Structure First
The 20-Session
Bourbon Course
Bourbon and American whiskey taught the way you'd diligence a deal: decompose it into measurable parts, name each, and judge the whole. Seven files, twenty sessions, one habit — reason from grain, fermentation, and barrel to structure, then confirm it in the glass.
0 of 20 sessions complete
How to use this. Keep all files in the same folder, then open the modules below in order. Progress, quiz scores, and flashcards are saved on your device and shared across every file, so the meter above is cumulative. · Two caveats: saved progress works when you open files in your own browser (not inside a chat preview); and tasting needs actual whiskey — the one thing this course can't supply.
A · Foundations & Method
01–03Foundations, the SAT & the Palate
The legal definition of bourbon, the Systematic Approach to Tasting (SAT) adapted for whiskey, palate calibration, water chemistry, and the whiskey flavor wheel. Includes the three-axis tasting instrument and log.
Open module →
B · Production Levers
04–06Mash Bills, Fermentation & Distillation
The four grains (corn, rye, wheat, malted barley), the sour-mash vs. sweet-mash process, continuous column stills, doublers, and the crucial off-still distillation proof lever.
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07–09Oak Maturation & Core Styles
The new charred oak barrel, warehouse placement (rickhouse physics), the angel's share, and classic high-corn vs. high-rye bourbon styles. Includes the aging cost calculator.
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C–D · Categories & Matched flights
10–12Wheated Bourbon, Rye Whiskey & Tennessee
The wheated bourbon profile, straight rye whiskey mash bills, Tennessee whiskey, and the Lincoln County Process (sugar-maple charcoal mellowing).
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13–15Categories, Flight Design & Tasting Ladders
Quality tiers (Straight, Bottled-in-Bond, Single Barrel, Small Batch, Barrel Strength), flight design principles, and blind tasting ladders for proof and age.
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E–F · Context, Market & Final Mock
16–18Serving, Cocktails & Sourced Whiskey
Evaluating whiskey through cocktails (Old Fashioned, Manhattan, Sour), neat vs. rocks serving, food pairing, and the market of sourced whiskey (NDPs & the MGP giant).
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19–20Maturation, Allocation & Mock Exam
Age statements, the mechanics of allocation, secondary market speculation vs. blind value, and the final mock exam.
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Sourcing Companion
ListThe Bourbon Sourcing Checklist
A benchmark set of 13 retail-available bottles mapping to the course's styles block — one clean example of each style, built to teach the whole category map.
Open checklist →
After the course
Where this gets you
- Palate Literacy — decompose any pour into grain, yeast, distillation, and wood elements.
- Smart Buying — read labels with precision and avoid the allocated secondary market premium.
- Comparative Ability — design flight structures that isolate variables (proof, age, grain) for clear learning.
- Ready for the next step: apply this same analytical approach to Scotch, Irish, and Japanese whiskeys.