A non drinker has a dumb question

[Who]

I dont drink but sometimes use it for cooking. I am going to try a new recipe that calls for Bourbon. Now I have shopped at a local store before and seen Bourbon whiskey. Is there some difference between the two?
I know some of you will be rolling on the floor but hay I dont drink

[Big Guy01]

Same stuff different name.

[Soilarch]

I'm the same as you Who. If you ever run across a recipe for Cognac it is the same as Brandy also. Actually, cognac IS brandy. In fact, since the alcohol is removed when you cook its just the straight flavor that stays...only thing I wouldn't interchange in recipes would be wine and the Cognac/brandy/bourbon/whiskey (hard liquors)

Think of it as using plain black pepper instead of "white pepper"

[ak_bear_hunter]

Same problem, don't drink. However, sometimes I use the flavoring extracts, added to apple juice for the volume needed for the booze in a recipe. Also when basting something that want the flavor in.

[kevin1]

Ahem! Stand aside neophytes, a Kentuckian has just entered the room.
Nearly all bourbon is made in Kentucky, so bourbon is something we know a little bit about.

Who, while bourbon is in fact whiskey it has a distinctly different taste unless you're like these guys, who apparently buy their whiskey from the Bargain Liquor Barn in plastic bottles. Here's everything you could possibly want to know about bourbon: Not all whiskies are bourbon
Another thing to consider is that the recipe was crafted using actual bourbon, not rotgut or blended whiskey, so substituting an inferior whiskey could compromise the taste of the final product. Unless the recipe calls for a cup or more see if the liquor store has some of those little one jigger bottles of it and buy just the amount you need, they hold about 1-2 ounces each and generally cost about $1.50 apiece.

[Alsatian]

I think Kevin1 is right. If the recipe calls for Bourbon Whiskey, use a bottle of something that says "Bourbon Whiskey" on the bottle. I do not drink Whiskey but cook a sauce using Bourbon Whiskey. I bought a half-pint of Wild Turkey for this purpose. The recipe only calls for 1/4 cup, so this quantity is enough for four separate sauces. The cost of getting a half-pint of the right ingredient isn't going to break anyone's bank account, I don't think.

Further, if the recipe calls for Cognac, use Cognac. True, Cognac is a brandy, but not all brandy is Cognac. Cognac is a superior brandy made only in a specific small region in the world and according to specific growing, harvesting, fermenting, and distillation procedures dictated by law. My recommendation is to use V.S.O.P. Cognac when cooking with Cognac -- Very Special Old Pale -- which is superior to V.S. Cognac or simply designated Cognac. Since invariably you are only using about 1/4 cup at a time, it doesn't cost much to make this kind of investment in quality.

Also, the various hard liquors are not interchangeable in cooking. Don't use Cognac where Bourbon Whiskey is called for; don't use Bourbon Whiskey where Cognac is called for. These provide quite different tastes to the sauce or dish being prepared. If this weren't the case, why wouldn't all recipes call for the cheapest mass produced Vodka available?

[thndrchiken]

As I recall the difference is in the charred wood on the inside of the barrel it's aged in and filtered through.

[ranger56528]

If it says Bourbon,Just buy a 1/2 pint of JACK. You cant go wrong.
Being a bartender/manager more yrs then I can count on my two hands.See if this helps.
Differance between Brandy and Cognac......NONE,the only thing that makes them differant is that Cognac comes froma Region of FRANCE were the Brandy is Distilled,witch happends to be by the city of Cognac,France.Thus the name Cognac.
It just sound like you have money(or trying to have class)when you order a Cognac over a Brandy in a bar.Basically you paying more to drink a Brandy from France over one beingmade somewhere ealse.
end of story.

[kevin1]

ORIGINAL: ranger56528

If it says Bourbon,Just buy a 1/2 pint of JACK.

Jack Daniels is a sour mash whiskey, but not a bourbon, although most bourbons are made via the sour mash process. The BATF regs that regulate bourbon making are very strict, and Jack doesn't qualify on several counts, notably it's after barrel charcoal filtration. Those who value the flavor and characterof true bourbon would also disagree with your assessment that all whiskies taste the same, so would the person who concocted the recipe that Who is trying to prepare.

[Bowflex]

"Further, if the recipe calls for Cognac, use Cognac. True, Cognac is a brandy, but not all brandy is Cognac. Cognac is a superior brandy made only in a specific small region in the world and according to specific growing, harvesting, fermenting, and distillation procedures dictated by law. My recommendation is to use V.S.O.P. Cognac when cooking with Cognac -- Very Special Old Pale -- which is superior to V.S. Cognac or simply designated Cognac. Since invariably you are only using about 1/4 cup at a time, it doesn't cost much to make this kind of investment in quality".

Say it brother!
Hennessy VSOP for me.