Chilled bourbon

[JMac72]

Generally speaking I like to keep my favorite bottle of rum and bourbon in the freezer to drink chilled. I find ice or water changes the flavour too much depending on the spirit.

Along the same lines as sun light changing the flavour of bourbon etc....will keeping it constantly chilled do the same thing over time? Do other members enjoy/keep their bourbon chilled as well?

[ratcheer]

I don't do it regularly, but I have done it. Especially with gin or vodka.

Jimmy Russell (longtime master distiller of Wild Turkey) says that is how he enjoys his Rare Breed.

Tim

[funknik]

I tried Rare Breed in the freezer but it hid the alcohol too much and I kind of burned my tongue. Up until earlier this week I liked keeping a WLW SR in the freezer, but I feel like it takes too much of the flavor away when it's cold -- (in this case the sweetness) which was making the bourbon kind of drab. I don't think I'll continue using the freezer to chill whiskey.

[JMac72]

thats one of my main goals as well is to cut down the alcohol back bite. On the downside...chilling the spirit also seems to really beef up some flavour aspects and kill off others....

[bonneamie]

It never occcurred to me to keep bourbon chilled, but after our recent tour at Buffalo Trace one of the tastings offered was chilled bourbon (among other somewhat bizarre things). The chilled bourbon was ok but not something i'd want on a regular basis. It seemed to dull the flavor.

[p_elliott]

Chilling bourbon dulls the flavors of the bourbon, it is best served at room temperature. This is from most everything I have read not claiming to be an expert here.

[MikeDS]

I'm gonna ride the room temperature train here. When it's chilled it tastes "sharper" to me. Like it bites me back (harder than usual).

[independant]

I have never chilled a bottle of bourbon in the feezer but over the winter I would buy a bottle and it will sit in the car all night while I was at work and when I would get it home it would be cold and I found that I really didn't like it. After a few bottles I would wait for a day or two sitting at room temp to drink them.

[Bourbon Geek]

Generally speaking, I think leaving bourbon in the freezer hides too much of the flavor ... However, I do make my own Mint Julep in advance and leave that in the freezer until its time to consume ... Since I think the Julep is meant to be sipped for a long time, freezing the bottle down helps to keep it from prematurely melting the ice ...

I do enjoy my bourbon a little on the chilly side ... so I put it in a shaker with a generous amount of ice ... shake vigorously for 20 - 30 seconds ... then strain out the ice ... That way, I get a chilly drink with just a little water to open up the taste ... without over diluting.

[chefnash51]

Generally speaking, I think leaving bourbon in the freezer hides too much of the flavor ... However, I do make my own Mint Julep in advance and leave that in the freezer until its time to consume ... Since I think the Julep is meant to be sipped for a long time, freezing the bottle down helps to keep it from prematurely melting the ice ...

I have always be told, and read the oposite. To Quote Chuck Cowdery:

Whenever the subject of mint juleps comes up, I like to enlighten people about their true nature. Misunderstandings about mint juleps, especially involving people who only know them from Churchill Downs at Derby, have led to this venerable drink gaining a bad reputation.

What I want to clear up is this. The mint julep is not a cocktail. It is not meant to be sipped and savored. The proper way to drink a mint julep is to drain it within 30 seconds of making it. Otherwise the whiskey become too diluted.

The next time you do mint juleps, at least try one my way. You'll see that it is a completely different and, I believe, much more satisfying experience.

http://www.straightbourbon.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-5275.html

- but I enjoy one either way.