the drunken botanist / By Amy Stewart

Peach Wonderfulness

(Sept. 8, 2011)  It is almost too late to write this column — almost. Peach season is winding down, but as of this writing I’m still getting sweet, local summer peaches in the market. So move quickly. You might need to get this done tonight.

We begin, of course, with bourbon. Maybe you’re not a big bourbon drinker; I never was, either. I once made some sort of bourbon and baked brie appetizer for Thanksgiving and bought the smallest bottle I could, knowing I’d have no other use for the stuff.

Peachy AMY STEWART

GALLERY >

I was crazy. I was wrong.

Bourbon, if you’re not already acquainted with it, is a type of whiskey made mostly from corn. By law it must come from at least 51 percent corn, and the remaining grains can be rye, barley, wheat, and so on. It must be aged in a new, never-before-used American oak barrel. (That provision was put into the law to satisfy the barrel coopers’ union. How I long for the days when the barrel-makers had clout in Congress.) Bourbon does not, contrary to what certain Southerners will tell you, have to be made in Kentucky or Tennessee. Bourbon could come from a distillery in San Francisco, New York City, or (please, oh please) Humboldt County.

The combination of the corn and the delicious vanilla notes from the American oak make bourbon an exceptionally sweet whiskey, and the only kind I’d mix with fruit and sugar, as we’re about to do. While there are many fine bourbons on the market, you don’t need to spend a fortune. Maker’s Mark, at just about twenty bucks a bottle, is actually a highly rated, award-winning and very tasty bourbon. Every liquor store in town carries it.

If you want to get fancy, I’m going to suggest a variation that includes Domaine de Canton ginger liqueur. This is one of those luxurious liqueurs that I tend to use in small quantities, so a thirty-dollar bottle will go a long way. If you don’t want to spring for that, but you’re really into ginger, just throw a few slices of fresh ginger under the muddler. With enough bourbon, you can hardly go wrong.

Now, about those peaches. Bourbon doesn’t play nice with just any kind of fruit.  It’s dreadful with berries and tropical fruit. It’s delightful with sour cherries (in an Old-Fashioned, which we’ll get to someday), and it’s heavenly with a little orange liqueur — but then again, citrus is a kind of all-purpose mixer that brightens up just about any cocktail.

But peaches? Bourbon and peaches were made for each other.

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