Old Fashioned Standing behind the business end of my garage bar, wrapped in the amber glow of my backlit half empty bottles of whiskey it is not uncommon for a patron to ask for an old fashioned. It is a mainstay drink after all, and one that every Bourboneur should be able to pull off […]
I always struggle with hosting parties this time of year because there is a lot to celebrate! With Cinco de Mayo happening on the 5th and the Kentucky Derby Day (traditionally) occurring on the first Saturday in May, this year, that’s the 7th – as such, it is difficult to have two big garage bar […]
I find it strange to think, but the life of a bourbon barrel is fairly complex and in large part has been shaped by the need to put men to work during the Great Depression. In 1938, the United States mandated that bourbon must be aged only in new barrels. This practice was put in […]
Bitters for me were somewhat of a mystery for a long time, most likely due to the fact that I’d not matured enough to appreciate the finer things in life. Even now, if you ask my wife, the maturity question would still be answered as a “work in progress.” Despite all odds however, my taste […]
When I had originally thought that having a bar in my garage was a good idea, I didn’t necessarily think through a number of things that were tangential to the garage bar experience. Things like folks needing to come into and out of the house on the regular to hit the bathroom, storing beer nuts […]
Although I enjoy my bourbon neat, I understand that many others may be looking to further explore and experiment with the complexity of whiskey. I pour a lot of drinks for folks, and let me be the first to say that mixing your bourbon is perfectly fine so long as you’re not mixing Pappy Van […]
Today I want to talk about four very different top shelf bourbons (three of which sit on the top shelf of my garage bar) which all are born from the curiosity of Buffalo Trace Distillery. The name Buffalo Trace is a mainstay in most circles, and you’d probably have to be living under a rock […]
Whiskey vs Bourbon Have you ever wondered what the difference is between whiskey and bourbon? Well, it wasn’t too long back now that I had a random gentleman stop through my garage bar, as folks do from time to time when the garage doors are up, and the weather is nice. I must admit that […]
Out of the multitude of holidays and occasions that I celebrate in my garage bar each year, few are as eagerly anticipated as Saint Patrick’s Day, or St. Patty’s Day to some. It’s always a bit tough to properly celebrate as some years it may fall on a random weekday, but this year it happens […]
Fall (specifically September to November) is the season of hunting for rare whiskey. It’s within this window of time when many of the most sought-after bourbon bottles come to market – otherwise known as “the drop.” It may seem odd to be writing about something that’s not going to happen for another eight or nine […]
