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Event recap: Bourbon, BBQ and Bluegrass
The second annual Bourbon, BBQ, and Bluegrass festival at Stubb’s last Monday night brought bourbon aficionados and some of Austin’s finest bartending talent together for a night of mingling and tastings that rivaled last year’s fest.
A whopping twenty brands of bourbon, 6 original hand-crafted bourbon cocktails, and sizzling heaps of smoked meat provided the centerpiece for the event. Twangy banjo and mandolin riffs and the sweet southern drawl of Hem & Haw’s traditional bluegrass tunes weaved through the night, and I was hard pressed to find many people who walked away from the event without a full belly and a warm bourbon glow.
Adam Harris, Maker’s Mark Distillery Diplomat and USBG Chapter Vice President was part of the behind-the-scenes crew that organized the event, and he also spent the evening pouring Maker’s Mark samples and educating attendees about the brand.
Harris noted that the turnout this year far exceeded that of 2010. He said, “it’s great to see the interest in bourbon alive and growing strong in Austin, and it’s really fantastic that for one night we can get all of these great bourbons together and work to celebrate our National spirit.”
It was indeed a great celebration of all things Americana. All the major bourbon brands were represented, from the Jim Beam portfolio, to Buffalo Trace, Bulleit, Four Roses and the Sazerac company. Stubb’s offered an array of delectable meat treats that provided a solid foundation for sipping on bourbon samples including smoked ribs and chicken/jalapeno nuggets wrapped in bacon. And while some commented on how last year’s musical entertainment was substantially more rowdy than this year, the band put on a great show.
The highlight for me was the creative array of bourbon cocktail options created by some of the most talented bartenders in Central Texas. Harris echoed this sentiment, “we had some of Austin’s best and brightest on hand tonight (not to mention the cameo from the newly formed San Antonio chapter) and they’re really the big thing that sets our shindig apart from other events like this. Not only are you sampling fantastic bourbon whiskey but your also getting the chance to try something ‘off the menu,’ so to speak, from the talents that run the show at Contigo, Perla’s, etc.”
There was a great variety of cocktails to sample, each one featuring a different bourbon as the base. Styles ranged from a few delightful summer porch drinks that were helpful to beat the heat, to some other booze-forward ones that complemented the post-BBQ coma.
Everyone raved about the Hatch Collins by Contigo’s Houston Eaves (pictured above), a crisp combination of Hatch chile Maker’s 46, lime, simple syrup, Topo Chico, and garnished with pickled Hatch chile wrapped in bresaola.
Ben Craven of Perla’s worked with the Devil’s Cut bourbon from Jim Beam. You can read more about his concoction in my notes on the bourbon that published last week.
Jeret Pena of Esquire Tavern in San Antonio made the trip north, and mixed up one of his house cocktails, the Ender’s game, which featured carbonated Earl Grey-infused sweet vermouth, Bulleit bourbon, grapefruit, lemon, bitters and honey syrup.
While I thought all of the drinks were excellent, my favorite concoction of the night was the Stumble Pie from Billy Hankey from Second Bar + Kitchen (below), which resembled sort of summer toddy with its fall flavor combination of bourbon, apple/maple syrup and walnut liqueur.
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By chascates
September 20, 2011 5:25 PM | Link to this
Sorry I missed this event about my favorite tipple! Anyone is welcome to take the great mixology classes offered by the Austin chapter of the United States Bartenders Guild. It’s not a drinking party but a very serious history of each of the main spirits and mixers, details of Prohibition and how other countries’ spirits, and with a host of special instructors, each with a specialization in a facet of beverages that makes them a real treat to hear. You can take a single class or an entire series: http://tipsytech.net/live/index.html