Bourbon & Beyond scene

What a weekend! Kentucky Bourbon Festival + Bourbon & Beyond = bourbon bliss

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Bourbon & Beyond scene

See it, drink it, live it.

For one week in September, there was no talk about White Claw.

For one week in September, there was more to do than one human being could possibly attain.

For one week in September, the bourbon gods united and bestowed mass celebration for the brown spirit mostly produced in Kentucky — in Kentucky.

Some people claimed it was too much.

Some people said it was too loud.

Some people chose to be left out of the madness.

But not me.

I attended both the Kentucky Bourbon Festival and Bourbon & Beyond and I lived to tell about it. I have evidence in the form of photos, and my liver is now in hiding. (I even managed to spend some time at the Louisville Pride Festival as well.)

All the festivals were great in their own way.

If you’ve never been to Bardstown for the KBF, I highly recommend it, especially for the All-Star Sampler. Basically, for a few hours, you get to meet and chat with your favorite master distillers, sample their products, eat handfuls of cheese (and lots of other things — like Art Eatables‘ chocolate mint chimeres) and collect random buttons and stickers and business cards.

I also had time to walk around the festival grounds, located just down the street from the Bardstown square, and found it to be a treat, visiting mini versions of distilleries, seeing all the amazing arts and crafts made from used bourbon barrels, and drinking some E.H. Taylor served in a Heaven Hill glass in the VIP lounge. I love the camaraderie between brands, and it’s on full display at the Kentucky Bourbon Festival each year.

And Bourbon & Beyond … what can I say? I went Friday and Saturday and saw some amazing bands, drank some Old Forester 100 (I found the bartender who had the best pour), drank some beer, drank some water, ate some Cellar Door Chocolates and even helped plant a tree by drinking some Angel’s Envy (#toastthetrees).

I was impressed by the Foo Fighters, Jenny Lewis and Alison Krauss — and Grace Potter wasn’t too shabby, either.

Enough of my words. Let the photos do the talkin’ …

Mini Maker’s at the KBF!
Mini Heaven Hill!
Dan McKee of Michter’s at the KBF All-Star Sampler.
Chris Morris and Elizabeth McCall from Brown-Forman at the KBF.
Tyler Horn and Joann Street representing Wild Turkey at the KBF All-Star Sampler.
Lux Row debuted a new bourbon, and it was quite tasty!
Barrel o fun!
Chillaxin’.
Just Foo it.
Is that a Zima fanny pack, or are you just happy to see me?
Drink Angel’s Envy, plant a tree. #toastthetrees
Jenny Lewis!
Alison brought a much needed calm over the audience.
I’ll take them all! Lewis, Potter, Krauss.
Hall & Oates were cool.
Lizzo drink at Louisville Pride! #bigbar
Old Fashioned cocktail

Today’s Reason To Drink

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Old Fashioned cocktail

Bourbon all weekend!

Are you all ready for the Kentucky Bourbon Festival and Bourbon & Beyond? If you’re not drinking bourbon now, you will be after this weekend!

I’m a fan of both festivals and will make it a point to spend time at both — sleep be damned!

Stay tuned to my social media accounts, where I’ll post photos of the bourbon bliss as well as the madness.

Facebook: Sara Havens

Instagram: @Shavens76

Twitter: @TheBarBelle

Maker's Mark bottle

Maker’s Mark debuts the high-proof RC6, latest release of its Wood Finishing Series

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Maker's Mark bottle

Welcome to Maker’s RC6. | Courtesy

For a company with one single recipe of bourbon, it’s been inspiring to watch Maker’s Mark expand its limited-edition offerings to consumers thirsty for “something different.”

A few months back, they released Maker’s Mark 101, which you could only procure overseas or at international airports, and their innovative Private Select program keeps Maker’s Mark fans and bourbon fanatics in general enthralled and wanting more.

Now, it’s time to introduce RC6, which the company is releasing under its Maker’s Mark Wood Finishing Series that also includes Maker’s Mark 46 and the Private Select bottles. The bourbon is the result of a two-year project that is yet another experiment with different types of wood staves added to the barrels after the Maker’s Mark is fully mature.

Maker's Mark

Want!

According to a news release, it is made with a proprietary finishing stave called RC6 that enhances the fruit notes and baking spice notes found in regular Maker’s Mark bourbon, with a brighter finish.

And it’s going to be bottled at cask strength, which in this case is 108.2 proof.

And for those who don’t have the luxury of living in Bourbon Country, this limited release will be shipped nationwide starting in late September.

Also worth mentioning, it’s a one-time release, and only 255 barrels were used for the project. If you can find it (at your favorite liquor store or at the distillery), the suggested retail price is $59.99.

