Yeah I said it, free bourbon. If you're a Friend of Lou you should have received a pass in the mail that enables you to swing by the Bourbon Country tent down at Fest-A-Ville, get a free drink, nibble on some appetizers and hear some live jazz. If you're not a Friend of Lou, well shame on you. You can still make it to the party though. Download and print your pass and you're well on your way to coolness and free beverageness. 

JOIN LOU and friends for an exclusive Friends of Lou party.

WHERE: The Bourbon Country tent at Fest-a-ville next to the Chow Wagon
WHEN: April 24, 2008 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Put the VIP pass linked in this email in your lanyard and show it at the main entrance to gain absolutely, positively free admission for you and a friend. You'll enjoy bourbon-inspired hors d'oeuvres, a free drink ticket and live music. You can even stick around a little later to hear a live jazz ensemble and watch the Great Balloon Glimmer.

OK that title is perhaps a little misleading. Mixing and drinking this cocktail probably won't attract a new paramour for you (though it might) but it will allow you to be all sentimental and full of civic pride and thus share your Louisville Love. If you think about all the things the recipe tells you to you might even choke you up a little bit. Well probably only if you're the kind of person who tears up like a little baby every single year during the playing of My Old Kentucky Home for Derby. I don't know anyone at all like that. *cough*

Tim Laird from Brown-Forman invented this drink for the GLI annual meeting back in March but I think it sounds tasty and thus I'd like to see it turn up on bar menus. So I'm, you know, writing about it here in the hopes that some brilliant bar manager will send an email round that says "Michelle, come have a Possibilitini at our place."

Possibilitini
In a shaker with ice add:
2 ounces of Woodford Reserve Bourbon (representing the area which is known as Bourbon Country)
1 ounce of Chambord Black Raspberry Liqueur (this is a French liqueur which represents Louisville's relationship with France)
Shake vigorously to demonstrate how Louisville is shaking things up and is definitely a, "mover and shaker" of a City

Pour into a tall Martini glass representing Louisville's growth and potential
Garnish with a green maraschino cherry (this represents both, Louisville's green movement and prosperity)

Obviously the drink is tied into the Possibility City campaign, (full disclosure I'm working on Imagine Louisville) and I'm a-ok with that. My only question is whether my good friends over at Maker's Mark will come up with an equally civic pride filled cocktail that I can sip somewhere soon. I'll never choose between Woodford and Maker's and you can't make me. I love them both.

Maker's Mark is throwing a cool sounding contest open to Kentucky artists.

For over 50 years, we've been handcrafting Maker's Mark here at our little distillery in Loretto, KY. From the hand selecting of our grains, to the tasting of each barrel and the hand dipping of each bottle in our signature red wax, we leave nothing to chance when it comes to our bourbon. That's why we look at each bottle of Maker's as a work of art.

And now we want to see your artistic take on the process.

We'd like to try something new, something different. Something that reflects the essence of not only our bourbon, but the distillery, the people, and the brand in an artistic way.

We want to give local artists full-access to our historic distillery, in the hope that it will become an inspiration they can express through their art form.

Get all the contest details at themarkofgreatart.com

This Brown-Foreman AfterHours at the Speed event next Friday April 11 from 6-9PM looks just about my speed.

Join us as we celebrate the charms of Kentucky with "Bourbon and Bluegrass." The evening will feature the live music of "Hog Operation," handicapping experts on hand from Churchill Downs, $2 tastings of Woodford Reserve cocktails, food samplings by Liquor Barn and tours of the Kentucky Collection. Admission is $10, free to museum members. Visit Medieval and Renaissance Treasures from the Victoria and Albert Museum for $5 with AfterHours admission. Parking is available in the Speed Garage for $3. Doors will open at 5:30 PM for this event.

Speed Museum
2035 South Third Street
Louisville, KY

I'm going to be brutally honest with you. Until very recently my knowledge of bourbon consisted of the following: bourbon tastes good, particularly in the form of a whiskey sour.

I'm exaggerating a little but my bourbon knowledge was quite small. Considering bourbon's prevalence and importance in Kentucky I decided it was downright shameful to know so little. A bit of questioning among friends and associates found that there are a lot of people like myself who essentially fall into the "bourbon is good, we're proud of bourbon in Kentucky but we don't know much at all about it" category. So instead of just learning about bourbon for my own benefit I decided to do a series on bourbon for Consuming Louisville. You're looking at the first article in that series: Bourbon 101.

