |
I first explained to our fellow diner that I always use Maker's Mark in baking because the three distinct notes -- smokiness, caramel, and a hint of vanilla -- provide a complex counterbalance to chocolate. This flavor profile compliments the chocolate flavor deliciously. My beau then took over from there, noting that Maker's is distilled in a very unique manner, using red winter wheat instead of rye, which creates a smooth and caramel-textured bourbon.
By this time, the youngest member of the dining party had returned from paying the check. His mother asked us to repeat a few details for his benefit, to which he replied "Do you work for Maker's Mark?'
"No," my beau and I said, almost in unison. "we just really like bourbon."