Happy National Bourbon Day!

As you may have figured out by now from reading this blog - every day is bourbon day.  Today we've got something for everyone else.  Yes indeed, folks!  Today, on this lovely 14th day of June, marks National Bourbon Day.  Why today?  I have no idea.  In the age of National (insert something totally random here) Days we've finally come across one worth noting.

Bourbon whiskey is the only spirit designated as a distinct product of the United States of America.  By law, in order to be bourbon the following factors must be in play:

• Made of a grain mixture that is at least 51% corn
• Distilled to a proof of no higher than 160 proof
• Dumped into a barrel at a proof of no higher than 125 proof
• Aged in a new, charred white oak barrel
• Bottled at a proof of no lower than 80 proof

These guidelines are also known as "How to Make Liquid Awesome".

Bourbon has a history that coincides with American history itself and, like American history, some of it's legends and claims are somewhat foggy.  Take it's development for example.  Some claim the Reverend Elijah Craig was the man responsible for bourbon whiskey, that he was the first to age in charred oak casks which led to the clear whiskey distillate working into the grain of the barrel and taking on the reddish hue of bourbon whiskey.  Others claim that a distiller by the name of James Spears who lived in Bourbon County was the first to label his whiskey as "Bourbon Whiskey" and therefore is responsible for it coming to light.  Some refute all claims, stating there is no clear cut inventor.

Please note that none of the laws that designate a spirit as bourbon whiskey state that it must be made in a specific state.  Today, about 90-95% of all bourbon is made in the state of Kentucky.  As you can guess, that makes Kentucky a bourbon mecca.  They hold the Kentucky Bourbon Festival each September (which is National Bourbon Heritage Month) and have setup the Kentucky Bourbon Trail which encourages tourism of various distilleries around the bluegrass state.

Here at The Blind Tastes Speakeasy (aka The BTS pictured atop this post) we are big fans of the Old Fashioned and after much experimentation we have found our preferred recipe.  Today, on National Bourbon Day, we share it with you.

The BTS Old Fashioned

4oz W.L. Weller Antique 107 proof bourbon
1 sugar cube
4 dashes Orange Angostura bitters
splash of water (small splash!  helps dissolve the sugar)
1 ice ball or large ice cube
orange zest
Double Old Fashioned glass (or rocks glass of your choosing)

Drop a sugar cube into a rocks glass and add bitters and splash of water and muddle until the cube is dissolved.  Add the ice ball and give 'er a spin for a minute to cool the glass.  Add the bourbon.  Zest an orange so it's about 1/2 inch wide and 2-3 inches long, making sure to avoid too much of the white pithe that is more bitter.  Squeeze or twist the zest over the glass.  You'll see the oils from the zest spray out into the cocktail.  Rub the rim with the orange peel and toss that puppy in the drink.  Give it a stir and enjoy!

On the Road: Southern BBQ

A few weeks back, my work travels took me to Charlotte, NC followed by a nice couple of days in Memphis, TN with a quick jaunt up to Jonesboro, AR thrown in between.  Naturally, I did what any man who loves southern food would do - I ate BBQ.  Every.  Single.  Day.

I arrived in Charlotte on a Saturday morning to help one of my customers prepare for a trade show.  I had worked this same show last year and remembered it was a good 20 minutes outside the city.  Without a car, I was limited for eating options but I remembered having some decent 'cue at a chain called Smoky Bones that was right across the street from my hotel.  An industry buddy of mine that I'd met the year before at this show was there again so we decided to head over to Smoky Bones for lunch and then made a return visit on Sunday for dinner.  The ribs at Smoky Bones are pretty good but not awe inspiring.  They give you a choice of BBQ sauces on the side, one being a sweet BBQ sauce and the other a mustard based sauce.  I love mustard based BBQ sauce and this sauce was pretty good and made a tender, moist pulled pork that much better.  They do a nice side of grilled corn at Smoky Bones with char marks on the kernels and a little mesquite flavor added.  It was nice to have a BBQ option close by, made even better with good, friendly service and decent pricing.

After surviving a scary but surprisingly tame car accident involving my cab and an 18-wheeler, I was on my way to Memphis.  I rented a car and drove up to Jonesboro, AR to see some good customers.  Did you know Arkansas is responsible for 48% of rice production in the United States?  Rice paddies are strewn throughout the land as I observed on my drive North from Memphis to Jonesboro.  Yup, lots of farmland there.  After meeting with a few customers, I was starving.  That's when I looked up and saw this sign...

