Q 01/05

Which US city is home to a Bourbon Street that was laid out in 1721, before bourbon whiskey existed?

A) St. Augustine

B) New Orleans

C) Savannah

D) Charleston

Answer · why

B) New Orleans

New Orleans got its street plan from engineer Adrien de Pauger in 1721, generations before Kentucky distillers began selling whiskey under the same na...

Q 02/05

Which grain must make up at least 51% of the recipe for a whiskey to be labeled bourbon?

A) Rye

B) Wheat

C) Corn

D) Barley

Answer · why

C) Corn

Corn is the one grain the law insists on, and the remainder of the recipe can be any cereal the distiller chooses.

Q 03/05

Bourbon County, Kentucky, a likely source of the whiskey's name, was itself named to honor whom?

A) A French royal family

B) A Virginia tobacco planter

C) A Shawnee war chief

D) An Irish distilling clan

Answer · why

A) A French royal family

A French royal family, the House of Bourbon, was being thanked: King Louis XVI had backed the colonies during the American Revolutionary War.

Q 04/05

Which bourbon cocktail, traditionally served in a silver cup, is the Kentucky Derby's signature drink?

A) Whiskey smash

B) Hot toddy

C) Gold Rush

D) Mint julep

Answer · why

D) Mint julep

Mint julep has been promoted at Churchill Downs since 1938. Drinkers traditionally hold the cup only by its top and bottom edges, so their hands do no...

Q 05/05

What do distillers call the portion of aging bourbon that evaporates through the barrel each year?

A) Devil's cut

B) Angel's share

C) The heart cut

D) Heads and tails

Answer · why

B) Angel's share

Angel's share losses can actually make a bourbon stronger: when more water than alcohol escapes, what stays in the barrel gains potency.