It’s funny, because I still have a handwritten note from Bill Samuels Jr. that came in a package with a small sample of Maker’s 46 — when that debuted in 2010 — saying that he’s been working hard on a new expression, and he wants my humble opinion on it.

I told him he’s definitely onto something great, and that I look forward to the new product and everything else that seeps from the quaint Loretto distillery. I still do. And this new release is more proof of that.

Jefferson's Reserve

Liege & Dairy partners with Jefferson’s Reserve for Bourbon Heritage Month!

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Jefferson's Reserve

Yes, yes, yes! | Courtesy of Liege & Dairy

Of course bourbon goes with everything — yes, even A-1 sauce.

I’ve tried it.

The pairing of ice cream and bourbon is nothing new, but what is new is the creative concoctions that come from the two.

For instance, in honor of September being National Bourbon Heritage Month, Trey Zoeller of Jefferson’s Bourbon got together with Andrew Llewellyn of Liége & Dairy to create three month-watering combinations of bourbon and ice cream.

Let’s take a look at those flavors:

• Trey-Fecta: What’s better than s’mores, bacon and bourbon? This has a graham cracker bourbon ice cream base with notes of marshmallow and bacon pieces. Holy cow (or pig?)!

• Papa Chet: Bourbon honey ice cream with pralines and caramel. (Chet is Zoeller’s father’s name with whom he started Jefferson’s Bourbon, and it’s also his son’s name. Zoeller also loves pralines since he went to Tulane University in New Orleans.)

• Jefferson’s Manhattan: Chocolate bourbon ice cream with cherries and chocolate chunks, which features Jefferson’s Manhattan cocktail mix in the recipe.

Personally, I’d like to try all three. But if I could only choose one, it would be the Trey-Fecta because I love anything with marshmallow in it (except for Peeps).

The flavors are available at both Liége & Dairy locations — one in Holiday Manor (2212 Holiday Manor Center) and one in Middletown (12003 Shelbyville Road) — through September, unless they sell out.

So run, don’t walk, before the chance for this bourbon bliss melts away …

ice cream

Check out the Jefferson’s Manhattan! | Courtesy

Four Roses Bourbon

Four Roses’ 2019 Limited Edition Small Batch is a sugar daddy

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Four Roses Bourbon

Who’s your daddy?!

The term “sugar daddy” has two meanings, and strangely enough, the new Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch encompasses them both.

The first is a candy invented in 1925 by Robert Welch that is basically a slab of caramel served on a stick. It is now manufactured by the Tootsie Roll company, which also makes its counterpart, Sugar Babies.

I used to gnaw on a Sugar Daddy at the movies (sounds bad, but that’s because you’re thinking of the other meaning), and my trick to not pulling out all my fillings was to first warm it up in my hands (OK, that still sounds bad).

Anyway, I learned from doing research for this post that the original name for a Sugar Daddy candy stick was Papa Sucker, which also sounds dirty.

And that brings us to the second meaning of the term: a rich older dude who provides financial benefits, typically for certain relations.

So what does any of this have to do with Four Roses’ latest release?

Well, it’s not only as tasty as a slab of caramel on a stick, but the barrels selected for the Small Batch are much more mature — refined if you will — providing pleasurable benefits for your taste buds.

In fact, let’s go ahead and coin a new hashtag: #barrelswithbenefits

If this bourbon was on Tinder, I would not only swipe right but seriously launch a Facebook stalking campaign just so I could run into it at its favorite bar.

But I digress.

The release marks the first Four Roses limited-quantity bottling to feature a 21-year-old bourbon from the distillery’s OBSV recipe. It also includes some 15-year-old OESK, 15-year-old OESV and 11-year-old OESV.

The result is a rich, sweet, honey-forward, spicy bite of hand-warmed caramel that melts in your mouth and immediately queues up some Marvin Gaye in the background.

“Our 10 distinct bourbon recipes provide the ability to handcraft new and interesting expressions, and with this year’s Limited Edition, we found some exceptionally well-rested bourbons in some of our higher aged barrels,” said Four Roses Master Distiller Brent Elliott in a news release. “Combining the delicate fruit flavors and light spice from our V and K strains resulted in a uniquely nuanced whiskey.”

Yes it did.

The bourbon — which will be released on Sept. 21 at both the Four Roses Distillery in Lawrenceburg and the Bottling Facility in Coxs Creek — will be bottled non-chill filtered at 112.6 proof and retail for about $140. This one will be hard to find — just like most limited editions — since there are only about 13,440 hand-numbered bottles hitting store shelves.

