Congratulations, if you’re reading this then you survived Christmas and you’ve now found yourself firmly stuck in the in-between holiday space where nothing much seems to happen.  It’s that last deep breath before the plunge into the new year ahead and many Bourboneur’s will find themselves aimlessly attempting to fill the void with varying degrees of success.  To help arm you with some potential bourbon related activities to fill the void, we’ve put together this activity guide to help you maximize the opportunity that lies ahead of you.  Below we outline five things you could or should be doing with your vacation time this year.

Hunting for Bourbon

This shouldn’t come as much of a surprise as the top item on the list. Beautiful bottles of brownwater abound this time of year, and there’s not a day that passes we don’t see mention of someone scoring something unexpected out in the wild.  You’re certainly not finding anything sitting around on your couch, so take a gamble and venture around to your local stores and see if there’s anything that catches your eye.  Refer to our Guide to Rare Bourbon Hunting for some great tips and pointers if you’re new to the scene.

Benchmark Bourbon Flight

While you’re out looking around for some great bourbon, see if you can collect all six bottles in the Benchmark Bourbon series.  There’s at least one hidden gem in the mix.  The greatest part of this lineup is that they’re all cheap, with the most expensive of the lot going for a whopping twenty or so bucks.  Download one of our tasting sheets and see how they stack up for you. Compare against the Bourboneur results and let us know how your tasting stacks up!

Plan a Bourbon Vacation

There’s no better time than the present to start thinking about your next vacation.  With the soaring popularity of all things bourbon, you’re going to want to make sure you plan in advance to make the most of your trip so you don’t find yourself stuck staying at “Bob’s Inn” with the soft sound of banjo’s playing and the leering eyes of Bob, who maintains eye contact jusssssst long enough to be creepy. Keep in mind that there’s the Bourbon Trail, and then there’s also the Texas Bourbon Trail…for less crowds and a few more “y’alls” y’all might consider heading south where you’ll find plenty of tasty brownwater, with some great up and coming distilleries and as much brisket as you can handle.  Check out our Guide to Texas Bourbon to get a sample of the depth and breadth of the Texas bourbon scene.  Of course, hauling a few of your favorite bourbons along to someplace secluded with a great view to sip and savor isn’t bad either!

Making a Batch of Bitters

When you make your own bitters, you’re really taking things to a whole new level in terms of how others see your savvy in the bar space. I have yet to find someone who wasn’t impressed that I had made my own bitters.  Truthfully, it’s not that difficult, and simply requires some patience and a lot of random ingredients you likely won’t just have sitting around. Thankfully, Amazon can help with that and most of the things you’ll need can show up quickly.  Check out our recipe for Barrel Bitters, which can elevate any brown spirit, with some big, smoky-woodsy notes backed up with a modest bitterness.  These are good to break out when you find that bourbon that just doesn’t do it for you…suddenly, its “winner, winner, chicken dinner!”  Random aside, that phrase originates in Vegas where a chicken dinner at the casino would cost you a couple bucks, which was the same amount as a regular bet…so if you won a bet, you were essentially up a chicken dinner in winnings.

Perfecting Holiday Cocktails

If you’re hosting a New Years party, you’re obviously going to have some champaign to ring in the new year ahead, but you’ll want to have some seasonal bourbon drinks to manage through the evening hours.  Take the time this week to perfect your craft and round up the necessary ingredients. One of the Bourboneur garage bar favorites is the Spiced Cranberry Bourbon Cocktail.  Even folks who don’t like bourbon will be asking for their second, third, or siiiiiiiiixxsthsh one of these.  Pro tip…some fresh ground nutmeg on top makes this cocktail legit…don’t be like me and buy twenty nutmegs, you’ll need like two at most.  I’ve got a decade long supply now.

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Bourboneur App Release

Coming in the weeks ahead we’ll be launching our mobile app which you can add to your home screen. The new app will incorporate all the existing features available on Bourboneur as well as an expanded offering of tools and resources to help Bourboneur’s everywhere become whiskey wise. Want to keep up with Bourboneur and our upcoming launch, bottles drops and more?  Join our community of thousands by scrolling down and subscribing to our weekly email list – you canal so find us on Instagram, Facebook, and yes, even TikTok.  Show us some love and give us a like on your favorite platform, or all of them and keep up with all the Bourboneur happenings.