Peg Leg Porker White Label Bourbon with fascinating shards of BBQ.
What’s the best bourbon to drink with barbecue? Carey Bringle, pitmaster at Peg Leg Porker in Nashville, would probably say it’s his own.
To quote from the blurbage I received when asked if I would like to try a complimentary sample (full disclosure: I said yes indeedy!): “In 2016, Bringle founded Peg Leg Bourbon and its rich smoky notes remain unmatched as he’s a man who knows smoke better than most. His signature series of hickory, charcoal-filtered, straight Tennessee bourbons features 4-6 Year White Label, 8 Year Grey Label, 12 Year Black Label, and a Limited Edition 15 Year Pitmaster Reserve Label.
“Bringle recently brought home Gold, Silver and Platinum awards at this year’s SIP Awards’ International Spirit Competition. Peg Leg Bourbon was also awarded Gold, Double-Gold and Platinum medals at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition.”
My sample of Peg Leg Porker.
I tried the White Label straight up with some of our house-smoked brisket and it did indeed pair very well. (In the interests of remaining upright you might be advised to enjoy it in a cocktail, like the Pork & Stormy with Bacon-Washed Bourbon, recipe below.) It’s assertive but not harsh and while I did not specifically detect smoke as you would in a good Islay Scotch, it might be characterized as “Incredibly round and featuring classic bourbon aromas of vanilla, orange, bright cherry and complex oak.”
That description, with “hickory” possibly replacing “oak” is actually for another product, George Dickel 8 Year Old Bourbon Whiskey as marketed by the spirits experts at K&L Wines. Carey Bringle is described as a “bourbon ager” rather than a distiller, meaning he starts with whiskey from another source. Whiskey bloggers agree that source is George Dickel, so we couldn’t help a second taste test of Peg Leg against the 8 year old Dickel. We preferred the Peg Leg for extra complexity with some additional flavor notes. Picture being inside an ancient wooden smokehouse somewhere in the south so the boards are splitting and there is sunlight piecing the cracks in the walls with whorls of smoke appearing in the rays of sun.
However, the Peg Leg Porker White Label is identified as a 4-6 year old bourbon, not 8 year, so Bringle evidently buys young bourbon and ages it himself. And he does a fine job. It has a growing national distribution and, if your local liquor store doesn’t stock it, you are likely to be able to find a mail order source if that is allowed in your state.
And now here are those recipes to help you enjoy the bourbon while staying upright:
Pork & Stormy Cocktail
Ingredients:
Bacon-Washed Bourbon:
4 strips bacon
8 oz. Peg Leg Porker Bourbon
1 teaspoon pure cane syrup
Cocktail:
Ice cubes or shards
2 oz. Peg Leg Porker Bourbon
3 oz. ginger beer
Lime wedge, for garnish
Instructions:
Bacon-Washed Bourbon:
Fry the bacon in a cast-iron skillet until crispy.
Combine 2 tablespoons of the bacon grease and the bourbon in a plastic container with a lid (eat the bacon).
Shake thoroughly and freeze until the fat hardens, about 1 hour.
Remove from the freezer and strain the fat from the bourbon; discard the fat.
Add the cane syrup to the bourbon and mix well.
Decant into a covered glass jar or bottle and store in the refrigerator.
Cocktail:
Fill a cocktail glass with ice.
Add the bourbon, top with the ginger beer, and stir.
Add a teaspoon of the bacon-washed bourbon to the top of the drink.
Garnish with a lime wedge.
