Bar Review: The Silver Dollar, Louisville, KY

November 22, 2016 Eric Burke

A shot of my glass on the bar of the Silver Dollar.

I don't usually review bars. Partly because I live in suburban Minnesota and there are few really good bourbon bars near enough for me to frequent them without a half hour to forty-five-minute drive afterward. So when I'm at home, I tend to have my bourbon in my home.

When I travel, on the other hand, I go out more. Seriously why wouldn't you? That's part of the reason you are away from home in the first place, to not to do what you do at home.

When I visit most places in the country, I tend to find a brewery taproom to settle down in or at least a bar with a good selection of local things on tap. But when I go to Kentucky, it's all about the bourbon. I try to hit at least one new place every time I'm there. But there is one place I visit every single time.

My friend Fred introduced me to the Silver Dollar on one of my February road trips to someplace without snow. I was passing through Louisville on my to someplace theoretically warmer than Minnesota, and we made plans to meet for supper and a drink. The weather outside was cold and rainy, but inside, the warm and friendly atmosphere made me immediately feel welcome as I waited for everyone to arrive. This is the kind of place that has big Christmas lights on the walls and where the music comes from a vinyl record.

I was impressed by that first visit, and when my wife and I found ourself back in Louisville on my birthday, it was the first place I thought of to get supper. Smoked brisket and creamy mac and cheese. Mmmmm. Add in a glass or two of bourbon from one of their privately selected barrels, and it made for a perfect birthday meal.

I've gone back every time I've been to Louisville since. Sometimes more than once. When I have it, the food is always good, and I always search out a private barrel selection for my glass. They often have more than one barrel of whatever they've got. I always ask the bartender which they prefer, and I've never been disappointed when I followed their advice.

I can't recommend this place highly enough. If you've been there, you know what I'm talking about. If you haven't, you need to remedy that on your next trip to Louisville.

The Silver Dollar can be found online at http://www.whiskeybythedrink.com/

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But Always Fine Bourbon: Pappy Van Winkle and the Story of Old Fitzgerald by Sally Van Winkle Campbell

October 20, 2016 Eric Burke

Last night, I finished a book that had been on my wish list for years. Literally years. For some reason I never got around to buying it even though I had heard very good things about it. But when we were introduced to the author at the Kentucky BourbonFest and saw that she was selling her books, we figured that it was just about time to finally pick it up.

This is not a history of bourbon. This is a history of one family and their bourbon. A pretty famous bourbon family at that. This is the story of Pappy Van Winkle and his brand, Old Fitzgerald. And it is written by someone with pretty good access to the family and their archives, because she is family. As the granddaughter of the famous Julian P. “Pappy” Van Winkle (and daughter to J.P. Van Winkle Jr., and sister to Julian Van Winkle III who produces Pappy the drink) Sally Van Winkle Campbell is probably uniquely qualified to write this story.

And what a story it is! Written in a very conversational style, this book starts in 1893 as Pappy is first starting work at W. L. Weller. It then steps back and tells you about the Wellers, the Stitzels and the some of the other major characters in the story before heading back to Pappy and stories of his time with the company. The book details his rise through the company, the struggles of Prohibition and the way he ran his company afterward.

The book regales you with story after story. Each entertaining enough that if you aren’t careful, you’ll do as I did and find yourself still awake long after you should be sleeping. The book ends well after Pappy and his company were both gone, touching on the creation of the bourbon named for the man before taking it’s leave of you.

This is a great book for any bourbon lover or anyone who just wants a glimpse into a bit of the history and the life of a very colorful man. Go buy it, you won’t regret it.

Bourbon: The Rise, Fall, And Rebirth of an American Whiskey by Fred Minnick

October 18, 2016 Eric Burke

Disclaimer: Fred Minnick is a friend and in my statement of ethics I promised to disclose when I am reviewing one of my friend’s products and to only review them when it was truly something I really liked. This is one of those times.

Bourbon: The Rise, Fall, And Rebirth of an American Whiskey by Fred Minnick

I’m sitting here tonight, drinking from a freshly made batch of Cherry Bounce and trying to think of what to say about Fred Minnick’s newest book. I could say it is great, informative and well-written. But one could say that those things should go without saying for a Fred Minnick book. Fred is one of my favorite authors. I’m lucky to count myself among his friends.

