Last year Congress anointed September as National Bourbon Heritage Month as a monthlong celebration of the nation’s official spirit. And who better to discuss the subject than Owen Thomson, 27, the manager at the Adams Morgan bar Bourbon where 140 varieties of the liquor are sold.
Let’s put an end to this, must bourbon come from Kentucky the same way Champagne must come from the Champagne Valley in France?
Almost all bourbons are made in Kentucky, but under law they only have to be made in the United States. They also must be at least 51 percent corn, aged a minimum of two years in a brand new barrel and there can’t be any additives like sugar or coloring. That’s why Jack Daniels isn’t a bourbon. In the final part of the Jack Daniel’s process the whiskey is filtered through a maple sugar charcoal filter. … Given those requirements, I’m always surprised by the variety of tastes you can get with so few ingredients.
Do you have a favorite?
I try a different one every day when I come into the bar so I can remember what each one tastes like. I also like rye, which was the first American whiskey. The German and Irish immigrants arriving on the East Coast grew rye grain, and it wasn’t until they started to move west where corn grew better that they got bourbon.
So bourbon has been around for hundreds of years. Why only now is it getting so much recognition?
The bourbon industry is just starting to come back from Prohibition. To get a really good product you have to age it, and when stocks disappeared during Prohibition many went out of business. … Some are 12, 18 years old and take a while to get on the market and get people interested.
You are also in law school, do you think you’ll pursue a future job that combines law and your love of bourbon?
It’s always a possibility. I’m getting the law degree in case I can’t stay up at night anymore. I love the bar business and I don’t see myself going anywhere.
