Beer, Bourbon & BBQ Fest 2021

On July 31st and August 1st, the 11th annual Beer, Bourbon and BBQ festival was held in Brooklyn at the Expo Center, a venue space located at 72 Noble Street in Greenpoint.

It’s a year long traveling BBQ festival with tour dates in Virginia, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Maryland and of course, Brooklyn, New York.

It’s a big party with pitmasters cooking up their specialties with an abundance of whiskey, beer, cider and a lot of hard seltzer which seems to be the new spirit trend in the country this year.

The even was held on Saturday afternoon and evening and on Sunday afternoon. I attended the Saturday afternoon session because the afternoon sessions are usually less crowded and more manageable than the evening sessions and at that time they haven’t run out of any particular spirit.

There was an outdoor seating area with vendors, games and a DJ that quickly filled up with people relaxing with their whisky and cigars.

I did attend a seminar for Garrison Brothers whiskey from Texas. At the event there was a nice selection of American whiskey and local beers and as I mentioned, a larger than usual selection of hard seltzer.

If one thing stood out for me at the event was that I was a little disappointed in the food served compare to the last time I went to this event in January of 2020. Maybe some of the pitmasters were still jittery about traveling

Some of the Whiskey I sampled:

George Dickel: 8yr sour mash, 12yr sour mash

Four Roses: Small Batch, Single Barrell

Virginia Distilling Co.: Single Malt Whisky

Balcone’s: Texas 100°, True Blue 100°, Lineage

Evan Williams: 1783

Markers Mark: Cask Strength, 46, 101 Limited Release

Basil Hayden’s: Straight Bourbon

Knob Creek: 15yr Bourbon, Kentucky Straight Rye

Excelsior: NY Straight Rye

Coppersea: NY Straight Rye Malt Whisky

Bourbon, Brew & BBQ 2021

Back in June, Route 66 Smokehouse restaurant located at 46 Stone Street in the Financial District of lower Manhattan threw its annual Bourbon, Brew & BBQ event .

Not surprisingly, last years event was cancelled. Normally it was held indoors but this year they decided to hold the event outdoors on the cobblestone streets which are lined with many restaurants and taverns. It made for a festive atmosphere.

Stone Street is in an historic district just down the block from the historic Fraunces Tavern which itself is one of the oldest restaurants in New York City and the site of George Washington’s farewell address to his officers. Stone Street is also one of the oldest streets in New York and in 1658 it became the first cobbled stone street in New Amsterdam.

The event featured several whiskeys, beer, cider, small bites and games. It had a good crowd of people out to socialize and enjoy in pre pandemic conditions.

Whiskey & Barrel Nite 2021

The Covid restrictions in New York were finally lifted on June 16th which meant the return of in-person wine and spirit events.

The Whiskey & Barrel Nite tasting event was held on June 17th. It was a night to sample from a choice of dozens of worldwide whiskey though most were American Whiskey which included Rye, Bourbon and blended whiskey. The countries of Scotland, Ireland, France, Australia, Japan and India were represented as well and a handful of brandy, rum, gin and vodka were on hand for those who got tired of whiskey.

The event was held at the Metropolitan Pavilion, a well known event space located at 125 West 18th Street in Manhattan.

To keep people busy while they were sipping on spirits a live Jazz Band was in hand and a buffet to feed the hungry. There was also a separate “VIP Experience” room for VIP ticket holders that poured some extra special spirits.

It was a great night to finally experience a pre pandemic event and the event space was so large that the room never became overcrowded though I have to think that the organizers might have limited thicket sales to keep the crowd down or that many people were still skittish about attending a public event. Probably a little of both.

There was an excellent selection of spirits to try, I’m not a fan of Scotch so I didn’t sample very many of those but I am a fan of Rye so I did sample quite a few of those.

I was able to sample a couple of wheated Bourbon from the cult status Weller, their Full Proof and their Special Reserve which I thought was quite smooth.

Another interesting whisky was a trio of single farm origin Irish whisky from Waterford, Dunmore, Rathclogh and Organic Gaia. They all had uncharacteristic notes of the terroir of where they were produced.

There was a nice limited release Bourbon from Booker’s, some interesting Rye’s from Dad’s Hat, the nice Private Select from Maker’s Mark, and Whistle Pig’s 18 year which were just a few of the whiskey I sampled this evening.

