As the month of July approaches, we are reminded of not only summer’s arrival but Independence Day and its significance to our culture. It’s an All-American holiday, and our inclination is to celebrate it with All-American food and drink. But in a country that has been, from its earliest days, a land of immigrants, is there a food source solely indigenous to the Americas? The answer is corn, and while we’ve adapted the hot dog and the hamburger, beer and wine from other cultures, corn belongs to us. It provides an identity to our cuisine, but let’s not forget that it is also the source of our very own American libation: bourbon.

The festivities surrounding the Fourth, with barbeques bellowing clouds of smoke and alerting the neighborhood that an all-American meal is being prepared, can be enhanced not only by ketchup, relishes, onion dips, and potato chips, ice cream, family baked goods and fruits baskets carved from watermelons, but by our own unique whiskey – as a libation and as an ingredient.

The historical name for this grain, maize, dates back to ancient Aztec and Mayan civilizations who cultivated the crop in Central and South America; they taught their farming methods to neighboring tribes, primarily in Mexico, who then brought these techniques to their North American cousins in the beginning of the 13th century.

In early America, corn became the cash crop for farmers everywhere who were able to grow and sell the product as a means of income to pay for government enforced land taxes. Although the cultivation process became second nature, ways of transporting corn in bushels by horse down the mountains of Kentucky and Tennessee were cumbersome and inefficient. How could farmers find a way of adding value to the crop and limiting spoilage? The answer became clear during the seventeenth century thanks to the influx of Scotch-Irish immigrants who came to America escaping famine and religious turmoil. With them came the knowledge of turning surplus crops such as rye, wheat, and barley into whiskey; they inspired native farmers to distill corn into the spirit of America; corn whiskey. Later, as the Mississippi River became a waterway for transporting this popular product from Kentucky, crates were marked with “Bourbon County” stamps, giving the name “Bourbon” to the state’s indigenous corn distillation.

By law, bourbon whiskey must be made from a mash consisting of at least fifty-one percent corn added to a blend of rye, malted barley and/or wheat. It cannot be distilled higher than 80% abv (alcohol by volume) and once aged, no more than 62.5% abv. The barrels that bourbon is aged in must be newly-charred American oak, and the bourbon must be aged for a minimum of two years. Color enhancers and adjusters are not allowed; this policy preserves an old-fashioned tradition of distilling. With these governed stipulations, bourbon is able to retain its identity as a full-bodied, slightly sweet spirit with notes of vanilla, coconut, caramel, citrus, and spice. Bourbon has become known as the American spirit and in recent years its reputation has flourished thanks to the profusion of “small batch” and single-barrel bottlings from distilleries such as Maker’s Mark, Wild Turkey, Woodford Reserve (Labrot & Graham), Bulleit, and our own Hudson Valley Tuthilltown Grist Mill, all of whom take pride in preserving and maintaining the artistry behind their products.

So, whether you will be lucky enough to find early seasonal corn to grill, enjoying corn bread or even a corn dog, don’t forget to sample some good-old-fashioned American corn via bourbon recipes on Independence Day.

Happy Fourth of July - and, cheers!

Kentucky-Style Bour-B-Q Sauce

*Compliments of Jim Beam website with my own twist

Ingredients:

1 cup ketchup

1/4 cup Jim Beam Kentucky Bourbon

1/4 cup dark molasses

1/4 cup apple-cider vinegar

1 tbs fresh lemon juice

1 tbs Worcestershire sauce

1 tbs soy sauce

1/2 tsp dry mustard

1 clove of crushed garlic

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

Pinch of paprika

Combine all ingredients in a medium-sized saucepan and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Wait for sauce to thicken, stirring occasionally. Take off heat and allow to cool at room temperature for a half-hour. Brush on ribs, steak, or chicken during the last 3-5 minutes of grilling.

Hudson Valley Julep

*Compliments of Ralph Leon/Beverage Director at Harvest-on-Hudson

Ingredients:

6 mint springs

1/2 oz simple syrup

2 oz of Hudson Four Grain

Bourbon Whiskey

1 cup of crushed ice

Splash of water

Muddle (crush together) mint and simple syrup in a metal cocktail shaker, making sure to bruise the mint leaves well to release their flavor. Strain into a cocktail glass filled with crushed ice. Pour bourbon over ice. Swirl water inside cocktail shaker and add over drink. Garnish with a fresh mint sprig and enjoy!