 Bar-B-Que + Pig = Awesome

The word "Bar-B-Que" and a picture of a pig was all I needed to know that I'd probably be in good hands at Couch's Bar-B-Que.  I was a little surprised to find a lone woman inside setting tables when I walked in around 4pm (very late lunch).  She said it was just about to get busy and she was right.  I ordered a pulled pork sandwich and went with her recommendation on getting it piled with slaw.

Pulled Pork sandwich @ Couch's, Paragould, AR

The pork wasn't smothered in BBQ sauce, rather lightly spritzed with a somewhat spicy vinegar based sauce like one might expect to find in North Carolina.  I liked it.  A lot.  It really allowed the flavor of the pork to shine.  The slaw was a great call too, providing a nice crunchy texture and a contrasting cool to the spicy sauce that I was now squirting onto each bite.  After downing some unsweetened tea (I can't do sweet tea, regardless of how prevalent it is in the South.  It's just too sweet for me.) and a side of fried zucchini that was pretty good for being previously frozen, I headed on my way back to Memphis.

I had told my Dad I was looking forward to BBQ and live blues in Memphis and, being the great Dad that he is, he did some research for me.  He found out that Corky's BBQ had won best BBQ ribs in Memphis for the past 21 years!  Naturally, I had to check it out.

The location on Poplar Ave in Memphis is the original Corky's location, with additional locations that have taken root in Cordova and Collierville.  It was a Monday night around 8pm when I walked through the door and the place was packed!  "This must be some good 'cue", I thought to myself.  As luck would have it, a bar seat opened up immediately at the packed bar and I capitalized on my good fortune by hopping in the saddle and ordering a Sam Adams Nobel Pils.  Latty, the Bartender, was friendly as hell.  He offered me a menu and let me browse a minute before asking if it was my first visit to Corky's.  When I replied that it indeed was my first visit, he pointed to the pulled pork and ribs combo and said, "That is what you're having and you're getting the ribs with the rub.  No sauce."  I loved the confidence and went with it.

While I waited for my dinner at the bar, Latty pointed out to me and some other bar folk that there was a birthday in the dining room and that meant that Kelly would be singing Happy Birthday.  Sure enough, a waitress named Kelly asked for the crowd to say "Happy Birthday" and then be quiet so she could sing it.  Everyone got a kick out of that.  We said our part and then Kelly belted out a killer version of the Happy Birthday song.  Latty remarked that one of the great things about working at Corky's was that they encourage everyone to be themselves.  It was clear this was no problem for Kelly the waitress.

The birthday song was a nice prelude to the tasty notes that would soon be doing a jig on my palate.  My plate arrived with a 1/2 rack of ribs, pulled pork smothered in Corky's BBQ sauce, slaw, and corn on the cob.  I attacked the ribs first and immediately noticed the smoky aroma of the meat along with the spices of the dry rub.  The meat was fall-off-the-bone tender but not sloppy at all and your could really taste the flavor of the pork itself.  The dry rub added an awesome punch of flavor, enhancing every bite.  After mowing down about half of my ribs, I noticed that the pulled pork was a little lonely and gave it a try.  The pork was super tender but I didn't like the sauce.  For one, there was too much of it and it overpowered the flavor of the pork.  Second, the sauce was just too sweet for me.  Next time, I'd order it sans sauce and maybe add some of Corky's Spicy BBQ sauce which seemed less sweet.  Overall, it was a kickass meal and the ribs really blew me away.  Having eaten a fair share of ribs in my life, I feel confident saying that Corky's BBQ ribs are the best I've ever had.

 photo courtesy: "zeller" on Panoramio

Latty had made me promise that if I had time for a lunch stop on Tuesday, that I would try Gus' Famous Fried Chicken, claiming it to be the best fried chicken in the world.  When my 1pm meeting was moved to 3pm, I made good on that promise.

Lots of people waiting 30+ minutes for a table says something...