But like a good partner, it will be well worth your time and effort. Who knows … this might just be the one.

And with this and yesterday’s Old Forester Birthday Bourbon release, we’re off to a great start of the official Bourbon Release Season.

Happy National Bourbon Heritage Month, everybody!

Jackie Zykan

Old Forester Birthday Bourbon comes out today!

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Jackie Zykan

Old Forester Master Taster Jackie Zykan throws a party for Birthday Bourbon No. 19. | Photo by Sara Havens

Today we celebrate two things.

No. 1: It’s Labor Day and most of us have the day off. Woot!

No. 2: It’s George Garvin Brown’s birthday, which means it’s time for Old Forester to honor its founder by releasing Birthday Bourbon! Double woot!

Now, most of us did not stand in line overnight to score a bottle at the distillery, but I have hope I’ll be able to snag one eventually … I’m just not certain of where or when. But good things come to those who wait, right? And I’ve got all year to try to find one.

So what makes BB so special other than having the same initials as the Bar Belle?

Well, this one, the 19th of the series, is both high proof and older — sitting at 105 proof, the highest proof to date for this special expression, and 11 years old. I was fortunate to sample this year’s juice next to the previous year’s and can attest it is delicious and worth any effort you might give to track down a bottle or shot from a liquor store, bar or tasting room.

“Birthday Bourbon selections have ranged from 9 to 14 years old since the expression was first launched in 2002,” said Jackie Zykan, Old Forester Master Taster, in a news release. “When selecting the barrels for this year, we found something truly exceptional in this lot, and we’re proud to call it our 2019 Birthday Bourbon.”

About 120 barrels all distilled on the same day in 2008 were selected for this BB, which was chosen by Zykan and Old Fo Master Distiller Chris Morris. And according to the release, Zykan detected notes of rich oak spice and black currant coupled with light maple, caramel cake and white floral notes.

When we did the media sampling at the distillery with Zykan, she actually served the bourbon with caramel cake so we could try them side by side. The bourbon is so velvety and smooth, I didn’t even need the cake for comparison — but of course I took a few bites anyway.

Birthday Bourbon

Old Fo’s Birthday Bourbon is always released on Sept. 2. | Photo by Sara Havens

I could have sworn I also got some rich chocolaty notes as well, and of course that hint of banana that sometimes appears in older Brown-Forman bourbons.

A little over 13,000 bottles of the 2019 Old Forester Birthday Bourbon will be released nationwide starting Sept. 2 for a suggested retail price of $99.99. And 72 people who stood in line more than 24 hours this morning were the first to purchase them — but like I said, hopefully we can get lucky if we’re patient and kind.

As a reminder, my birthday is Oct. 5, so the universe can do with that what it will.

White Claw

Today’s Reason To Drink

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White Claw

Clawed.

Several of you have asked what my thoughts are on this White Claw hard seltzer phenomenon, since it’s spreading around our nightlife like mono at a teenage summer camp. I admit I’ve dabbled with the Claw and find it to be just an updated — although that doesn’t necessarily mean better — version of Zima.

The Claw is light and refreshing — packing a little more tantalizing zest than a bottle of Bud. It’s also a trend, and trends tend to have a limited shelf life. Just take whipped cream vodka as an example.

I don’t hate the Claw, but I do notice a more heightened hangover the next day when only consuming Claw instead of my standard Michelob Ultra or Bud Light. Can that be because of the difference in ingredients? One being beer and one being malt liquor?

I don’t recall terrible hangovers with Zima, but then again I was guzzling them when I was in my 20s — a time when hangovers were something old people complained of, when Clinton was in office, and when I pretended to like boys. All was right in the world — well, except for the boys part.

I figured it out, though, about a decade later.

But back to the topic at hand — or should I say Claw? Raspberry is the best flavor, the can MUST be crushed upon finishing, and it’s not a bad alternative to light beer.

Will I replace my beloved bourbon and beer with the Claw? Never.

Is the Claw better than Zima? Hell no.

Am I surprised it’s taken off like it has? Nope — everyone is looking for the next big thing.

But if you want to know what I really think: You can’t Claw all day if you don’t start in the morning!

Today’s Reason To Drink

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Old Forester 1910

Welcome back!

Anyone in need of some good news to start your Monday? Well, thanks to Old Forester, we have some!

The Old Forester 1910 Old Fine Whisky is back on shelves — or should be within the week. As you know, the original release sold out in just two months last fall, and the distillery promised we’d have more by August.

And thank goodness they made good on their promise, because I’ve been awfully thirsty for some more 1910, which is the fourth product in the Old Forester Whiskey Row Series.

