Bonjour Y’all — The Bourbon Renaissance
Even though bourbon is a classic American spirit, the origin of its name is French. In Colonial times Bourbon County, Kentucky, which was much larger than it is now, became known for the liquor its people distilled. The county’s name derived from the French royal House of Bourbon. If you want to study bourbon (or Bourbon) consult blogs, books, and articles from people who are much smarter than me.
I adapted this cocktail from the Bourbon Renewal featured in Imbibe magazine. As the French word “renaissance” means rebirth, and as there has been a dramatic resurgence of bourbon’s popularity, I consider this cocktail as an example of the rebirth of the American love affair with bourbon.
The Bourbon Renaissance
2 ounces bourbon
.75 ounces crème de cassis
Juice from 1/4 lemon
.25 ounces super simple syrup
1 dash Angostura bitters
Directions
Combine in shaker with ice, shake like you have beaucoup de joie de vivre, and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
So what’s crème de cassis? It is a blackcurrant liqueur from …… you guessed it, France (another reason why I use a French word in the name of this cocktail). You may be familiar with it because it is an indispensable part of the Kir or Kir Royale. Crème de cassis is not much stronger than wine.
The U.S. and France have a lot of shared history. Enjoy this liquid homage to that shared history.
This is the Renewal, exactly.
A Bourbon Renaissance is a different cocktail which I invented with different ingredients.
I apologize. My recollection is I saw Jeffrey Morgenthaler’s recipe for the Bourbon Renewal, which he created approximately 20 years ago, in Imbibe magazine in 2014 (when I started this blog), slightly changed the proportions, and gave it a French name in order to acknowledge the crème de cassis. I have updated the post to link to the current post I found on Imbibe. What is in your Bourbon Renaissance?