Tag Archives | bourbon tasting

Bourbon in the Blind | A St. Louis Bourbon Tasting & Dinner

By Patrick "Pops" Garrett on April 24, 2013 in Bourbon Banter, Bourbon Events

Bourbon & Banter is hosting a St. Louis bourbon tasting dinner on Saturday, May11th at the historic Glen Echo Country Club. The evening will consist of a tasting of six (6) bourbons in a blind format and a bourbon-inspired gourmet buffet and dessert. Bring your friends and spend the evening learning more about America’s Native Spirit from Bourbon & Banter founder, Patrick “Pops” Garrett, and the Century Bar’s head bartender, Joe Head. The blind tasting format strips away brand label prejudice and is the perfect way for bourbon novices and aficionados to experience a wide variety of bourbons. And since this is a Bourbon & Banter event there will sure to be some cool bourbon themed giveaways.

Bourbons:

It’s a blind tasting folks. We’re not sharing what we’ll be drinking but you can rest assured they’ll be great and represent a wide variety of bourbon styles and strengths.

Gourmet Buffet:

The bourbon-inspired buffet will include:

Smoked Corn and Bacon Chowder
Baby Spinach Salad with Raspberry Herb Vinaigrette, Sharp Cheddar, Potato Straws and Spiced Walnuts.
Louisiana Blue Crab Cakes
Dry Rubbed Pork Tenderloin with Apple Bourbon Glaze
Gorgonzola Yukon Gratin Potatoes
Flame Grilled Medley of Portabella Mushroom, Asparagus and Roasted Red Pepper

Dessert:

Maple Bourbon Sweet Potato Pie with Old Fashioned Butter Pecan Ice Cream.

We’re excited to have Joe Head from the Century Bar in Dayton, OH joining us for this dinner. Joe and the folks at the Century Bar have done an amazing job in transforming their bar into the top bourbon destination in the state of Ohio. You can check out Joe and learn more about this work in this video that I created after paying them a visit a few months ago. It’s going to be a real treat having Joe as one of our hosts for the evening. Be prepared to have your bourbon IQ doubled, if not tripled.

The evening will begin with a specially crafted bourbon cocktail 5:30 pm in the Bourbon Lounge – a venue within Glen Echo created especially for our event. At 6:15 pm our tasting program will begin with an introductory overview from Patrick and Joe. From there we will begin tasting bourbons and experience 3 different ones before taking a break for dinner. After our dinner break and some in-depth bourbon banter, we’ll resume our tasting with 3 more bourbon selections.

After we’ve sampled the final bourbon dessert will be served. While everyone is enjoying their dessert, Patrick and Joe will reveal the bourbons and provide additional information about each one and answer questions from the group. Throughout the course of the evening there will also be some bourbon giveaways to keep everyone on their toes.

After dinner we invite you to stick around and enjoy a drink in the Bourbon Lounge and continue the evening’s enjoyment of bourbon and banter. You will be able to order drinks from the Club’s bar throughout the night. (Please note that cash is required for additional drink purchase or your can put it on your account if you belong to a reciprocal club. The Club does not accept credit cards.)

Here’s the bourbon dinner and tasting complete details for your consideration:

What:	Blind Bourbon Tasting Dinner
When:	Saturday – May 11, 2013 – 5:30 PM
Where:	Glen Echo Country Club (click for directions)
Dinner Details:	Bourbon-inspired Gourmet Buffet
Bourbons:	Blind tasting of six (6) different bourbons representing a wide variety of styles and strengths. Blind tasting format is perfect for bourbon novices and aficionados alike.
Available Seating:	Seating is limited so resister soon.
Dress Code:	Glen Echo Country Club has a dress code that requires business casual or greater for all guests. Please no jeans or shorts.
Cost:	$75.00 per person (includes dinner & bourbon tasting) Additional drinks are available for purchase during and after dinner. Please note that the Club only accepts cash. For those of you that belong to a reciprocal club you can put your beverage purchases on your account directly. The Club does not accept credit cards.
Reserve Your Seat Now:	Buy Tickets

We hope you can join us for this amazing evening of food and bourbon. With only limited seating available I’m sure it will sell out fast. Make sure to reserve your seat and invite your friends. We look forward to seeing you on May 11th!

