Booknote: A Splash of Bourbon

David Dominé, A Splash of Bourbon: Kentucky's Spirit: A Cookbook. Kuttawa, KY: McClanahan Publishing House, 2010.  ISBN: 978-1-934898-06-2.

Genre: nonfiction
Subgenre: cooking, recipes, Kentuckiana, Bourbon whiskey
Format: coffee table book
Source: Berea branch of the Madison County Public Library

As many of you know, Bourbon whiskey is a major thing in Kentucky. It is common knowledge by now that Kentucky has more barrels filled with bourbon than people, so naturally, in addition to drinking it, people put it in food. This is where a book like this comes in. The author is a firm believer that a splash of bourbon makes the book taste better, and this book offers some evidence for that.

This is a coffee table recipe book that blends recipes, photography, trivia about bourbon and Kentucky, as well as information on bourbon and Kentucky's distilleries.

For starters, the photography is excellent. If you're the kind of readers who picks up this kind of book mainly for the pictures, then you will be pleased. Not only does it have great photos of food, but also features various photographs of places in Kentucky, mainly distillery locations but also bourbon country photos. The photos are colorful and bright Some are small, and others take a full page. The photos are a great part of the book.

The recipes in the book are arranged as follows:

• Appetizers
• Soups
• Salads
• Main courses
• Side dishes
• Breads 
• Sweets (desserts)

The rest of the text features things like:

• Distillery highlights
• Place highlights such as Bardstown
• Small profiles of people
• A variety of additional trivia

Like most cookbooks in this style, most of the recipes are not casual and light. You may be able to make them at home, but you'll need a serious trip to a good grocery store for specific ingredients and a good amount of time. What I am saying is these are not casual home cook recipes. Difficulty levels can vary for recipe preparation.

Still, the book is interesting to look over. If you are inclined to try making the recipes, you'll make some good and savory things. But if not, you can enjoy the text and pictures and go get that hot brown (to pick an example) someplace in the state where they know how to make it well. If nothing else, this book may inspire you to go see more of Kentucky.

Overall, I really liked it.

4 out of 5 stars.