His restaurant 610 Magnolia is a Louisville fine dining staple.

In his latest book, he writes a love letter to an ingredient most of us would think of simply as a drink, bourbon.

We visited him in Kentucky to explore the history and recipes that inspired Bourbonland.

I love drinking bourbon, but I love smelling bourbon more.

I think that smell is like the best perfume in the world.

For Chef Ed Lee, the conversation about food begins behind the bar.

For me as a chef, whenever I drink something, I always think about what does it do to the food that I'm cooking.

And to me, bourbon is the thing.

What is it about Kentucky bourbon?

This is where it was invented, perfected, beloved.

In the barrel.

Right here in Kentucky.

Bourbon, that classic Kentucky invention whose origins begin clear as hooch whiskey, and legend has it was born on a journey south along the Mississippi River to Louisiana.

Aged inside oak barrels, which matured its color and taste.

It's got a little bit of leather, and it's got a little bit of vanilla, and it's got a little bit of hay.

It's like everything about Kentucky right here in this glass.

At Louisville's Peerless Distillery, Lee gave me a lesson in bourbon tasting.

So I'll do just a little sip, and kind of, yeah.

Oh wow, it really, whoa!

It's strong.

Whoa!

But that's because that's your first sip.

Wow, it really opened my mouth up.

Yeah, it does that.

Bourbon shocks you.

All that comes through in his latest book, Bourbonland.

To me, it's a very personal, opinionated view of bourbon.

And it's like part recipe book, part history, part guide, part my own personal journey.

A personal journey that began in Brooklyn, New York.

As the son of Korean immigrants who worked countless hours, Lee often ventured out into his neighborhood for a bite to eat.

Like in my childhood, you could wake up and have like a Jewish breakfast.

You could eat pizza for lunch, and then have Indian food for dinner.

And it all made sense.

But it was his yearning for American staples that drew him to the family kitchen.

I wanted PB&Js and steaks and pasta.

And I remember one day my grandmother said to me, she goes, if you want American food, cook it yourself.

Oh, the gauntlet was thrown.

And so I took my allowance money, I went to the grocery, and I bought some stuff.

And I just remember that feeling of accomplishment.

And that feeling of like, I just cooked my own dinner.

After graduating from NYU with honors and a degree in literature, he traveled to France, learning as much as he could.

Then suddenly...

I opened my first restaurant in New York City when I was 25 years old.

But not long after, tragedy struck. 9-11 happened, and our restaurant was downtown.

I had people that were in the towers, and it was something that really affected me.

And I needed to clear my head.

I sold the restaurant, and I rented a car, drove to all the places that I'd never been to.

I wound up here at a restaurant called 610 Magnolia.

I worked there for a week.

And the owner sat me down and said, you're going to move to Kentucky, take over my restaurant, I'm going to retire, and you're going to be a big success.

And I said, you're crazy.

The Brooklyn native moved back to New York.

But then the owner...

His name was Eddie Garber.

He was the former owner.

He called me every week and said, when are you coming, when are you coming?

I said, no, no, no, no.

And finally I gave in.

It's been kind of a fairy tale story ever since.

In 2018, food and wine named 610 Magnolia one of the country's most important restaurants of the past 40 years.

Lee's other Louisville restaurant is NAMI, a modern Korean steakhouse.

He also owns two Succotash restaurants in the Washington, D.C. area.

The one thing they all have in common?

I can seamlessly go from one culture to another and bridge these sort of divides very easily.

To me, there is no border between Asian food and American food and Southern food and Mexican food.

To me, they're all just flavors.

It's evident in his kitchen.

I'm going to add honey.

Okay.

A shot of bourbon.

Where we prepared a little something before the meal.

Fried halloumi with spiced bourbon honey.

What do you think?

Is that good?

What's so interesting is, looking at this food, it looks like a bit of Americana.

We then sat down in front of a table that proved fusion isn't a bad word.

We made an entire spread of food for you.

All made with bourbon.

Everything from salads to marinades to appetizers, obviously dessert.

So, to start with, I would do a little snacky tray here.

A veggie charcuterie board featuring black cherries soaked in bourbon and baked goat cheese.

And bourbon is the lovely bridge that kind of makes it all sing.

Like balances everything out.

Next was one of two salads.

Peach, avocado, and chickpea salad.

It's got a sesame bourbon vinaigrette.

So, a little bit on the creamy side.

And another of watermelon feta and mint with fried peanuts.

There is his soy sauce and bourbon chicken wings.

A broccoli broth roasted chicken.

There's a lot of people that ask, is there alcohol in this?

And it's a very important chapter in my book of how to cook the alcohol out of the bourbon so that when you make these recipes, the bourbon is basically alcohol free.

His ribeye steak is a fan favorite.

Complemented with soy bourbon butter, carrots, and okra.

The flavors of Asia are very umami forward.

Lots of fermented flavors, lots of depth, salty, powerful.

And I don't know, when you add some bourbon to that, it kind of matches it.

Like umami to umami.

And for dessert.

Homemade bourbon ball, which is a very popular Kentucky dessert.

Ooh, they're gooey.

Yes, they're very gooey, they're very soft.

Mmm.

What is in here?

Thanks to his use of pecans and...

The crunch that you're getting is popcorn.

We crushed the popcorn.

So the crunch is more hearty.

Now you taste the bourbon against the chocolate and it just kind of elevates everything.

It's everything.

Mmm.

For this tried and true New Yorker, there's no greater nod to the bluegrass state than calling it his home.

You know it's a good dessert when your fingers are dirty.

Wow.

And...

Mmm.

A little glass of bourbon.

Look at the finger.

And I love that you're happy about it.

Mmm.

Okay, cheers.

Cheers.

With our cocoa fingers.

So the tasting of bourbon, the reason I reacted that way was because when you just take a taste of it, it hits that bottom lip and pow!

You know, usually most people drink it, right?

Right.

But these were really, this is our version, unfortunately no popcorn, no pecans, but you're so used to bourbon being a partner to sweet.

Right.

Not savory.

And obviously sweet here, but savories, it really sings.

I love the, because you've got to teach, take the alcohol out of it, but it's the flavors of bourbon that bring so many things, as he even talked about it when he was talking about the hay and the smokiness and what that brings into it.

And of course the caramel.

Yeah.

Yeah, the popcorn thing was cool too.

Yeah.

Popcorn things are always cool.

There you go.

He made it.