Pair it up! To celebrate National BBQ month in May, the team at Moonshine University decided to put a favorite summertime combo to the test by finding the perfect bourbon to pair with your favorite BBQ sauce. After assembling a tasting team made up of top bourbon experts and BBQ lovers to perfectly pair one classic American tradition with another, they shared the final details with Catersource. Here’s a look: This mayonnaise-based sauce hails from northern Alabama. Beyond mayo, this sauce includes apple cider vinegar, sugar, salt, and black pepper. Tasters at Moonshine U found the sauce to be very mayonnaise forward, much like ranch dressing but with a slight vinegar tinge. • Bourbon Pairing: Booker’s The higher proof of the Booker’s was mellowed out by the oil in the sauce, letting a lot of the flavors in the bourbon to come out in a way they didn’t on their own. Dialing back the alcohol burn really opened the bourbon and since the sauce wasn’t wildly flavorful, tasters didn’t feel anything was lost in the bourbon or in the sauce. It was a nice juxtaposition, pairing the mellowness of the sauce with the boldness of the bourbon. This sauce, as the name would indicate, is a mustard-based sauce instead of a typical ketchup or tomato base. The flavor profile is like many of the red barbecue sauces, sweet and spicy. Tasters loved this sauce. It was slightly sweet, a little tangy, and carried a nice balance between apple cider vinegar and mustard. It was loudly exclaimed by a member of the tasting panel, “Ain’t nothing wrong with that sauce!” • Bourbon Pairing: Maker’s Mark Maker’s Mark was a perfect complement to this sauce. The sweetness of the bourbon matched the sweetness of the sauce just right and both flavor profiles complemented each other perfectly. Every time tasters took a sip after a bite or a bite after a sip, different flavors popped out, often blending together to create a tangy mustard with a sweet, subtle oak flavor and leaving a light candy flavor aftertaste. Maker’s Mark also makes a terrific mint julep. Photo courtesy Mintahoe Catering Want to learn more? Click here for the full article.
