Tag Archives | Louisville

Winners, Winner & A Bourbon Dinner

By Patrick "Pops" Garrett on October 8, 2012 in Bourbon Banter, Bourbon Events

Good Monday morning to everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend.

It was a busy one for us at Bourbon & Banter HQ. We spent a lot of time putting the final touches on the Bourbon Pilgrimage for this Thursday and couldn’t be happier with how it’s all coming together. And of course we continued to celebrate reaching 1,000 fans on Facebook. (Quick shout out to Nicole Morris for being fan 1,000!)

We also drew the 5 winners of the Kentucky Bourbons poster giveaway. It’s our pleasure to send a copy of the poster to each of the following individuals:

Charlie Townsend
William Baldwin
Doug Kamm
Mike Lillis
Derrick Williams

Thanks to everyone that participated in the poster giveaway. Keep your eyes open for some other upcoming contests and giveaways. We’ve got some great items to share that should help you spread the bourbon gospel.

And in case that wasn’t enough to keep us busy we also choose the winner of the 2012 Bourbon & Banter Tour Giveaway. The lucky winner who will be joining us this week for the Pilgrimage for free is Lisa Durham. I’ve traded a few emails with Lisa and I think she’s even more excited about the Pilgrimage than we are…if that’s possible. Welcome aboard Lisa. We look forward to meeting you this week and sharing a few glasses of bourbon.

Whew! I’m worn out again just reviewing everything we did this weekend. But before I sign-off for the day I wanted to remind our readers in Louisville that we still have a few seats open for our Pilgrimage Dinner on Saturday, October 13th at Maker’s Mark Bourbon House & Lounge. If you’d like to meet up with over dinner & enjoy a bourbon tasting led by The Whiskey Professor, Bernie Lubbers, head on over to the registration page and book a seat or two. We’d love to have you join us!

[notice]Book your spot at our Maker’s Mark Bourbon House & Lounge dinner via this linke.[/notice]

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Carla Carlton – Bourbon & Banter Member Spotlight

By Patrick "Pops" Garrett on September 18, 2012 in Member Spotlight

If you’re a diehard bourbon fan odds are you’re already familiar with this month’s featured Bourbon &Banter member – Carla Carlton aka “The Bourbon Babe”.

During the day, Carla is the director of development communications for a private university in Louisville, Ky. In her free time, she’s a board member of the Bourbon Women Association and an award-winning freelance writer whose work has appeared in The Bourbon Review, Food & Dining Magazine, The Courier-Journal and The Tennessean, among other publications. She writes about all things Bourbon in her blog, The Bourbon Babe, which has been featured on NPR’s “All Things Considered.” And she really gets a kick out of that double-take she often prompts when she orders Bourbon straight up.

For those of you joining us on the 2012 Bourbon & Banter Pilgrimage you’ll get a chance to have dinner with Carla at Bourbon’s Bistro on Friday night. I’m looking very forward to raising a glass with The Bourbon Babe and enjoying some great evening banter.

Name – Carla Carlton, aka “The Bourbon Babe”

Current Location – Louisville, KY

Favorite Bourbons
Rock Hill Farms, Booker’s, Woodford Reserve, Blanton’s & Four Roses Single Barrel

Least Favorite Bourbons
I won’t name names, but most of the flavored ones.

How I Drink My Bourbon
Neat or rocks – but I won’t turn down a well-made Manhattan.

What is it about Bourbon that you enjoy the most?
I love the flavor profile and the versatility of the spirit.

How did you come to be a Bourbon fan?
Although I grew up in Kentucky, the center of the Bourbon universe, and my grandmother worked on the bottling line of a Louisville distiller in the 1930s, I didn’t come to Bourbon until college, when my drink of choice was Maker’s and Coke. (Don’t tell Bill Samuels!) As I’ve matured, so has my palate, and I’ve come to appreciate the complexities and nuances of fine Bourbon all on its own.

What you enjoy most about the Bourbon & Banter community?
The opportunity to meet other Bourbon fans and learn from them.

If you’d like to connect with Carla you can do so on Twitter: @carlacarlton.

Carla Carlton – Bourbon & Banter Member Spotlight

This is a portion of Carla’s collection displayed on her deck bar, which her father-in-law built from reclaimed Anderson County, Ky., barn wood (yes, her husband, Chad, grew up in the birthplace of Wild Turkey and Four Roses) and unfinished barrelheads from Woodford Reserve.

Want to be featured in our Member Spotlight? Drop us a note and let us know. If selected we’ll send you a few questions to answer and ask that you send us your photo and a photo of your current bourbon collection. Don’t be shy. Everyone needs at least 15 minutes of Bourbon Fame.

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Hey Louisville, why don’t you join us for a bourbon dinner?

By Patrick "Pops" Garrett on August 17, 2012 in Bourbon Banter, Bourbon Events

As you know the Bourbon & Banter Pilgrimage will be arriving in Louisville on Thursday, October 11th in anticipation of our official tour on Friday the 12th. While the tour is going to be unbelievable I know that many of our friends already live in the Louisville and aren’t interested in joining us for the full tour.

To allow everyone a chance to partake in the Bourbon & Banter festivities I’m happy to offer a select number of tickets for purchase to each of the tour’s VIP dinners.

Here’s a quick run down of the dinner details.

Bourbon’s Bistro (SOLD OUT)
Friday, October 12, 2012
7:00 PM • $75 per person

Maker’s Mark Lounge
Saturday, October 13, 2012
7:00 PM • $90 per person

Friday night’s dinner will be held at Bourbon’s Bistro. Bourbons Bistro is an original member of the Urban Bourbon Trail and is the recipient of numerous awards. Most recently they were award the Gold Medal for Whisky Magazine’s “Whisky Bars of the World”. We will enjoy a three-course bourbon-inspired dinner along with a special bourbon tasting put together by our friends at Buffalo Trace. And if you need more bourbon you can always choose from their menu of over 130 bourbon’s. It’s a dinner experience not to be missed.

And did we mention that there will be a special guest to lead our tasting and give us the secrets behind what makes Buffalo Trace bourbons so special? That’s right. We’ll be joined by Chris Fletcher, Lead Chemist at Buffalo Trace. I guess you can call him a Bourbon Scientist.

Included in your ticket price is a bourbon tasting led by Buffalo Trace Lead Chemist – Chris Fletcher, a three-course dinner & the opportunity to banter away with some new friends from the Bourbon & Banter Community.

Saturday night’s dinner will be a private affair at the famous Maker’s Mark Bourbon House and Lounge. A well-known stop on the Urban Bourbon Trail, it’s the perfect venue for our last evening together as a group.

Our dining experience will begin with a bourbon tasting led byBernie Lubbers, the Whiskey Professor. Bernie is a global brand ambassador for Jim Beam and the author of Bourbon Whiskey *Our Native Spirit*. It will be a great opportunity to learn more about your favorite bourbons and ask a an industry leader your most pressing bourbon-related questions. Each tour member will also receive a personal autographed copy of Bernie’s book.

Included in your ticket price is a bourbon tasting led by Bernie Lubbers, a signed copy of his book, appetizers, a three-course dinner & the opportunity to banter away with some new friends from the Bourbon & Banter Community.

Purchase your ticket via this link:

Both dinners provide you with the opportunity to connect with fellow Bourbon & Banter community members and share your insider tips about Bourbon Country. We hope you stick around after dinner and join as we set out to explore some other bourbon hotspots after hours.

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