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Sweet Potato Cornbread Pudding with Bourbon Sauce

In Food by Jonathan JonesLeave a Comment

Food is a way of life in the south, and looking at southern cookbooks, magazines, and television shows, one could easily assume our favorite part of the meal is dessert. From church pot-luck suppers, to office holiday parties, to a night out with friends, desserts are always plentiful. It’s also fairly easy to sneak a little whiskey into your dessert recipe.

The recipe I’m sharing today is inspired by Chef Ed Lee, of 610 Magnolia in Louisville, Kentucky. I started with Chef Lee’s recipes for Sweet Potato Cornbread Pudding and Bourbon Sauce, but then messed with it a bit, because I can’t leave well enough alone. This recipe is broken into 4 steps; cornbread, sweet potatoes, custard, and sauce. If you’re like me and like to make cornbread regularly, this is a great way to use leftovers, and also save a little time when building the dish. Instead of the traditional, cloyingly sweet bread pudding, you end up with a dish that contrasts sweet and savory, and would make as good a breakfast as it would dessert.

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Whiskey Elements Review

In Drinking Accessory Reviews by Jonathan JonesLeave a Comment

You’re in the mood for whiskey, but you’re on a budget. You could take Jeffrey’s advice and respect the bottom shelf; there are certainly some great options for budget boozing. But maybe you’re planning ahead for the weekend and want your bottom shelf booze to taste like it should be sitting a few shelves up. Or perhaps you’re tired of constantly shelling out money for overpriced, overhyped whiskey and just want to keep something on hand that is smooth and has a great profile at a great price. That’s the dilemma Time & Oak sought to remedy with their Signature Whiskey Elements. The idea is to drop one of the Whiskey Elements into a fifth of whiskey (or two into a half-gallon), let it sit at least 24 hours, and voila! You have a custom whiskey that is smoother than what you started with, all without the expensive price tags and scarcity of higher-end bottles. But does it actually work?

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High West Campfire Whiskey Review

In American Whiskey Reviews by Jonathan JonesLeave a Comment

If you’re anything like me, you enjoy a wide variety of whiskeys. You might favor a particular style, but you occasionally dip your tastebuds in other styles. Personally, I prefer bourbon, especially those with a higher rye content; that probably explains why I love a good rye whiskey as well. So what happens when you blend bourbon, rye, and Scotch whiskeys into one?

High West Distillery in Park City, Utah decided to find out and created High West Campfire Whiskey.

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Diamond State Bourbon Review

In Bourbon Whiskey Reviews by Jonathan Jones2 Comments

Bourbon can be made anywhere in the United States, but when one thinks of bourbon, one typically thinks of Kentucky. After all, 95% of all bourbon produced is made there. But one need not be in Kentucky to make fine bourbon; craft distilleries are popping up all over the United States, and several are producing excellent juice. That said, Delaware is not the first place I think of when I think of bourbon produced outside the bluegrass state, but here I am reviewing Diamond State Bourbon Whiskey, from Painted Stave Distilling, in Smyrna, Delaware.

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The Architecture of the Shot Book Review

In Book Reviews by Jonathan JonesLeave a Comment

Note: Thanks to the fine folks at Quarto Publishing for providing us with a copy of The Architecture of the Shot for review and giveaway with no strings attached. If you walk into a bar these days, you’ll see machines that can dispense chilled shots of Jaegermeister, Fireball, or whatever the local favorite college hangover inducer happens to be. Ask for a shot, and you’re likely to be handed something that smells like cotton candy and tastes like Kool-Aid with a hint of paint thinner. But it doesn’t have to be that way. When skillfully prepared, with layers of flavors, a …

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High West Barreled Boulevardier Review

In Bottled Cocktails by Jonathan JonesLeave a Comment

Typically speaking, I prefer my bourbon neat. No ice, no additional water and certainly no mixers that would mask the flavors of my beloved whiskey. However, in the last decade, classic cocktails have been making a comeback. If you’re a regular of Bourbon & Banter, you’re already well aware of this, as we’ve featured quite a few cocktail recipes. When made properly, a classic cocktail doesn’t mask the flavor of the whiskey, rather, the other ingredients mingle with the whiskey, allowing the mixologist to build an experience that is to be savored, just as a highly trained chef would do with a meal.

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That Bourbon Ketchup: Spiked Ketchup For Grownups

In Food Stuff Reviews by Jonathan JonesLeave a Comment

Disclosure: A bottle of That Bourbon Ketchup was provided by That Sauce Company for Bourbon & Banter to review. Before I even start this review, I feel I should disclose the following: I’m not the biggest fan of ketchup. I don’t hate ketchup, but compared to many of my friends, who put ketchup on everything from eggs to hash browns and burgers to hot dogs, I’m rather simple. I dip my fries in ketchup, and that’s about it. However, a bourbon spiked ketchup? That’s a different story. But first, a little background on That Bourbon Ketchup. That Bourbon Ketchup is …

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Rock Hill Farms Bourbon Review

In Bourbon Whiskey Reviews by Jonathan Jones2 Comments

This review might strike some people as odd because it’s for a bourbon that was first released over 20 years ago; 1990 to be exact – Rock Hill Farms Single Barrel Bourbon. I don’t know if it was due to a perceived lack of audience, or if it had to do with red tape (Louisiana is famous for that), but either way, the bottle shop I work for didn’t receive Rock Hill until this past spring, and we’ve had difficulty getting restock shipments ever since. Additionally, I’ve yet to see it at another store in north Louisiana. Having read about Rock Hill online over the past couple years, I was eager to purchase a bottle once it arrived.