Old Crow

Nectar of the Gods

Published on November 20, 2004 By pseudosoldier In Misc

[For greywar. Happy Birthday.]

Searching for recipes for the Thanksgiving pot luck on Wednesday, I ran across one for "Candied Yams with Bourbon." Sounds great, and it gives me an excuse to get "1/4 cup Kentucky bourbon, high quality," which would most likely involve getting a greater quantity of said fluid...
I then started to think of what "Candied Yams with Old Crow" would be like.

So, as my mind will do, it wandered, meandering... and then Googling. old crow recipes "old crow" recipes "old crow" recipes bourbon

An interesting page, "The Bourbon FAQ" (with an interpretation of "frequently=once"), at http://www.straightbourbon.com/faq.html Link featured:

29. My father-in-law has been a fan of Old Crow Bourbon for years. Now I drink Old Crow. Yet it is very rarely mentioned anywhere. How do bourbon fans rate Old Crow?. Why is it such a secret?. I know it's a Jim Beam product. What's the deal here?

Old Crow is a very venerable name. Most authorities credit Dr. James Crow with the development of what we recognize today as bourbon whiskey. Old Crow was also a top seller, competing with Jim Beam for #1 bourbon through most of the middle decades of this century. When bourbon sales started to tumble, Old Crow suffered more than most. Jim Beam absorbed National Distillers, owner of Old Crow, in 1987 and immediately closed the distillery (they still use the warehouses). The Old Crow you buy today is essentially the same whiskey as Jim Beam White Label, or maybe not even quite that good. Beam considers it a "bottom shelf" brand. They don't give it much support and they certainly don't put their best whiskey in the bottles.
[credit: Chuck Cowdery]

Venerable? I suppose that's one way to phrase it. Others opinions may not be so high, but there were a few culinary uses I found. The first, at some random blog, http://peachfront.diaryland.com/newvan.html Link :

Breakfast: Cinnamon-crusted bread pudding made from whole wheat bread, applesauce from a Fuji apple, half a cup of raisins, a teaspoon of vanilla and a teaspoon of Old Crow bourbon. I have a rapidly developing theory that the bourbon you choose to drink is not the same as the bourbon you wish to subject to tons of sugar. The Old Crow did me proud in the pecan pie, and it did me proud this morning in the bread pudding. I started with the recipe in the cookbook that D's father wrote and changed it around based on what I had in the kitchen. I'm not sure he would approve, since he clearly stated "1 teaspoon vanilla or bourbon," but the result was wonderful.

Encouraging! I may even try this. But the far more interesting result was at cooks.com Link . Take a gander at that beaut!

I don't know that I'll make the Yams in Crow, or even Yams in other Bourbon, but I do know my favorite recipe for this venerably named liquor:

Mix Old Crow, ice, and Diet Dr. Pepper to taste. Imbibe heavily. Cheers!

Comments (Page 1)

Spc Nobody Special

on Nov 20, 2004

How did I know...........Interesting article. I don't drink, but whenever I cook with bourbon, from henceforth I shall consider old crow to be my bourbon of choice.

And good to see you writing again, btw.

Texas Wahine

on Nov 20, 2004

I've never had it, but Jack Daniels (is Jack Daniels Bourbon?) tastes like dirt (literally, and yes, I know what dirt tastes like) to me, so I suspect I might not like it. Maybe to cook with though?

dharmagrl

on Nov 20, 2004

As soon as I saw the title, I knew it would have your moniker attached to it.

I'm glad to see you again....

....but Old Crow...ugh. Not for me. I wouldn't even cook with it.

chiprj

on Nov 20, 2004

Johnny Walker Black Label is my drink of choice. On the rocks. I realize it's not a bourbon, but it is a whiskey. It's very smooth. I've never thought to check recipes that use it, though. I may have to do some googling...

pseudosoldier

on Nov 20, 2004

Most recipes that call for bourbon don't call for a specific type. You may find some recipes that call for JD (as JD makes their own sauces now), and probably sub in some other types of liquor to mixed effect. Remember, you're cooking off most of the alcohol anyway, so the flavor of the drink is all that will really be left over.

dharmagrl

on Nov 20, 2004

Remember, you're cooking off most of the alcohol anyway, so the flavor of the drink is all that will really be left over.

And that's why I don't cook with Old Crow. I don't cook with anything I wouldn't drink. I even use Bacardi in my bananas foster...I tried it with no-name rum once and it was nicht sehr gut.

kingbee

on Nov 20, 2004

Breakfast: Cinnamon-crusted bread pudding made from whole wheat bread, applesauce from a Fuji apple, half a cup of raisins, a teaspoon of vanilla and a teaspoon of Old Crow b

i dunno about that but i once saw my brother (flush with cash as the result of recently distributed inheritance) demonstrate that one could subsitute metaxa for milk in a pinch when you really hadda have a bowl of capn crunch upon waking and were too hungover to drive to the store.

SSG Geezer

on Nov 21, 2004

You can never cook out all of the alcohol. But sometimes the cheaper (bottom shelf) stuff tastes better for cooking. Makers Mark!!

Talisein

on Nov 21, 2004

...
I am so hungry.
Damn it, Why did I skip breakfast?
Envy? No. I blame Iraq.

iamheather

on Nov 21, 2004

I've never had it, but Jack Daniels (is Jack Daniels Bourbon?) tastes like dirt (literally, and yes, I know what dirt tastes like) to me, so I suspect I might not like it

Heresy I say! I love you anyway, Tex.

kingbee

on Nov 21, 2004

Makers Mark!!

youre not saying maker's mark is a cheap bottom shelf bourbon???

oleteach

on Nov 21, 2004

Happy cooking and Happy Thanksgiving! Nectar of the gods? Here is the story of my experience with "Jim Crow".
One day a bunch of us, boys as well as girls (ages about 11 or 12), got the idea that we should see what it was like to drink some booze. We collected all the pennies we owned and gave them to two girls whose father owned the town’s liquor store. They were to smuggle out a bottle of liquor while their dad was not looking and put the money in the till. They succeeded without getting caught. We all met at the outskirts of town one evening. There were probably ten to twelve of us in the group. We had bought Coca Cola as a mix. Jim Crow was the brand of whiskey the girls had obtained from the bar. We went further out of town and mixed the drinks. I hated it. I remember pouring most of mine in the ditch when I thought no one was looking. I think the others did the same thing, while we all pretended to be having a high old time.
How my mother found out about that, I’ll never know. Needless to say, we were punished. “Jim Crow” became a code word among us. It signified that we were really growing up!

pseudosoldier

on Nov 21, 2004

Nectar of the gods?

Ma'am, please note that I didn't say which gods. I'm pretty sure they're not so nice, like maybe the god of sarcasm, or the god of belittling people in order to feel better about yourself. Or the god of being home alone without your family so just go ahead and look at the porn while drinking.

oleteach

on Nov 21, 2004

Pseudosoldier,
Not to worry about those old gods...We don't have to worry about trying to balance the scales...hoping our good deeds will outweigh the bad...that kind of salvation is for those not so nice gods...We have a gracious God who loved us first even while we were sinners...sarcastic, lonely, lustful, drunk. He loves us all.

greywar

on Dec 03, 2004

Not to worry about those old gods...

Well I am pretty sure Great Cthulu's potable of choice would in fact be Old Crow. (it goes with human sacrifice)

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