Perfect Pairings & Recipes for
Bourbon

Analysing hundreds of thousands of recipes uncovers bourbon's optimal flavour pairings.

Bourbon conjures the evocative embrace of oak and the kiss of vanilla, woven with delicate hints of caramel, char, and corn that give it remarkable depth. The key to finding the perfect pairing for bourbon is understanding how these notes harmonise.

To map these harmonies, we analysed thousands of ingredients, breaking each one down across 150 flavour dimensions, identifying which notes complement and contrast. Our exploration reveals, for instance, how the earthy, green 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine in paprika can infuse with bourbon, and how collard greens's brassica notes forge a beautiful synergy with its warm sweetness.

An ingredient's flavour stems from its core characteristics, such as woody, spice, or maillard, combined with layers of subtle flavour notes (outer bars). For a balanced dish, pair ingredients with a variety of core flavours, and choose complementary aroma notes for harmony.

The Art of Flavour Pairing

To understand how flavour notes harmonise, we analysed more than 50,000 popular ingredient combinations. By exploring these pairings, we identified specific flavour notes that frequently occur together, indicating they share a harmonious relationship.

The Flavours That Harmonise With Caramel Notes

Our analysis reveals a strong connection between caramel and cabbage flavours. Since bourbon has a distinct caramel flavour, try pairing it with the cabbagy flavours of collard greens.

The recipe below provides inspiration for pairing bourbon with collard greens.

Harmonious Flavours Of Bourbon

Just as our analysis revealed that caramel and cabbagy notes are harmonious, we can identify the full profile of flavours that harmonise with each of the notes present in bourbon. E.g. the charred accents of bourbon are often used with rice-like and corn-like notes.

The notes complementing the various aroma notes of bourbon can be seen highlighted in the pink bars below.

Matching Flavour Profiles

The flavour profile of paprika offers many of the accents complementary to bourbon, including capsicum and honey aroma notes. Because the flavour profile of paprika has many of the of the features that are complementary to bourbon, they are likely to pair very well together.

The chart above shows the unique profile of paprika across 150 dimensions of flavour, while the recipes below offer inspiration for bringing these flavours together with bourbon.

Recipes That Pair Bourbon With Paprika

Linked Flavour Notes

Looking at the accents that are most strongly associated with the various flavours of bourbon, we can identify other ingredients that are likely to pair well.

The left side of the chart above highlights the aroma notes of bourbon, along with the complementary aromas associated with each note. While the right side shows some of the ingredients that share many of the accents complementary to bourbon.

Which Fruit Go With Bourbon?

Choose fruit that infuse with its nuttiness or resonate with its pungent spice. Golden Delicious apple and peach offer vibrant, clean counterpoints, their verdant freshness lifting the palate. Blackberry add a gentle, oniony brightness, while clementine introduces a sophisticated, anise-tinged elegance.

Alternatively, embrace fruit that harmonise with bourbon's fragrancy. The addition of raisin, with its subtle raisin notes, can complement the cinnamon beautifully, while dried cherry lends a dried-fruit sweetness.

How Flavonomics Works

We've pioneered a unique, data-driven approach to decode the intricate art of flavour pairing. Our goal is to move beyond intuition and uncover the science of why certain ingredients harmonise beautifully. This rigorous methodology allows us to provide you with insightful and reliable pairing recommendations.

Our analysis begins with over 50,000 carefully selected recipes from acclaimed chefs like Galton Blackiston, Marcello Tully, and Pierre Lambinon. This premium dataset ensures our model distils genuine culinary excellence and creativity.

Each ingredient from these recipes is deconstructed across 150 distinct flavour dimensions, creating a unique numerical "flavour fingerprint." This quantification allows us to apply advanced analytical methods to identify complex patterns between flavour notes.

We identify popular ingredient combinations that frequently appear in our recipe database. Regression analysis is then performed on these pairings to statistically validate and pinpoint truly harmonious flavours.

These insights drive our predictive model, which allows us to take any ingredient (e.g., Bourbon), analyse its detailed flavour profile, and accurately reveal its complementary flavours and perfect ingredient partners.