Thank you to everyone who purchased a raffle ticket for this year’s Bourbon Lovers Raffle. I’m excited to share that this year’s winner is Robert Hobbs. Robert has chosen The Four Roses Lovers Collection as his prize. We will get his bottles shipped out
Thank you to everyone who purchased a raffle ticket for this year's Bourbon Lovers Raffle. I'm excited to share that this year's winner is Robert Hobbs. Robert has chosen The Four Roses Lovers Collection as his prize. We will get his bottles shipped out safely soon. Congratulations, Robert!
If you didn't win this year, don't worry. We'll host this raffle again next year and share news of similar raffles featuring bourbon prizes from other sources.
Thanks again for everyone's support!
~ Pops
When it comes to tasting whiskey – and any spirit, for that matter – there is a wide array of shapes to choose from, each promising to be “the best.” This guide overviews the most common glassware types for drinking whiskey.
When it comes to tasting whiskey - and any spirit, for that matter - there is a wide array of shapes to choose from, each promising to be “the best.” This guide overviews the most common glassware types for drinking whiskey.
Glassware is a great way to enhance the whiskey-tasting experience, as well as add functional decor to your home bar. I am an unapologetic glassware nerd. Anytime I go to a restaurant or bar, I can be seen tipping my glass and squinting at the bottom, searching for the etching denoting the maker. I am also frequently asked, "what is the best way to drink whiskey?" So let's start with the basics and review the best - and the worst - glassware options to maximize your bourbon liquor quaffing experiences.
Custom glassware designs offered exclusively by Bourbon & Banter.
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We recently wrapped our first annual Bourbon & Banter Community Summit held in Louisville, Kentucky. We were thrilled to be able to mix and mingle with our community members from across the country IRL. If you’re curious what it’s like to be a member of our community, here are a few highlights.
At Bourbon & Banter, we are proud of the honest and unfiltered content we provide to our readers. But more than that, we are even prouder to build and foster an incredible community for whiskey lovers. Our community is unique in that we welcome people from all walks of their whiskey journey and more importantly, provide a platform and outlet for open and frank conversation. It isn’t a place to outdo one another on how many allocated bottles are stowed away in your whiskey bunker, but a place to learn from industry experts and insiders what is really going on in the world of whiskey.
We recently wrapped our first annual Bourbon & Banter Community Summit held in Louisville, Kentucky. We were thrilled to be able to mix and mingle with our community members from across the country IRL. If you’re curious what it’s like to be a member of our community, here are a few highlights and reflections from the weekend:
I was thrilled to participate in this inaugural event. Throughout the weekend, I was struck by the generosity, geniality, and genuine connections shared by all. It was wonderful reconnecting with friends I’d known for years, putting a face to the tiny profile photo I interact with on social media, and meeting brand new folks, all over a shared dram. Whiskey is delicious but what makes it special is the community it brings together. At Bourbon & Banter, we lean in hard to the community and I am so thankful and honored to be a mainstay of that group.
– Erin Petrey, Cocktail Editor & Sr. Contributor
This past weekend was amazing. As we were sitting around the fire pit late Saturday night, Pops and I were discussing the past few days as we finished our cigars. We were talking about how well the first-ever Bourbon & Banter Community Summit went and how much fun everyone seemed to have. Pops and I are usually the last people standing after these events and this night was no different. After three jam-packed days of bourbon events, we finally had time to download and look back on the past 72 hours.
Erin hit the highlights and we did pick two great barrels for our members but that was not the best part for us. As Pops and I were talking, we realized that we had accomplished exactly what we set out to do when we decided to focus on our members beyond just blog content. We were able to provide unique, fun, and exclusive experiences for our community members. Of course, barrel picks are bucket list highlights for everyone and it is always one of my favorite events, but the people are what makes it special.
Like taking your kid to Disney, I get that same feeling when we bring a Community Member to take part in their first barrel pick. These weekends are all about shared experiences and I really enjoy watching a barrel pick rookie get to thief from a barrel for the first time, fill their sample glasses, and watch them process all that is a private pick. Whether it is thieving directly from different barrels on the floor of a rickhouse or staring down at a tasting mat full of ten Glencairns while trying to figure out just what they have gotten themselves into, I just like being able to share it with others. I enjoy the sometimes-heated discussions during private picks about what barrel is best and then still being able to discuss it hours later over more pours of bourbon.