1910 is a double-barreled bourbon that references a devastating fire the distillery suffered long ago that shut down the bottling line. From the fire, the whisky that was ready to be bottled had to instead be stored in a second barrel until the bottling line was repaired.

The resulting liquid did not taste like the standard Old Forester, so it was re-labeled as Very Old Fine Whisky.

This iteration of Very Old Fine Whisky is aged in a second, custom-made, heavily charred barrel between six and nine months — giving the expression its smooth, chocolatey taste.

“Sales for the first release of our 1910 Old Fine Whisky blew us away,” said Campbell Brown, president of Old Fo, in a news release. “We were thrilled to see how much bourbon drinkers loved the flavors and the story behind 1910.”

The suggested retail price of the 93-proof whiskey is $55.

tour bus

Today’s Reason To Drink

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tour bus

Need a bourbon tour?

So it’s official. I’m now working in the bourbon industry as opposed to covering the bourbon industry with my new position — director of marketing for Mint Julep Experiences.

Mint Julep runs daily bourbon tours out of Louisville and Nashville, and they also own the Bourbon City Cruisers, which I still am a tour guide for part-time.

I’ve been enamored with the bourbon industry ever since I started covering it more than a decade ago, and now I’m proud to actually be a small part of it.

Now, don’t think I’m going to hang up my writing. I still plan to cover all the new releases and bourbon news here and with some other media outlets — which I’m working on partnering with now. I’ll definitely keep you all updated on when and where you can find my articles — if you care, that is. If not, then keep drinking the good stuff and don’t get fooled by the Claw.

I’ll also start working on those Tasteless Tastings I’ve been promising you for quite a while. Believe me, I’ve got a stockpile of samples to try — and I haven’t stolen any sneak peek sips yet … on most of them.

Also, The Bar Belle will continue — definitely here and perhaps back in column form if I can convince a local publication or outlet that they desperately need to run it.

Looks like I have a lot of work to do.

Back Door

Bar Belle: 20 years ago, I walked into The Back Door …

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Back Door

Props to The Back Door. Who’s that blonde?

This was originally published at Insider Louisville on Aug. 2, 2019.

It’s been nearly 20 years to the day that a girl walked into a bar and her life was forever changed.

That bar was Highlands’ haunt The Back Door, and that girl was a young, new-to-Louisville Buckeye who had just landed a job at LEO Weekly and was invited by friendly coworkers to a longstanding Thursday night happy hour. Ever since that fateful evening in August of 1999, I’ve only missed a handful of Thursday happy hours at the Unstable Table, and my Louisville family has grown tremendously.

Transitioning from a very social college scene on a small campus in Athens, Ohio, to a rather large Kentucky city that I wasn’t even sure how to pronounce, that first year as a Louisville resident was tough, awkward, frustrating and eye-opening. Many folks told me I’d enjoy living by Bardstown Road, so my first apartment was in a high-rise in Buechel — which I thought was still part of the Highlands. Fun fact: It is not.

But even though my social calendar was nonexistent, I could always count on happy hour at The Back Door, with folks of all ages — 21 and up, of course — who eventually became friends and helped introduce me to Louisville, showed me the ropes, told me about the time-saving alleyways to avoid Bardstown Road and taught me the art of a stiff drink.

We always sit at our same table in the main bar room, which John Brown gets there at 4 to snag. Sometimes there are four of us, and sometimes we need to push a few tables together to accommodate 14. You just never know until you show up.

Through jobs, significant others, deaths, drama and the perpetual grind that is aging, my Back Door family has remained a constant — a place free of judgment, a place to unwind, share opinions on the day’s news or avoid it altogether.

The Back Door was where I first met Mayor Greg Fischer — before he officially was mayor. Somehow Unstable Table regular Cindy Lamb convinced all the candidates running for mayor to stop by our esteemed Thursday congregation and discuss their qualifications.

I recall Fischer’s ease in sitting down with a group of strangers and even reaching for a chicken wing or two that we had ordered.

The Back Door taught me about moderation and finding a delicate balance between comfortably unwinding (one gin & tonic) and crazy town crunk (two or more gin & tonics). Now that I’m older and wiser, I’ll treat myself to one mixed drink and then quickly switch to beer so I don’t stumble into work Friday morning like a sunglass-clad zombie who inhales water instead of brains.

But most of all, the bar has given me friendship, and whether that road is a long one or ultimately cut short (R.I.P. SueBee), it’ll always lead me straight to The Back Door on a Thursday night.

The Unstable Table is open to anyone who buys the first round. We won’t bite unless provoked.

See you on Thursday.