Information about a Bourbon Event at Morton's Steakhouse in Louisville KY

[jwevan01]

Hello,

My name is Joel Evans and I've recently joined SB. I have no affiliation with Morton's Steakhouse, Knob Creek, or the Louisville Convention and Tourist Bureau other than as a consumer and Kentuckiana resident. Recently, I went to a locally advertised "Premium Bourbon Tasting" at Morton's Steakhouse. Below are my notes on the event. Supposedly there will be similar events across the country. Knob creek sponsored the event and they have some general information about their "Whiskey Professors" on their web site.

Knob Creek Tasting Event at Morton’s

Notes:

Knew the name Bernie Lubbers, the Knob Creek “Whiskey Professor†was familiar, but couldn’t place it. He was a Louisville stand-up comic for many years, very personable and quick.

Not really a comparison tasting event, more like a promotion for the Beam “B†bourbons (Basil Hayden, Bakers, Bookers and knoB Creek) and Morton’s Steakhouse. The event lasted almost two hours including drinks, hors d’oeuvres, about a half hour talk by Bernie, finishing with open discussion and a little comparison.

According to Bernie this was the kickoff for similar events at all current Morton’s restaurants (47?) and he was going to Nashville next. David Mays and Steve Cole are the two other “Whiskey Professors†and will be doing 2/3 of the other restaurants. The cost was $45 per person and included tax and gratuity. There was a raffle for dinner at Morton’s and a gift bag with a Knob Creek/Morton’s wooden muddler (looked like it was produced by the Louisville Slugger factory), a jar of maraschino cherries and some promotional literature.

Not hard to get your money’s worth at this event. There was a bartender and two servers and there was no stinting on food and drink. Hor d’oeuvres provided by Morton’s included: Grilled lamb chops (medium rare), Mini Steak sandwiches (medium), Crab cakes with Aioli, and inch thick grilled bacon-wrapped scallops with an orange marmalade chutney. At the bar, they poured Knob Creek, Basil Hayden, Bakers, and Bookers with a free hand throughout the event. There were some specialty cocktails, but after trying one Booker’s Manhattan, I chose to work my way through the bottles with rocks pours. It is a good thing there was some food and that I had a ride home. Of the four bourbons, I ended up liking Bakers the most, but I’ll have to re-check that in a more objective setting.

The comparison setup was designed to promote bourbon over a couple of competitors (preaching to the choir in most cases). Basil Hayden and Knob Creek were offered against Crown Royal and Gentleman Jack using small brandy snifters. Having already made a thorough examination of all available bourbons in the room, I opted for trying the two competitors. The Crown Royal was bland and inoffensive with a quick medicinal finish, easy to see why people add mixers to it, can’t see why anyone would pay over $10 for a bottle. I’ve seen the Gentleman Jack on the shelf, but could never bring myself to gamble on the cost. Don’t think I could pick GJ out from JD Black in a blind test, glad I didn’t buy a bottle.

Met some of the people from the Louisville Convention & Visitors Bureau who had just launched a website to help position Louisville as the gateway to bourbon country:

http://www.justaddbourbon.com/ . The website is nice looking, not too deep in content, does contain their Urban Bourbon trail passport which looks like a clever marketing idea. Drink or eat at 8 designated bourbon bars in Louisville and get a stamp from each one and redeem for a T-shirt and gift.

That ends my notes. I have really enjoyed reading the information on SB and look forward to interacting with everyone in the future.

Thanks,

Joel Evans

[mozilla]

Glad your aboard Joel!

Sounds like you had a fun time with all the Beam boys. I am an outspoken opponant to Beam, though I would agree with you that they are better than CR and JD.

I also like your description of the food....all of it sounds yummy. How many people attended the event?

Thanks for the review.

[jwevan01]

Thanks Mozilla,

Morton's did a fine job on the appetizers. There were about 25 people at the event. It was a stand up event and there were four women from the Louisville tourist bureau at our little table. Doubt you would want to spend $45 to drink bourbon that you don't care for, but the bartender was very generous with his pours.

Joel

[mobourbon]

Thanks for posting what you experienced. I have reservations for the Morton's in Philadelphia. It sounds like it's really worth the money. I really have something to look forward to. IMO Bakers is the best of the Beam SBC.

Thanks!

[fishnbowljoe]

Welcome Joel, Hope you have a good time here at SB.com. Joe