This is a book that is geared toward the bourbon geek or the wannabe geek. The person who really wants to dig in to the details of bourbon’s history. The one who wants to read about tax policy and government oversight. Who wants to explore the various “candidates” for the title of Father of Bourbon and see if one rings truer than the others. This is a book for people who love bourbon and want to know more.

Most books about bourbon love to talk about where and when it came from. Everyone wants to get into the gory details of Prohibition. This is a book that spends as much time discussing the 1940s until today as it does the 100 years previous. It doesn’t matter if you kno nothing about bourbon or live online in bourbon forums, you’ll probably learn something in this book. I know I did. This is a book that really does follow it’s subtitle, chronicling the “Rise, Fall, and Rebirth” of our favorite spirit.

This is not a book content to rehash old legends. I find that refreshing. And speaking of refreshing, that glass of Cherry Bounce is empty. And if you'll excuse me, I think I need another.

Recommendation: The Bourbon Country Reader

July 5, 2016 Eric Burke

Way back when I was a young bourbon-lad, transitioning from a bourbon drinker to a bourbon geek, Chuck Cowdery's The Bourbon Country Reader was the first whiskey publication I subscribed to. Over the years, I subscribed to other whiskey publications, Whiskey Advocate, The Bourbon Review and others. But one-by-one I let those subscriptions lapse. Sometimes it was because I didn't find anything between the pages that I found valuable enough to pay for. Sometimes it was due to lack of time or interest on my part.

The one publication subscription I've never let lapse is The Bourbon Country Reader. The content is well-written, well-researched and isn't available anywhere else. Chuck knows bourbon and though he has his opinions, that's part of the draw. The subscription, being about the price of a cheap-ish bottle of bourbon, is inexpensive at $20 for six issues. These appear roughly 4-6 times per year but your subscription is issue based, not time based. They appear frequently enough that they become part of your routine and not something that you've forgotten that you subscribed to by the time the next issue arrives. And in what might seem a paradoxical statement I like that it is short. It is 4 pages long with three to four articles per issue. I can get through it in one sitting. There is no filler.

If you are reading bourbon blogs, you are probably reading Chuck Cowdery's blog. If you read bourbon books, you might have read his books: Bourbon, Straight and Bourbon, Strange among others. But if you read only one bourbon publication, it should be The Bourbon Country Reader. Go to Chuck's blog to subscribe.

Whiskey: A Spirited Story with 75 Classic & Original Cocktails by Michael Dietsch

June 16, 2016 Eric Burke

As I tend to list my favorite cocktail as Whiskey in a Glass, it should come as no surprise that I am not really a cocktail guy. Not because I don’t like cocktails. I like them quite a bit. And not because they are too hard. I love cooking elaborate meals. No I’m not a cocktail guy, because I don’t know what I’m doing. Go beyond a Sazerac, a Manhattan or an Old Fashioned and I’m not sure what to do. There are too many possible ingredients that only seem to come in 750 mL bottles and which you use a teaspoon at a time.

This is why I was looking forward to Michael Dietsch’s new book Whiskey: A Spirited Story with 75 Classic & Original Cocktails. I need help knowing what to make, what types of ingredients I should buy and in what combinations I should use them. Eventually I might be able to get to where I can riff on my own, but for now I’m a relative noob. Plus, I loved his last book on shrubs and even made two or three of them including a Cranberry Apple Shrub that I substituted for the vermouth in a Manhattan for a while.

The first third of the book is a primer on the different types of whiskey. Everything from bourbon to scotch to Japanese whiskey is covered. There is even a separate section for Tennessee whiskey just to make Jack and George fans feel special. The next 20 pages or so are really great for the cocktail noob. Entitled “How to Make a Cocktail” it gives you an overview on equipment, technique, glasses and more.

Then you get into the nitty gritty. The part I wanted to book for. The recipes. The first night I had the book I went through and put flags on the cocktails I wanted to try. Soon I had run out of flags and had to grab a second package. I must have tabbed about half the cocktails in the book. Then it was time for a shopping list. Luckily I was able to buy just a few of ingredients to make a large number of them. Then I got down to research. If I was going to review the book, I wanted to do more than just read it.