Latty had warned that I'd better have a substantial amount of time for lunch since the popularity of Gus' sometimes meant a 30+ minute wait for a table to open up and then another 30 minutes for your food to arrive.  He also advised that service can be somewhat non-existent but I didn't have a problem with it at all.  I checked in with the guy at the counter and he said I was lucky for two reasons: they had just sat a bunch and I was next on the list and he and I shared the same name so he wouldn't forget who was up next.  A few tables opened up and I grabbed one.  I ordered an unsweetened iced tea, the best I'd had yet on my trip, and then ordered the fried chicken breast along with sides of slaw and baked beans.  Twenty minutes and an iced tea later, my fried chicken plate arrived.

Crappy iPhone pic of a slightly dominated fried chicken plate @ Gus' Famous Fried Chicken

The chicken was fortified by a crisp exterior that held together nicely (rather than crumbling like some fried chicken can) and the meat was tender, releasing a little steam with each bite.  The breading mix was slightly spicy with the flavor of the spice gaining heat as I continued to eat but I don't think it was spicy enough to scare off a person who doesn't like spicy food.  I liked the baked beans.  They were smokey and not too sweet.  The slaw had an incredibly fresh flavor and texture.  I loved it even if it was a bit runnier than I usually prefer.  All of this food came at a price tag of around $10 and I'm pretty sure that included tip.  It was a great lunch.

Later that night I ventured down to historic Beale Street to check out Blues City Cafe which is down by the Mississippi River that divides Tennessee and Arkansas.  Lots of blues history on this street and lots of blues bars.  Even B.B. King is in on the action with a blues bar bearing his name.  I met some local guys at the bar and we talked as they demolished some ribs.  When I asked if the ribs were any good, one guy said, "Maaaan, did you see how fast we just demolished that plate?"  So, my decision was made.  Ribs.  Again.  The ribs were covered in a sweet sauce that, once again, I found a little too sweet.  The slaw and corn was pretty good though.

(A brief sidebar here...  The two dudes I met at the bar were the 5th and 6th locals to tell me that, while Corky's had won best BBQ ribs for the past 21 years, they favored Charlie Vergos' Rendezvous.  In fact, every local I asked said to go there.  Mr. Vergos passed away as a barbecue legend a few days after I left town.  This is a must try on my next visit.  For what it's worth, both ship their famous ribs all over the country, to which Latty at Corky's attested that they keep their awesomeness even when cooked at home.  I'd rather be there though.)

After dinner, I headed over to The Band Box part of Blues City Cafe where a band was covering Johnny Cash and Elvis on stage.  That's not what I was looking for so I strolled down Beale in search of some down and dirty blues.  About 2 joints down is where I heard the wail of a harmonica coming from Blues Hall Juke Joint and I knew I'd found my spot for the night.  The lead singer cranked on the harmonica and a guy who was in the audience got up and melted my face off with a killer solo during one of the tunes.  I now understood why they call Memphis the "home of the blues and the birthplace of rock n' roll".

As I made my way to the airport the following morning, I thought about the great time I'd had in Memphis.  It's a fun city with a lot of American history and spirit, especially when it comes to food and music.  I also really enjoyed seeing the diversity of the city.  Memphis was definitely my favorite stop.  It was a productive work trip and a nice time away from Miami.  I sampled some great barbecue and met a lot of really cool people while learning about each city and it's history.  I'm hopeful that my travels will take me back to Memphis someday to explore and taste more of what the city has to offer.

On the Kentucky Bourbon Trail

This is long overdue but procrastination is kinda my middle name. I will warn you that this is a long post that took a shitload of time to put together, again, mainly because procrastination is kinda my middle name. Im also a tad wordy and tend to relate every detail possible but hey, at least the few who read this will be gettin their money's worth. Enjoy...

Around my 21st birthday, my Dad gave me a salute with a glass of bourbon. At the time it tasted like gasoline and I was not a fan. I was used to sucking down beers not sipping liquor. As time went on, however, I began to get more into new liquors. I remember sitting at an airport bar waiting for a flight that was delayed and deciding to order a Maker's Mark and Coke so I could get a nice buzz and nap on the flight. I liked it right away. The Coke subdued that gasoline taste and added to the sweetness of the bourbon. As time went on, I switched from bourbon & Coke to bourbon & ginger ale. One day, I decided that I wanted to begin trying new bourbons and Dad had kept Basil Hayden at the house on my last visit home. He told me that was a bourbon to be consumed on the rocks only, so naturally I ditched the soda I had been mixing with other bourbons like Maker's Mark. This is when my love for all things bourbon began.

