Bourbon Barrel Foods
Repurposed casks add distinctive notes to small-batch sauces and spices
Based in Louisville, Kentucky, the city known as the gateway to bourbon country, Matt Jamie has found a new way to repurpose barrels that have been used to age the region’s signature spirit. Bourbon Barrel Foods makes micro-brewed and barrel-aged soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, marinades and sorghum salad dressing, as well as barrel-smoked salt, sugar pepper and paprika once the whiskey has been drained.
The barrels can only be used once to make bourbon, and are then typically exported to make scotch, Irish whiskey, rum and tequila. Bourbon Barrel Foods stood out from the crowd at the Winter 2012 Fancy Food Show for the company’s new local, sustainable approach to reusing bourbon barrels with delicious results.
Each small batch of soy sauce is made with non-GMO soybeans grown in southern Kentucky, soft red winter wheat, and limestone-filtered spring water, and then aged for 12 months in the whiskey casks, which infuse the liquid with a distinct, smoky flavor unusual to the traditional Japanese marinade.
Bourbon Barrel Foods is a member of the Original Makers Club, known for their cultural business guide to Louisville that champions the work of unique local companies. Products can be found in the Bourbon Barrel Foods online shop.
