Eat me: Bourbon Balls
I've been pretty hard on Kentucky (and Kentucky's been pretty hard on me... ) but I want to be clear that there are many good things about the place. You just have to know what and where they are.
Case in point: Bourbon balls. Betcha didn't even know bourbon had balls, did you? Well, it does, and they are delicious.
There are two main producers of bourbon balls: Ruth Hunt and Rebecca Ruth. Each has its loyalists. Ruth Hunt, the Official Bourbon Balls of the Kentucky Derby (I am not making this up) uses Woodford Reserve from Labrot & Graham; the latter uses Evan Williams. Both are worthy, but I like Rebecca Ruth just a smidge better. Some of you may already know my propensity for bourbon and chocolate, so these are right up my alley.
Bourbon balls have a center of bourbon-infused butter cream, robed in dark chocolate and topped with a perfect pecan half. Different batches we've had over the years have varied in flavor from mellow vanilla-honey notes to white-hot booziness, depending on the freshness and, I guess, how sauced the confectioner was that day.
So what are you waiting for? Go order some! Heck, you can still get them for good old Dad.
One year ago today ... I wrote a mash note to my wooden spatula. It's even more worn down now!