There were cocktails in there that I’d always wanted to try, but never had, like the Vieux Carré. There were the standards that are in every book like the Manhattan, etc. But then there were ones I had never heard of as well. Things with exotic names like Algonquin, Bardstown, Lion’s Tail and Fanciulli.

One thing I liked about the book is that along with each recipe you get a little of it’s history. A little information about it. Plus, if you are a history buff like I am, a nice touch was that the recipes are organized by historical period. Feel like having a Prohibition-party? You know what to make. Feel like something modern? Turn to the back.

To say I enjoyed my research would be an understatement. My wife and I spent at least two weeks going through the book and making everything we had the ingredients for and then buying the ingredients to make some of the others. This is a book I can easily recommend to any whiskey fan looking to expand a little beyond Whiskey in a Glass.

Curious about what’s inside? Michael has graciously given permission for me to republish one of my favorite recipes in the book. I really like this one.

Fanciulli

Ingredients

2 ounces of bourbon (Bulleit is suggested though I can attest that other fruity, light bourbons work as well)

3/4 ounce sweet vermouth

1/4 ounce Fernet-Banca

Procedure

Fill a mixing glass 2/3 full of ice
Add bourbon, vermouth, and Fernet-Branca, and stir 15 seconds, or until chilled and diluted.
Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Whiskey: An American Pictorial History by Oscar Getz

December 8, 2015 Eric Burke

A while back, I wrote a post about the Oscar Getz Museum of Whiskey History in Bardstown, KY. In doing research for that post, I stumbled upon the information that Mr. Getz, aside from being an avid collector of whiskey historical memorabilia, also wrote a book on whiskey history as well.

Having stumbled upon that information just as the the monthly patron donations hit, I immediately decided to use that month’s proceeds to purchase the book should I be able to find it. It turns out that it I didn’t have to look too hard. Though the book is long out of print, there are plenty of used copies for sale on the Amazon Marketplace. And so, not knowing exactly what I would get, I placed the order and waited.

Whiskey: An American Pictorial History

by Oscar Getz

Based upon the title, I expected this book to be made up almost entirely of pictures. I expected that most of those pictures would be from Mr. Getz’s collection, the seed of the Oscar Getz Museum of Whiskey History in Bardstown, KY. I half expected that most of the images would be of things I remembered seeing from the museum.

I was both right and wrong. There are images of items that I’ve seen in the museum and many of the images are of items from Mr. Getz’s collection. But contrary to my expectations this book is not as image heavy as the title would lead you to believe. Now don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of images, but many, if not most, of them are images of documents. Within it’s pages are an amazing collection of letters, laws, newspaper pages, liquor licenses and advertisements from Colonial times through the mid-1970s.

Like other books on American whiskey history, this one starts with the pilgrims, retelling legends that in many of us learned in elementary school. It talks about the intertwined nature of taverns, liquor and the early United States. It touches on George Washington, Hamilton, the Whiskey Rebellion, the Civil War before ending it’s narrative with Prohibition.

But though it hits all the same notes as many other books, I found this book to be interesting for the parts it includes that many others don’t. There is a chapter on Abraham Lincoln and his tavern. There is a chapter on mail-order whiskey marketing. And the book ends with a chapter on a subject that reads as a personal one for Mr. Getz, the economic and social contributions of the liquor industry.

This final chapter details a history of charitable contributions, the many ways that states used their liquor tax revenue in the 1970s and a plea that the distilling industry devote itself to helping end teenage consumption as well as drinking and driving. Though this chapter was not written as a history, almost forty years on, it provides some interesting insights.

Overall if you happen to see this book somewhere, I’d recommend picking it up. Though the text can be dry and hard to read at times, the information and documents contained in it’s pages are worth the effort.

Book Review: Bourbon Curious by Fred Minnick

August 13, 2015 Eric Burke

Disclaimer: I consider Fred Minnick to be a friend and in my statement of ethics I promised to disclose when I am reviewing one of my friend’s products and to only review them when it was truly something I really liked. This is one of those times.

Bourbon Curious on along with a nice glass of bourbon.

