It is 4:30 pm on a fall Wednesday, a few days before Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election. Sitting in a high chair in front of the long bar or on a midnight blue leather bench, about thirty people of all ages chat quietly while sipping a glass of whiskey.
This haven of peace in an America more divided than ever between Democrats and Republicans is called Independent Ice Co., a cozy place one block from the docks of Portland, Maine. Created in 2018 by Brian Hanson, a 55-year-old financier with a passion for bourbon, the establishment is the first in the city dedicated to this spirit and is already ranked as the ninth best bar of this specialty in the United States according to the Spirits Hunters website. . .
It must be said that its offering is impressive: it offers 542 references, including rarities such as The Last Drop at $1,000 (920 euros) per glass. More affordable option: discover four Maine references, or four drinks for 35 dollars (32 euros). Enough to attract all drinker profiles. “Generally, these are couples who give each other a date. “They come from Portland, but also from Massachusetts or New York, because the bar is famous.” explains the owner. A rather urban population and not only male, far from the clichés conveyed by this rustic drink – which, in the cinema, is drunk in the columns of taverns – historically associated with the southern United States, and more particularly with Kentucky, which concentrates 95% of its current production.
The state of bluegrass (a subgenre of country music) and fried chicken It is also that of bourbon, to the point that we often think, mistakenly, that it must necessarily be produced there. In fact, we can do it all over the country.
In 1964, the United States Congress officially declared “American specialty” This corn spirit (it must contain at least 51%, the rest being wheat, millet or barley and aged in new toasted oak barrels), cannot be manufactured outside the country. This is not the case with rye whiskey (distilled from at least 51% rye), which can be produced anywhere in the world.
“Almost a nationalist act”
The two grain spirits do not have the same aromatic profile. In short, bourbon is rounder and fuller, closer to rum or even cognac, while rye is drier and spicier, reminiscent of certain Scotch malts.
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