Beer, Bourbon & BBQ Fest 2020

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The 10th annual Beer, Bourbon & BBQ Festival was held on Saturday January 18th. It was a change of venue this year with the event moving from The Tunnel in Manhattan to the Brooklyn Expo Center at 72 Noble Street in Greenpoint.

The motto of the festival was “Brew it. Taste it. Sip it. Pork it”. It was an all afternoon event of “southern fried good time” consisting of whiskey, beer and BBQ. At the event there was a “Beast Cage” serving exotic meats and a “Shrine to Swine” for whole pork worship. Various seminars were held throughout the afternoon.

Since this is one of the only real BBQ events in the city, the impending snowstorm didn’t stop the barbecue connoisseurs from lining up outside the venue to get in. I was able to sample a wide range of ‘cue including ribs, brisket, pastrami, wings and pulled pork sliders.

It was an all-American whiskey list with most producers pouring a Bourbon and a Rye though I felt not as many as in past events. Craft beers and hard ciders rounded out the beverage list. I was able to attend the Bulleit seminar. My favorite whiskey of the afternoon was Basil Hayden’s Dark Rye, it was bold and smooth.

Producers I sampled from:

Bulleit	Maker’s Mark
Elijah Craig	Larceny
Four Roses	Knob Creek
Basil Hayden’s	Koval
George Dickel	I.W. Harper
Deadwood	Balcones

Bourbon at Belmont

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On Saturday May 4th I attended the Bourbon at Belmont whiskey festival.

The event was held at Belmont Park which is located at 2150 Hempstead Turnpike in Elmont, just over the New York City border in Nassau County. Belmont Park is one of the remaining thoroughbred horse racing facilities in the New York City area that at one time had several. The raceway was opened in 1905 and hosts the Belmont Stakes which is the 3rd leg of the Triple Crown. The first leg of the Triple Crown, the Kentucky Derby was held on this Saturday.

The festival was held in the Grand Stand overlooking the racetrack and featured over 30 whiskey. Though advertised as a Bourbon event, it was an all-American (with one outlier, a Mexican distiller) whiskey event that featured many Rye and whiskey blends as well as Bourbon whiskey. In addition to whiskey, Bourbon barrel aged craft beer was served.

It was a “live” racing day with horseracing throughout the afternoon and a live simulcast of the Kentucky Derby later that afternoon. Of course while sipping on whiskey, you had the option to place a bet on any of the races.

There was a good selection of high end whiskey with a couple of new producers that I had never tried before.

Some of what I sampled:

Clyde May’s: Straight Rye, Straight Bourbon

Elijah Craig: Small Batch Bourbon

Finger Lakes Distilling: McKenzie Bourbon, McKenzie Bottled in Bond, McKenzie Wheated Bourbon

Hudson Whiskey: Baby Bourbon, Manhattan Rye, Maple Cask Rye

Hillrock Estate Distilling: Estate Single Malt, Solera Aged Bourbon

High West Distilling: American Prairie Bourbon, Double Rye, Campfire

Jefferson’s: Ocean Aged, Very Small Batch, Very Old Small Batch

Kings County Distilling: Straight Bourbon, Bottled in Bond

Larceny: Very Special Small Batch Bourbon

Montauk Hard Label: Original Whiskey

Russel’s Reserve: 10yr Straight Bourbon, Single Barrel Bourbon

Splinter Spirits: Slaughter House American Whiskey

Sierra Note Mexican Whiskey: Yellow, Black

Taconic Distilling: Dutchess Private Reserve, Barrel Strength Bourbon

Widow Jane Distilling: 10yr Bourbon, American Oak and Applewood Aged Rye

Whistle Pig Distilling: 10yr Straight Rye, 12yr Old World Cask Finish

Wild Turkey: Longbranch

Brooklyn Whiskey Fest Spring Edition 2019

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On Saturday March 30th I attended the Brooklyn Whiskey Festival which was held at an event space at the Brooklyn Navy Yard at 141 Flushing Avenue.

This was my first event at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, an historical industrial zone that has been transformed into an industrial park with many commercial business that include a movie studio and a distillery.

The festival had an afternoon session and an evening session of which I attended. They served 100+ spirits, with a very nice selection of brown spirits such as Bourbon, Rye, American Whisky, Scotch and Irish whiskeys with some gin and vodka thrown in. Some of the usual big name and artisanal brands were in attendance pouring but I was also able to try some new brands as well. I enjoy a good Rye so I focused my attention on available Rye whiskey for the most part but sampled others as well.