To get myself schooled on the topic of bourbon I reached out to Jim Clayton, a Vice President of Sales with Republic National Distributing Company. Jim, besides being a heck of a nice guy, knows bourbon. He was kind enough to spend sometime educating a novice like me on what bourbon is, how to properly taste and find bourbons you like as well as the identity of America's favorite bourbon cocktail. It was a fascinating conversation and I can't thank Mr. Clayton enough for spending time with me and sharing his knowledge.

One editorial note, any factual and correct information in this article comes from Mr. Clayton, even if it's not listed as a direct quote. Any inaccuracies are completely the fault of the author and her transcription or comprehension skills. Credit goes to Jim Clayton, blame goes to me. Got it? Good, let's dive into bourbon.

Is there anything better than grandmotherly types dancing to Freak Nasty while packaging bottles of bourbon? No, I don't think there is.

In January Amy Evans of the Southern Foodways Alliance (SFA) spent some time enjoying bars and conversation in our fair city as part of an oral history project on bar culture in Louisville. The project she's working on is for the SFA's upcoming Blue Grass and Brown Whiskey Field Trip to Louisville, July 11 to 13.

A snapshot of her Louisville bar exploits was posted today to Serious Eats in a write up by fellow SFA-er Melissa Hall.

Louisville is awash in bourbon. And beer. It's a drinking person's town, due in no small part to the state's bourbon heritage and the city's nickname-namesake brewery, Falls City. This is where the Old Fashioned was invented. It's where Al Capone dodged the law during prohibition, ducking out of the Seelbach Hotel through secret passageways. And it's where barkeeps plied their customers with rolled oysters and bean soup to keep them coming back. Louisville's private clubs, hotel bars, and neighborhood taverns are rich with drinking history and lore, and there's always time for another round.

In January Southern Foodways Alliance oral historian Amy Evans bellied up to many a bar in Falls City, chatting up bartenders, bar owners, and bar patrons, gathering their stories one drink at a time.

Interviews conducted by Evans will appear on the web later this Spring.

Four Roses Bourbon and Nanz and Kraft Florist are teaming up for a benefit event for Brightside. A $5 donation at the door gets you premium bourbon samplings from the fine folks at Four Roses Bourbon Hall and bourbon discussion with Hall of Fame Master Distiller Jim Rutledge. You also get hors d'oeuvres and the opportunity to shop around Nanz and Kraft's floral playground to buy beautiful Valentine's gifts for your sweetheart.

Four Roses Flower Hour

Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2008 6-8 p.m.
Nanz & Kraft Florist
141 Breckenridge Lane
St. Matthews

I've mentioned Park Place's Bourbon flights before. I think often we in Louisville (or the state at large) align ourself with one brand or one blend of bourbon for various reasons without really trying some of the other things that are out there. Bourbon flights are a fine idea for trying a variety of Bourbons to find out what you really enjoy. They're an even better idea now that Park Place is taking $5 off the price of Bourbon flights on Wednesday nights.

Bourbon flights in a fine dining establishment-it's a Kentucky thing. Now offering $5 off all flights on Wednesdays, Park Place is the place to relish a bit of bluegrass heritage. Not yet a connoisseur? Several price points are represented, providing the opportunity to sample a diverse selection. Six flights ranging from $16 to $33 are available: Van Winkle, Woodford Reserve, Vintage, Kentucky Rye, Small Batch or Beam Batch. The Woodford Reserve flight features our very own Park Place exclusive bourbon-you can't taste it anywhere but here!

Park Place
401 E. Main Street
Louisville, KY 40202

I commented recently that I'm not very educated about bourbon or bourbon tasting. Perhaps a few bourbon flights at Park Place on Main would greatly improve my knowledge.
 

We take our bourbon seriously, but it doesn't mean you can't have fun with it. At Park Place we are proud to carry more than 50 kinds of top shelf bourbons. Now we are offering them in flights with water, ice and mixers on the side. Play amateur mixologist with six different flights and revel in your own brilliance. Try one of our Bourbon Flights made with Van Winkle, Woodford Reserve, Vintage, Kentucky Rye, Small Batch or Beam Batch. Bourbon Flights range from $16 to $33.

Park Place
401 E. Main Street
Louisville, KY 40202