This year, I gave my dad a killer Christmas present. I booked some business in Louisville on a Friday and had him fly out to meet me that night. That was the start of the Bourbon Trail for us. In the next 2 days we were going to be visiting various bourbon distilleries and learning the secrets of their sweet nectar.

I had booked a hotel in downtown Louisville, walking distance from area attractions like Stevie Ray's Blues Bar and Fourth Street Live, a pedestrian street with shops, bars, and restaurants much like Lincoln Road on Miami Beach just with bigger buildings. After settling in and planning the next day's itinerary, we headed down to Fourth Street Live to check out the Maker's Mark bar. After all, this was a bourbon trip so we needed to make sure we drank as much as possible!

The Maker's Mark bar was stocked with around 70 different types of bourbon all lined behind the bar in alphabetical order waiting to be served up by Chris and Melissa. Both took good care of us and we decided to stick around for dinner so we could eat and watch the Celtics/Pistons playoff game. I sampled 5 bourbons, Dad had 3. Rock Hill was my favorite that night. The food was ok, mine was overcooked but Chris sympathized and passed me a free round so it was all good. Celtics came back in the 4th to finish off the Pistons and we got nice and buzzed before heading to the hotel to crash. Saturday was going to be an early start, late ending day.

We started the day early and arrived at the Jim Beam distillery around 9:15am. They are known for their namesake bourbon but have gained much more notoriety from their small batch collection - Knob Creek, Basil Hayden, Booker's, and Baker's. Basil Hayden is my favorite everyday bourbon, Dad's too. Its incredibly smooth with a nice flavor and for that reason I always recommend it to scotch drinkers who want to give bourbon a try. The tour at Jim Beam was kinda lame because it was self-guided. You got to see a movie about the Beam family history and then you could walk around the grounds before finishing off at the Beam House for some tasting. Not much learning, mostly browsing. I did think the Beam family history was pretty cool though. When we finally made our way around to the Beam House it was about 10am. The house was decorated with pictures and memorabilia from the Beam family business. There was one room that housed what is believed to be (and in my opinion has to be) the worlds smallest distiller. It can still produce 4 gallons of "high wine", the clear liquid that is poured into charred white oak barrels and aged, eventually bottled as bourbon. Other things like Beam's long pipe and an old piece of paper that held Beam's computations from when he tried to figure out what it would cost him to get going after Prohibition was lifted adorned the walls. Pretty cool. We then went for the tasting and we were in luck. The 2 bourbons available that day were Booker's and Basil Hayden. Basil at 10:15am, neat (no ice), after a full night of drinking, wasnt too bad but it did give me a little "HELLO!" moment. Booker's, on the other hand, was rough. At 124.6 proof, it was like drinking fire, especially since I'd only had an english muffin all day. But hey, I was awake now!

We hit the road and began the drive to the next stop on our Bourbon Trail - Buffalo Trace. This was the one I was most looking forward to because they produce some of my favorite brands and the most highly rated brand in the world known as Pappy Van Winkle's 23yr. Pulling into the parking lot, we get hit by the aroma of aging bourbon wafting through our car windows, also known as the "angel's share". That was awesome. We enter the store and find we have 40 minutes until the next tour. I was excited to see a whole basket full of corks from Blanton's bottles being sold. Each cork features a horse and rider figurine on top and each of those bears a letter of the name "Blanton's" at the horse's back foot. If you take all of them and spell out "Blanton's", the figurines resemble a horse race from standing position to full stride and ending with the rider raising his hand in victory. The "S" piece was rumored to be the hardest to get so I was fired up when I found the only one in the bowl. I also got the "T" and "O" to complete my collection (See below).

Here are some other highlights from the shop:

Barreling process


Buffalo Trace Milestones (6,000,000+ barrels!!!)


List of Distilleries throughout history


The Roll of Honor - all the award winning spirits made at Buffalo Trace (Impressive!)






The tour started at 1pm and we headed on over to the Free House to watch a quick movie about the history of Buffalo Trace. Turns out, the "Buffalo Trace" was what they called the paths that buffalo created as they walked through the fields of yesteryear, paths followed by our American forefathers on their expedition West. After the video and a good amount of Q&A with our guide, we headed on over to Warehouse C to check out the racks of aging barrels.



