Maturation in Kentucky is unique in comparison to other whisky producing regions: the oldest Bourbon to be bottled is around 45 years old compared with the oldest Scotch which is around 81 years. So what happens to Bourbon as it passes the ten year mark? What flavors can you expect and what are other key considerations when choosing such a long maturation?
Eric Zandona
A native of the San Francisco Bay Area. Eric Zandona is Director of Spirits Information at the American Distilling Institute, a staff writer for Distiller magazine, and he also runs the website ezdrinking.com. In addition, Eric has authored, edited, and contributed to six books on distilled spirits, including The Bourbon Bible, and The Tequila Dictionary. Eric serves as a "Tequila Jockey" for Tequila Aficionado's web-series Sipping off the Cuff, and regularly speaks about spirits before consumers, producers, and regulators, both in the US and Internationally. In 2017, Eric began an year long residency in Oaxaca drinking, and learning about Mexican gin, rum, whiskey, and agave spirits. Today, he and his family live in Vancouver, Washington.