Food vendors were on hand and a DJ provided the musical entertainment.

Some of what I sampled:

Black Button Distillery: Straight Bourbon, Citrus Forward Gin.

Brockmans: Gin.

Catoctin Creek: Single Barrel Rye.

Evan Williams: Single Barrel Vintage, 1783.

Endless West: Glyph Molecular Whiskey.

Four Roses: Small Batch Bourbon, Single Barrel Bourbon.

Glen Moray: Speyside Malt Scotch.

Hepple: Gin.

James F.C. Hyde: Sorgho Whiskey.

J.J. Corry: Irish Whiskey.

Pikesville: Straight Rye.

Red Saw: Rye, Bourbon.

Rittenhouse: Straight Rye.

Sagamore Spirit Distillery: Signature Rye, Double Oak Rye, Port Finish Rye.

Tommy Rotter Distillery: American Whisky, Gin.

Taconic Distillery: Founder’s Rye, Dutchess Private Reserve, Double Barrel Bourbon.

The Dubliner Irish Whiskey: Bourbon Cask Aged, Signature Reserve.

The Ambassador: Barrel Proof 12 year Rye.

The Senator: Barrel Proof 6 year Rye.

The Splinter Group: Whip Saw Rye, Straight Edge Bourbon, Slaughter House American Whisky.

Westland Single Malt Whiskey: American Oak, Sherry Wood, Peated Malt.

Beer, Bourbon & BBQ Fest 2019

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Brew it. Taste it. Sip it. Pork it. That’s the motto of the Beer, Bourbon and BBQ festival which is a pork-centric, American multi-city tour that began in New York City on January 26th.

The event was held at The Tunnel, a former railroad freight terminal turned nightclub now an event space located at 220 12th avenue at West 28th Street in Manhattan. The festival promised “60+ beer, 40+ Bourbon and lots of BBQ”, though it was an all-American whiskey list that included whiskey other than Bourbon. Beer and hard cider were also served to help wash down all the bbq. Music was spun by DJ Flava.

There were two sessions that day and I attended the “whole hog picking” session in the evening.

Seminars:

Bulleit hosted by Adam Geissler

Bourbon, Rye, Barrel Strength, 10yr Bourbon.

Makers Mark hosted by Alexa Amendognine

Bourbon, Makers 46, Private Select.

Others I sampled:

Koval (Chicago) Millet, Rye, Bourbon, Four Grain.

Virginia Distillery (Virginia) Port Cask Highland Single Malt Whisky, Chardonnay Cask Single Malt Whisky.

Deadwood (South Carolina) Rye, Straight Bourbon.

Buffalo Trace Distillery (Kentucky) Straight Bourbon, Eagle Rare Straight Bourbon.

Balcones (Texas) Single Malt, 100°, Brimstone, Baby Blue.

Elijah Craig (Kentucky) Small Batch Bourbon.

Four Roses (Kentucky) Straight Bourbon, Small Batch, Single Barrel.

George Dickel (Tennessee) Rye, Sour Mash.

Brooklyn Whiskey Fest

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On Saturday evening, December 1st I attended the Brooklyn Whiskey Festival. The event featured over 100 styles of whiskey and craft spirits that included All-American Ryes and Bourbon and locally produced whiskey from New York State in addition to Japanese Whiskey, Irish Whisky, Scotch Whisky, Tequila, Gin and Vodka. There were also some specialty spirits that were flavored with ginger, lemon and in one case, root beer.

There were many spirits both brown and clear from New York State and New York City because of the explosion of new distilleries to open in both the state and city. That’s because in the early part of the 21st century the state of New York loosened the post Prohibition rules which made it difficult to open a new distillery. The distilleries are able to take advantage of the agricultural bounty of the state to use those local products to make the various craft spirits.

There were plenty of big name labels at the event as well as small, artisanal producers pouring. To focus my efforts I avoided clear spirits and concentrated on the whiskeys, stopping for an occasional Negroni for a change of pace.

The Festival was held at the Brooklyn Expo Center located at 72 Noble Street in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Lately, this venue has become increasingly popular for wine and spirit events.