Warehouse C is where the smell of the "angel's share" was coming from when we arrived. Wooden ricks about 11 stories high with barrels upon barrels of aging bourbon lie inside, hibernating through each Kentucky season. Buffalo Trace has actually found a way to control the climate inside during the various seasons to maximize efficiency. Bourbon must be aged a minimum of 2 years to be considered Straight Bourbon though most are aged for 6-8 years. Dad and I really liked this pic I snapped next, looking out from the dead center of the warehouse.



From the warehouse we headed on over to the Albert Blanton Bottling Hall. Large batch bourbons, like Buffalo Trace's namesake brand, are a blend of 100+ different barrels aged in the warehouse. See, barrels will age differently in different sections of the warehouse, with the ones on top usually aging at a higher proof than those down below. Small batch bourbons are a blend of a much lesser amount of barrels, a select few from the heart of the warehouse. Let's not forget single barrel as well which is poured from a single barrel in the warehouse...imagine that! (Interesting fact: Booker Noe, master distiller @ Jim Beam, believes that the best barrels are located in the middle of the warehouse. Hence, "Booker's" brand bourbon is a small batch bourbon poured from barrels selected from the heart of the warehouse. It is the only bourbon in existence to be poured, unfiltered, from the barrel to the bottle) Inside the bottling hall they had a case with all of the small batch bourbons inside that were bottled at Buffalo Trace...



After a tasting of Buffalo Trace bourbon and Eagle Rare (a personal favorite of mine and a great value at about $30) the tour came to an end. Dad and I sat and talked bourbon with the tour guide and got some of her recommendations on new brands to try. She enjoyed our conversation/enthusiasm so much that she offered to sneak away for a few and give us a private tour of the fermentation process. Awesome. We headed back to the fermentation tanks via golf cart and then got a nice tour of the insides and the process.

The fermentation tanks

This bubbling is a natural reaction between the corn, rye, malted barley, Kentucky limestone water, and a little yeast that can last up to 5 days.

From there its off to the Beer Stills (the fermented product looks a lot like beer) where the product is distilled to a clear alcohol liquid. This is called "white dog" at Buffalo Trace. Jim Beam calls it "high wine". Here are the beer stills followed by a pic of the "white dog" tap. I loved the tasting glass next to the tap. The "white dog" is what is poured into the charred oak barrels to age, eventually becoming bourbon.




Oh and just for kicks they decided, since they were so good at distilling, to give vodka a try.





We took a walk around the grounds before heading on to the next stop. Here is Thunder. The plaque reads, "carved from a fallen 300 year old sycamore tree to commemorate the majesty of migrating buffalo in a wilderness past. Created by sculptor Stan Schu, June 1999"



Our final stop for the day was Woodford Reserve, just down a ways from Buffalo Trace. The ride there was pretty cool. Miles up miles of horse farms with horses EVERYWHERE. Its no wonder Woodford Reserve creates a special bottle for the Derby each year.





Eventually we arrived at Woodford Reserve. This distillery was different to me in that it had this "high society" type vibe. Maybe Im just saying that because of the Derby connection, I dunno. Pretty cool location though.




We spent so much time at Buffalo Trace that we didnt get to Woodford Reserve in time to catch the last tour. So, we walked around the museum exhibit and read up on the history of the place and the process they employ to make their bourbon. We also got a tasting and Dad got busted going back for seconds which was pretty funny.





On our way out, we met a nice couple from Utah who I recognized from our Buffalo Trace tour. They had seen a few different distilleries the day before and we decided we would have to make a return trip next year to hit up the rest of the Bourbon Trail. The husband also talked about how he has to drive to Cali to get his bourbon thanks to the laws in Utah.

We headed back to Louisville for the night and checked out Proof on Main, a spot recommend by Sara over at All Purpose Dark. We didnt have a reservation and didnt feel like waiting for over an hour so we decided to have a few bourbons at the bar and then go dominate a nice hearty steak over at Morton's across the street. I did get this shot of the outside of the 21C museum-hotel where Proof on Main was located.



A few more bourbons at the Maker's Mark bar and it was off to bed. We were flying home the next afternoon and planned to hit up the Louisville Slugger Factory before heading to the airport. You know, for a relatively quiet city, there really is a lot to see in Louisville and the surrounding area. Thats one of the things I really enjoyed about this trip outside of getting to spend time with Dad. There is so much history and so many sights and cool stuff to be seen inside the borders of our own country that most people never would think about. Sure, it may not be as glamorous as Paris or Athens but the sense of adventure is still there.