Hideaway Posted July 9, 2016 Share Posted July 9, 2016 Hey all! I am hosting my first tasting at my restaurant and wanted to run it by you guys to see if you have any thoughts/suggestions. Background: I have been recently (last two years) been bitten by the whiskey bug, particularly bourbon. It is my favorite spirit, and as such, I have been increasing my selection at a BBQ restaurant I own in MD. I have had tastings at my house for buddies, but that was informal. This will be for my customers who want to learn about bourbon. I have never been to another formal tasting and this would be my first crack at hosting one. 1. Brief history of American whiskey & bourbon 2. Prepare your nose (I was going to pass around paper bags filled with oak, rye, vanilla, caramel to get people used to picking out bourbon's more dominant flavors. Anything I'm missing? 3. Go over the main "types" (I realize that is a loose term) of bourbon. I was going to go with standard 70/20/10 types (Woodford Reserve,) high rye (Bulleit Bourbon), wheated (Maker's 46), and finished (Amador Double Barrel or some other "finished" bourbon). During this time I would go over proper tasting, nosing, etc. I would ask what they detected in the aroma and also the taste. We would discuss. 4. Then I was going to talk about how much of a difference length of time in the barrel, and elevation in the rackhouse makes, by having them try old grand-dad followed by Basil Hayden's (I think they are the same other than age and location) 5. Select three names out of a hat for a blind tasting. Anyone who correctly guesses all 3 bourbons will get a gift card. They will be bourbon's of different profiles. In between drinks I was going to have them cleanse their palate with bread and water. I'm going to try to serve everything in Glencairn glasses but I don't know if I have enough for that many people, and that many drinks. Maybe there are good disposal tasting cups I can find. Anyone know? Each pour was going to be half an ounce. (I don't want people getting drunk, and 1/2 an ounce should be plenty to taste.) Everyone will have appetizers before the tasting. Any thoughts/suggestions on any of this? I appreciate it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeTerp Posted July 9, 2016 Share Posted July 9, 2016 Not a suggestion for the tasting, but given your area you may want to post about this on the dcwhisky sub Reddit too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whiskey buyer Posted July 10, 2016 Share Posted July 10, 2016 Did you know that Old Grandad is named in honor of Basil Hayden. Are you going to discuss the different designations for bourbon: Bourbon, Kentucky straight bourbon, bottle in bond bourbon? The history and folklore of bourbon is really very interesting to learn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richnimrod Posted July 10, 2016 Share Posted July 10, 2016 Will you compare any other Bourbons? Specifically, one with some actual age on it? ...Such as Henry McKenna BIB (10-yr)... or Elijah Craig 12-year (no longer on many shelves; but may still be in many bunkers)....? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hideaway Posted July 10, 2016 Author Share Posted July 10, 2016 15 hours ago, JoeTerp said: Not a suggestion for the tasting, but given your area you may want to post about this on the dcwhisky sub Reddit too. Thanks Joe, I will definitely give that a shot! 12 hours ago, whiskey buyer said: Did you know that Old Grandad is named in honor of Basil Hayden. Are you going to discuss the different designations for bourbon: Bourbon, Kentucky straight bourbon, bottle in bond bourbon? The history and folklore of bourbon is really very interesting to learn. Yes, we will discuss the difference between bourbon, straight bourbon, etc. I hadn't thought about discussing bottled in bond, but since it is becoming more popular these days it may be a good idea. History and folklore is indeed interesting. However the more books I read (I've read about five books on bourbon and bourbon history in the last few weeks, haha) the more I realize it is inconsistent and the stuff the Kentucky distillers say on their tours are mostly legends. The actual history is not quite as entertaining. Maybe I'll discuss both! 11 hours ago, Richnimrod said: Will you compare any other Bourbons? Specifically, one with some actual age on it? ...Such as Henry McKenna BIB (10-yr)... or Elijah Craig 12-year (no longer on many shelves; but may still be in many bunkers)....? I wasn't planning on it. This was more or less a bourbon 101/introduction to bourbon class. I think 5 or 6, 1/2 oz pours is enough. I was going to host a tasting later in the month for regular bourbon folks who just want to try new stuff. We would try and compare things like 1792, Evan Williams Single Barrel, Eagle Rare, EH Taylor...etc. Like I said I've never really hosted or attended tastings so I'm taking a shot in the dark. But I figure that most of these people are new to bourbon so a fun, introductory tasting might be a good first step, followed by another tasting with different bourbons. Thoughts? I appreciate the thoughts/opinions everyone! Keep em' coming! :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mosugoji64 Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 It sounds like you have a pretty good plan for the evening. Just remember to keep it light and entertaining. I had an informal tasting over the weekend for a couple of friends who recently discovered they love bourbon. I thought it would be fun to back off of bourbon and lead them through corn, wheat, and rye whiskey first and then move into wheat vs. rye bourbon. They had a good time tasting the different types and I think it helped them to pick up on some of the flavors in bourbon later. The only problem I had was keeping my own enthusiasm in check and allowing them time to explore each pour rather than jumping to the next. Have fun with the tasting and let us know how it goes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulO Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 It all sounds good. The only thing I would change would be to taste bourbons of similar proof and age from different distillers. If some one were new to bourbon - I might suggest: regular MM, WT 101 (or Rare Breed), a Beam product, a HH product, maybe a MGP product. I wouldn't go with anything too obscure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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