Some of what I sampled:

American Whiskey

Bulleit: 95 rye, bourbon

Bernheim: small batch wheat whiskey

Catoctin Creek: organic rye

Copper & Kings: reserve cask brandy, bourbon

Elijah Craig: small batch bourbon

Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel: select, rye, barrel proof

Journey Man Bourbon

Jefferson’s: very small batch, ocean

Michter’s: straight rye, sour mash, American whiskey

Misunderstood: ginger spiced whiskey

Old Forester: old fine whiskey, original batch

Pine Barrens Single malt

Rough Rider: the big stick rye, bullmoose rye, straight bourbon

Rocktown Bourbon

Ragtime Rye

Taconic Distillery: straight bourbon, founders rye

Van Brunt Stillhouse: rye, bourbon

Others

IWAI: Japanese Mars Whisky

J. J. Corry Irish Whisky

Sexton Irish Whisky: single malt

Root Out: root beer whiskey

The Real McCoy Rum: 3yr, 5yr, 12yr

The Funk: Jamaican Pot Still Rum

Chief Gowanus Gin

Bacon & Bourbon At Astor Center

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The Astor Center is the event space of Astor Wine & Spirits which is located at 399 Lafayette Street in Manhattan. Throughout the year they hold all sorts of spirits, cocktails and wine events and classes at the Center.

On February 17th they held their 10th annual Bacon & Bourbon event. It was a walk-around tasting of over 60 All-American whiskey that was accompanied by copious amounts of bacon and bacon infused snacks (including ice cream). Many of the well-known whiskey companies were in attendance pouring their small production (and expensive) specialty whiskey as well as smaller not as well known producers many of which produced proprietary whiskey for Astor. The event was open to the consumer and there were two sessions. I attended the afternoon session and it was a nice way to spend a snowy afternoon.

Some of what I sampled:

Jim Beam Masterpiece Bourbon

Jim Beam Single Barrel Bourbon

Maker’s Mark Astor Private Select Bourbon

Knob Creek 25th Anniversary Cask Strength Single Barrel (121°-125°)

Wild Turkey Rare Breed Bourbon

Wild Turkey Kentucky Spirit Bourbon

Booker’s Sip Awhile’ Small Batch Bourbon

Four Roses Astor Cask Strength Single Barrel Bourbon (122.2°)

Smooth Ambler Contradiction Bourbon

Barrell Bourbon Batch #12 Bourbon

Barrell Bourbon Full Proof Astor Barrel (126° 174 bottles produced)

Black Dirt Bourbon

Black Dirt Single Barrel Bourbon

Charles Medley 12yr Old Kentucky Bourbon

Kings County Distillery Peated Bourbon

Balcones Brimstone Smoked Corn Whisky

Balcones Texas Old Single Malt Whisky

Pikesville Straight Rye

Potrero Single Malt Straight Rye

A.D. Laws Straight Rye

A.D. Laws Bottled In Bond Rye

Bourbon, Brew & BBQ

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Summer is getting into high gear, wine events slack off but there are still food and drink events to attend. This past Saturday I attended the Summer session of Bourbon, Brew & BBQ. The event featured 30+ American beers, 15+ American Rye and Bourbon with BBQ bites to go along with all that.

The event was hosted at Route 66 Smokehouse restaurant at 46 Stone Street in the financial district of lower Manhattan. Stone Street is one of the oldest streets in New York and the first paved street in New Amsterdam. It was also the site of the first commercial brewery in North America. It’s now a historical district with restaurants and outdoor seating on the cobblestone streets. It’s a very popular spot during the warm months with people eating and drinking outside.

At these beer fests I usually like to try the stouts and porters or any of the funky (sour) beers I can find. At this event that had a good selection of American beer but in keeping with the season they were on the light style.

Some whiskey I sampled:

Jim Beam Double Oaked Bourbon (My favorite of the day)

Jim Beam Black Extra Aged Bourbon

OYO Michelone Reserve Bourbon

OYO Single cask Rye

Black Dirt Single Barrel Bourbon (Made in upstate NY with locally sourced ingrediants)

Black Dirt 3 year Bourbon

Redemption High Rye Bourbon

Bulleit Bourbon

Bulleit Rye

Dickel Tennessee Sour Mash 8 year

Dickel Rye

Templeton Rye 4 year

Templeton Rye 6 year

FEW Rye

FEW Bourbon

BBQ Bites

Billy’s pork belly lettuce wraps

Pork on a fork

Sarah’s famous wings

Deviled eggs

Buttery pretzels