bourbon

Definition

A whiskey distilled in the United States from a mixture of grains in which at least 51% is corn, aged in charred, new oak barrels.

Etymology

From bourbon whiskey, originally Bourbon whiskey, of disputed provenance. Generally taken to derive from Bourbon County, Kentucky, but possibly also from Bourbon Street in New Orleans, Louisiana. Both derive from the French Bourbon dynasty, named for the lordship of French Bourbon l'Archambault. The town's name derives from Borvo, a local Celtic deity associated with hot springs, from Proto-Celtic *borvo (“froth, foam”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰrewh₁- (“to be hot, boil”). See also Borvo.

Example Sentences

• "It concerns the gnomelike quality of the average American at a party. I have been to many parties where staid American business men have been transformed by a few ryes or bourbons into unpredictable gremlins out for adventure."