Did you know that Glen Echo Country Club was founded in 1901 making it the oldest 18-hole golf course west of the Mississippi? It’s also the only place that’s held an Olympic golf match, earning that honor in 1904. In fact, you can see the Olympic flag and torch as you approach the front entry of the clubhouse. For those of you interested in learning more about Glen Echo Country Club here’s a brief video that should be of interest.

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Bourbon Flavor Wheel

By Patrick "Pops" Garrett on November 26, 2012 in Bourbon Banter

When I first started drinking bourbon I would hear people refer to things like vanilla, toasted oak and tobacco leaf when they would describe a bourbon they were drinking. I knew that they were trying to explain the taste of the bourbon but try as hard I might I just couldn’t drink a glass of bourbon and come up with words to describe what I was drinking.

Little by little though, I was able to start discerning different flavors and aromas from bourbon. Trouble was I wasn’t able to necessarily tell you what I was tasting. Sure, I could name things like vanilla or caramel but more complicated things like toasted oak versus smoked oak never crossed my mind. Instead I would simply refer to the bourbon as having a lot of wood in it. At about that time I remembered that wine drinkers have used a Wine Flavor Wheel for years to help identify the flavors and aromas in wine. So I set out to try and find one for bourbon.

I looked for a long time and was able to find several that focused on whiskey overall but I felt they were a little to cumbersome for everyday use and had a lot of information that I didn’t feel was necessary when tasting bourbon (versus Scotch whisky, etc.). Then one night I attended a bourbon tasting where we were presented with some really bad photocopies of a bourbon specific flavor wheel. It was everything I had been searching for – simple, easy to use and focused on tasting bourbon.

The only problem was that it was in really bad shape (being a photocopy) and I couldn’t track down where it came from originally. So like any industrious bourbon lover I decided to recreate it, age it a bit and put my own unique twist on it for others to enjoy. As such, I’m pleased to be able to share it with all of you today. I hope you find it useful as you continue on your bourbon journey.

PS – Feel free to share this with your friends and via social media. While being able to identify the aromas and flavors of bourbon isn’t necessary to enjoy good bourbon I know that many folks would love a little bit of help when it comes to increasing their overal bourbon IQ. Thanks in advance for helping us spread the bourbon gospel.

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Jefferson’s Bourbon | A St. Louis Bourbon Dinner & Tasting

By Patrick "Pops" Garrett on October 22, 2012 in Bourbon Banter, Bourbon Events

Update: Here’s a recap of our dinner with Trey Zoeller of Jefferson’s Bourbon.

Bourbon & Banter is excited to announce our next St. Louis Bourbon Dinner & Tasting will be held on Thursday, November 15th at the historic Glen Echo Country Club. The dinner will consist of a gourmet 4-course meal tailored to the evening’s selections from Jefferson’s Bourbon portfolio of whiskeys.

First Course:	Smoked rainbow trout on marble rye crostini with horseradish mousse and capers.
Second Course:	Baby spinach salad with warm bacon dressing, accompanied by sweet potato haystack, crumbled gorgonzola, dried cranberry and spiced walnut.
Third Course:	Duet plate with pan-roasted duck breast and porcini-rubbed grilled petit filet. Served with a pecan apple bourbon butter reduction, wild mushroom risotto and grilled asparagus.
Fourth Course:	Vanilla bean crème brûlée dusted with cocoa and espresso.

We’re beyond thrilled that Trey Zoeller, Jefferson’s founder and master blender, will be joining us for the evening. Trey will provide us with background on this family’s long history in the bourbon industry, lead us in a tasting of the evenings selections and answer all of your bourbon questions. It’s a rare opportunity to spend the evening with a true bourbon innovator (read about his latest innovation Jefferson’s Ocean-Aged Bourbon) and learn more about his approach to creating some amazing “ridiculously small batch” bourbons.

