Get certified! I mean if you are certifiable :)

[Restaurant man]

http://bourbonsomm.com

[Restaurant man]

The bourbon list is, well...

[TheNovaMan]

Silly? Ridiculous?

[smknjoe]

Wow, Parker's Heritage is made by Beam...and here I thought it was made by Heaven Hill.

[Restaurant man]

Guess they've never heard of old grand dad. But for 500 bucks you will get access to the "bourbon experts"

[camduncan]

What an absolute joke! It's embarrassing that something so amateurish is out there at all!

[luther.r]

The classy graphic design just screams quality.

[GaryT]

I love their defense of Jack Daniels - first page I read on the site which just screams "Look at me! I have a computer and a dangerously reckless lack of knowledge!" Not sure who this Chef Matthews is, but he should feel a proper dose of shame.

[Phil T]

Wow, Parker's Heritage is made by Beam...and here I thought it was made by Heaven Hill.

[Flyfish]

Now, now guys. Let's not go all Parker on the writer, editor, chef. I think he's onto the greatest thing since the Little Orphan Annie secret decoder ring. Any of you SBers with "real world bourbon experience" plus $50 for the book, $25 for the guidelines, and $225 for the test can then hang our your shingle to practice bourbonology. Somebody's going to pay it. Somebody always pays it.

Option B is to spend the $300 on bourbon and become self-taught and self-certified.

Option C: After you have consumed $300 of bourbon, send me $10 and I'll print you an ornate Gothic-lettered certificate, suitable for framing, that authorizes you to practice bourbonology in The Great State of Inebriation. (Or Commonwealth if you prefer.)

[rndenks]

Now, now guys. Let's not go all Parker on the writer, editor, chef. I think he's onto the greatest thing since the Little Orphan Annie secret decoder ring. Any of you SBers with "real world bourbon experience" plus $50 for the book, $25 for the guidelines, and $225 for the test can then hang our your shingle to practice bourbonology. Somebody's going to pay it. Somebody always pays it.

Option B is to spend the $300 on bourbon and become self-taught and self-certified.

Option C: After you have consumed $300 of bourbon, send me $10 and I'll print you an ornate Gothic-lettered certificate, suitable for framing, that authorizes you to practice bourbonology in The Great State of Inebriation. (Or Commonwealth if you prefer.)

WOW! I cannot wait to see what I get when I drink $1000 worth of bourbon! It is like saving Bazooka comics for grown-ups. :grin:

[Lost Pollito]

I like how bourbon is, "usually" aged in new barrels. Could anyone determine who these folks are?

[Lost Pollito]

I like how bourbon is, "usually" aged in new barrels. Could anyone determine who these folks are?

Never mind. I would like to try his food. Sounds like he is a really accomplished Chef. Perhaps the Chef has lent his name to the project? Maybe one of our Colorado members can do a little intel for us. Good excuse to go out for a nice dinner.

[brettckeen]

What credentials does this person have to give a test? Master chef? Not a CSS. CSS cert costs about 250 to take the test at least they are accredited.

[Restaurant man]

He may very well be an excellent chef but it should be pointed out that he is an "honorary master chef" a title I'm not familiar with. I've been in the business for 25 years and I've never heard it used. As to the question about credentials, none are needed. The diploma is made up. There is no bourbon sommelier society. I give him credit for being passionate but clearly he lacks even the basic information on the subject. Hopefully his educational materials are more accurate than his web page. The term sommelier means wine waiter.

[squire]

I wasn't going to click on the site until I read the posts and, oh my.

[smknjoe]

PHC is made by Beam...they just had the wrong Beam

Ya got me Phil!....

[Lost Pollito]

Hmm....Justin Timberlake....Hmm.

http://nrn.com/latest-headlines/creating-bourbon-sommeliers

[berto]

It's Chef Victor Matthews of Paragon Culinary School.

http://www.paragonculinaryschool.com/

You know what they say about fools and their money...

[squire]

Wonder how the fool got the money in the first place.

[bllygthrd]

He received his culinary training at ...

[h=3]Wake Technical Community College[/h][h=4]n/a, Culinary Arts[/h]1990 – 1991

1st in class, dropped to pursue field study

Ref: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/chef-victor-w-matthews-jr/12/aa/908

[cazolman]

Amazon has a Kindle version of his book listed for $7.99. You can view the first few pages for free. It is called "The Bourbon Book" by Victor Matthews.

[GaryT]

You know that is a top-notch school when their e-mail addresses end with "@aol". I mean - that's vintage e-mail, like a fine wine, right?

[wmpevans]

But I really want to get that pin. That would be really cool.:skep:

[WhiskyRI]

Wow, if only I'd found that site sooner, I'd never have to have been bothered to come to this one. Clearly what he is offering is significantly more rigorous and prestigious than a forum populated by complete amateurs with no credentials. The web site design is very...now what's the word... innovative. Yea that's it, Innovative. Innovative in much the same way as that innovative aging process done by the Cleveland Whiskey company in Ohio that turns 6 month old whisky into 10 year old in just a weeks time.....