This past February, when I first heard that my friend Fred Minnick was writing another book, I was excited. I preordered the book, knowing nothing about it. Didn’t know the topic, didn’t know the length, intended audience, anything. I preordered the book because I like Fred’s writing style and because I’ve enjoyed his other books immensely.

I ordered it, then I forgot about it. At least until I started seeing reviews pop up online. The reviews were good and so I was excited when it arrived in the Amazon box with a couple other books that I’d ordered.

My first impression was that the publisher did a nice job on the book. I like hardcover books, but hate the hassle of dust jackets. This had no dust jacket. The cover art was printed on the cover. I opened it up and was immediately hit with the smell of the printed page. Wonderful. I was liking the book already and I hadn’t even started reading it yet.

I wasn’t let down once I did start reading it either. Though this is a book targeted less at the bourbon enthusiast and more at the bourbon novice, I still found a lot of interesting bits to the book. It starts with a breakdown of certain well known bourbon-industry myths. This leads you into a quick overview of bourbon history and politics, both the celebrated and the shameful.

After we learn a bit about how bourbon as a concept came to be what it is today, we learn about how bourbon as a product comes about. There are two chapters about the ingredients and processes of making bourbon.

To this point, the first hundred pages or so, the book will be as interesting to enthusiasts as it is to novices. After this though, if you are the type of bourbon geek who already takes notes and has a well developed palate the next hundred of the book may not be targeted at you. That isn’t to say you shouldn’t read it, but since it is more about how to train your palate, the tasting notes may not be up your alley.

Before you pass this section by though, let me tell you this. The tasting notes are presented in an interesting manner. First they are broken up, not by company or brand but, by what flavor component the author felt was most dominant. After that, tasting notes for specific bourbons are presented along with details about the distillery and distiller that produced it, what the mashbill is, where those grains came from, barrel entry proof, how it was aged, the number of barrels used in a batch and even what filtration method was used. This is a set of geeky tasting notes and they are the part of this section I enjoyed the most.

The last bit of the book is the appendix. As a history buff, this might be the section I will be referring back to most often. It is a short history of each of the major and many of the smaller bourbon brand names. It makes a wonderful finish to the book.

A smile face because I really like this.

Throw in a few worksheets, the sidebars with fun tidbits and recipes, and the wonderful photographs and this is a book that is hard not to recommend to bourbon lovers of any experience level. It runs about 230 pages but is a quick and fun read. I finished my copy in about 4 hours or so. MSRP is $22.99, but I preordered mine on Amazon for a price of $11.24. Be sure to shop around.

Bourbon Empire: The Past and Future of America's Whiskey by Reid Mitenbuler

June 23, 2015 Eric Burke

Shortest review ever: buy this book.

Can I say more? Of course. I can always say more. Do I need to? Not really. I’ve read a lot of books about bourbon. I’ve got a shelf full of them. Some are fantastic. A couple are really, really bad. Some just spit out the same marketing myths you’ve heard over and over. Some have amazing amounts of original research. Some of them are interesting, but dry. Others are entertaining, but empty of real information.

Bourbon Empire is one of the rare ones that is both entertainingly written and full of interesting information. This was a book that I couldn’t keep to myself. On more than one occasion, I had to stop and read passages aloud to my wife.

The parts that I especially enjoyed were the comparisons between times when a lot of people needed to make money on bourbon in a short period of time. Namely the years right after Prohibition and today. It seems a lot of the same techniques for “quick aging” were tried by post-prohibition distilleries trying to compete with imported stocks of fully matured whiskey as are being touted today by craft distilleries needing to compete with large stocks of fully matured bourbon. I won’t spoil the chapters for you, I really want you to read them yourself.

Most books on bourbon can’t help at least bringing up the mythical origin stories that most bourbon brands insist on surrounding themselves with. Some celebrate them as the honest truth. Others take pride in pointing out that they are damn lies. The difference here is that the myths are celebrated while they are being debunked. They are mentioned. They are poked, prodded and examined from various angles and then they are celebrated for being good, though not true, stories.

So, go out right now to your local bookstore—or if you are like most of America who no longer has one go to Amazon—and buy this book. Reid Mitenbuler has crafted a book that is a pleasure to read and will teach you something to boot. Maybe enjoy it with a nice bourbon.

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Fanciulli

Whiskey: An American Pictorial History

by Oscar Getz