Compared to other spirits, bourbon whiskey is known for tasting somewhat sweet, with caramel notes surrounding all of the oak and earthy flavors the spirit absorbs from the casks it’s aged in. This means that, on paper, you would think bourbon makes a great pairing with a plate of spicy buffalo wings, because sweet and spicy is considered a classic pairing of opposite flavors which come together well. In practice, however, hard spirits like bourbon don’t pair especially well with spicy dishes.
This is partly because spicy foods and alcohol are both considered irritants for your mouth. On their own, either can be a pleasant burn, which allows for interesting play with flavor combinations. Together, it can create such a burn that it overpowers the caramel, vanilla flavor of the bourbon. It’s similar to the one mistake to avoid when pairing wine with spicy food, which involves using high-alcohol wine. As an alternative, you might try a lager or a lighter ale if you’re open to beer. A slightly sweet ale can be the perfect ale for balancing the heat of spicy dishes, while a more alcoholic beer like an India Pale Ale (IPA) will run into similar problems as bourbon. Some people enjoy it, though.
Alcohol and capsaicin do not mix
Capsaicin is the chemical in peppers where the spicy sensation comes from, and drinks which can calm a spicy mouth usually involve chemical reactions with capsaicin. On the one hand, some alcohol and spice pairings work because alcohol can help neutralize capsaicin. However, whiskeys like bourbon come with their own kick, and most people who try it find that the combined irritation seems to enhance the spicy sensations in an unpleasant way, rather than a tasty way. It’s different from why dairy is the best way to tame a dish that’s too spicy, because dairy products contain casein, a protein which can bind with and diminish the heat of capsaicin. Most importantly, casein isn’t an irritant, making it a stronger pairing than bourbon.
At this point, you may ask, “if bourbon doesn’t mix with spicy foods, then what are bourbon wings?” Bourbon wings do involve real bourbon, but it’s slightly different. Note that the problem lies primarily with the alcohol itself, and not the bourbon’s flavor. In fact, bourbon wings involve cooking bourbon into the sauce used for the hot wings, and cooking a spirit does remove some (but not all) of its alcohol content. This allows you to use the sweet flavor of bourbon to complement the wings, instead of dealing with the alcohol and the capsaicin fighting with each other inside of your mouth.