In addition to enjoying some great company, enjoying amazing food and sipping on fantastic bourbon you’ll be helping others by attending the Jefferson’s Bourbon Dinner & Tasting. Profits from the event will be donated to a charity of Trey’s choice.

The evening will begin with a specially crafted bourbon cocktail and appetizers at 6:30 pm in the Bourbon Lounge – a venue within Glen Echo created especially for our event. At 7:15 pm dinner will begin with an introductory overview from Trey and our first bourbon tasting of the evening. From there we will enjoy a new bourbon with each dinner course along with tasting notes and comments from Trey.

Here’s the bourbon dinner and tasting complete details for your consideration:

What:	Jefferson’s Bourbon Dinner & Tasting
When:	Thursday – November 15, 2012 – 6:30 PM
Where:	Glen Echo Country Club (click for directions)
Dinner Details:	4-course Gourmet Meal
Bourbons:	Our evening will being with a specially prepared cocktail in the evening’s lounge area featuring Jefferson’s bourbon that is paired with the evening’s opening dinner/appetizer course. Each subsequent dinner course will be paired with another Jefferson’s whiskey along with a tasting overview from Trey Zoeller. The following Jefferson’s whiskeys will be featured: Jefferson’s Bourbon Jefferson’s Reserve Bourbon Jefferson’s Straight Rye Whiskey
Available Seating:	Seating is limited to 45 people.
Dress Code:	Glen Echo Country Club has a dress code that requires business casual or greater for all guests. Please no jeans or shorts.
Cost:	$85.00 per person (includes dinner & bourbon tasting) Additional drinks are available for purchase during and after dinner. Please note that the Club only accepts cash. For those of you that belong to a reciprocal club you can put your beverage purchases on your account directly. The Club does not accept credit cards.
Reserve Your Seat Now:	Sorry but we are no longer accepting reservations for this event.

We hope you can join us for this amazing evening of food and bourbon. With only 45 seats available I’m sure it will sell out fast. Make sure to reserve your seat and invite your friends. We look forward to seeing you on November 15th!

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May 2012 Bourbon Dinner & Tasting Recap

By Patrick "Pops" Garrett on May 21, 2012 in Bourbon Banter

Thanks again to everyone that joined us for our first ever Bourbon & Banter Dinner Tasting event at Blood and Sand. It was a great evening and I enjoyed getting to see everyone. (Many for the first time!)

I’d also like to thank our host, TJ, from Blood and Sand for a wonderful dinner. Attendees were treated to a menu that consisted of Chilled Tomato Consomme, Filet of Beer and Frozen Goat Milk Yogurt. I’ve been a fan of Blood and Sand for quite a while now and our dinner was a clear example of why I love it so much.

May 2012 Bourbon Dinner & Tasting Recap

The tasting portion of our evening was led by Mitch Turner from Major Brands. Mitch do a superb job of walking each table through what they were drinking and definitely increased my whiskey IQ over the course of the evening. My sincere thanks to you Mitch for leading our tasting and making the evening a success.

The whiskey tasting menu is below. And yes, there are some non-Bourbons on the list. The idea behind our tasting was to taste 2 bourbons at a time to experience the difference between similar style Bourbons or whiskeys. The Canadian whiskeys were thrown in as another example of the contrasts present between similar styles of whiskey. I have to admit that the Canadian Club 10-year wasn’t bad. But the Forty Creek CA whiskey was really good. It’s made by a gentleman who makes his whiskey like he made wine for over 20-years. He’s doing some pretty interesting things up North and I suggest you check him out and try some if you get the chance.

May 2012 Bourbon Dinner & Tasting Recap

What really made the evening though was the people that came out and joined us. My sincere thanks to each and everyone of you for making our first event a success. I look forward to our next event and sharing many more glasses of Bourbon with you over the years to come.

May 2012 Bourbon Dinner & Tasting Recap