Speaking of sampling different pours, we also hosted two different bottle shares over the weekend. The first one on Friday night was attended by more than 25 people and the second one had about 16 attendees. As I was talking with Pops around the fire, I realized that not only was it a great time, but that I was able to personally talk to every single person there. Obviously, some discussions were much longer than others, but I was grateful that everyone took time out of their busy lives to come hang out and revel in the Bourbon & Banter experience. I am sure the 100+ different bottles to choose from helped as well. Again, I keep coming back to the people. This weekend was all about our Members and being able to provide them with experiences and true value for their membership. The swag giveaways were a nice bonus, too.
Now we need to figure out how to make our next Community Member Summit even better. We are open to suggestions. Let us know.
– Brent Joseph, Single Barrel Program Coordinator & Senior Contributor
Despite my living in Louisville, schedule conflicts this year saw me experience a Summette, as in a slice of the Summit. And that’s a drag. Few things make for a better event than these annual get-togethers because there are always new friends to be made and old ones to revisit.
I caught up with the gang on Friday night for our bottle share and Mercenary BBQ chowdown. (If you don’t already know, bourbon and barbecue is one of the best food and whiskey pairings, period.) I may have known half of the 25-ish people there, but I got to meet all of them before the night was over. Several of the guys brought their wives, which needs to happen more often. (If you’re reading this, Leslie Coomes, you’re coming next year!) Ladies don’t just class up the joint, they have great perspectives on food, whiskey, work and life. Fact is, we don’t talk whiskey to death at these events, we do a great job of getting to know each other—between bites of Mercenary BBQ, of course.
Wish I could have stayed later, but we had a morning rye tasting at The Bar at Fort Nelson, a slice of New York on the second floor of Michter’s Distillery’s tourist center and distillery. Unlike the previous night’s more gregarious bottle share, we all had some sit-down face time at tables while nosing and sipping Michter’s terrific rye line. I like bouncing around a loud room and meeting new people as much as anyone, but getting to know more about people over drinks at a classy bar … that’s hard to beat. As were the cocktails: as good as any anywhere.
Trust me, you don’t want to miss this Summit next year, and I’ll be sure to block out my schedule better and avoid another Summette.
– Steve Coomes, Editor & Sr. Contributor
If this sounds like an incredible time to you, be sure to sign up for the Bourbon & Banter community today. Membership includes access to our single barrel club, which will be releasing our picks from Four Roses and Green River just in time for the holidays. And did we mention a membership also makes a fantastic holiday gift?
Enter to win two V.I.P. tickets to Whiskey in the Winter and join us in sampling from over 400 whiskeys.
Bourbon & Banter has been a proud sponsor of Whiskey in the Winter for ten years, and to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the festival, we're giving away some V.I.P. tickets. If you'd like to attend with us, tell us why you want to join us in the comments. We'll pick a winner from the comments on this post and our social media posts about the giveaway.
The event will be held in St. Louis on December 9th. If you're not local to St. Louis, you'll be responsible for getting here, but the tickets (valued at $360) are free. It's not a bad deal for a night of sampling from over 400 whiskeys, gourmet meals and great educational seminars from industry experts.
And who knows, we might have a few surprises in store for anyone joining us at the event.
Good luck!
~ Pops
And then the big break came with her second piece, which launched her to the next level artistically. In 2020, her piece caught the eye of a partner with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s Teremana Tequila, who commissioned her to draw the celeb’s tequila bottle to be given as a gift for his birthday.
When the pandemic hit, and her museum job as an artist with Madame Tussaud's in Downtown DC evaporated, Brie Hayden needed not only a new employer but another way to channel her creativity. Brie had always been an artist but really leaned into her now-signature hyperrealistic technique soon after losing her day job. She toyed with her newfound style, drawn to how the tiniest of details can truly bring a work to life.
To truly visually capture the smallest of nuances, all of Brie's works are drawn completely in graphite. "Working in graphite allows for a unique focus on the interplay of light and shadow. By stripping away color, the spotlight is put on the grayscale values, allowing me to share my admiration of sharing with my audience." Her use of fine-tipped pencils allow her the utmost control and precision to render pieces that you could easily mistake for a photograph.
She was rather surprised when her very first bottle drawing sold. Clearly there was a market, or at least a market of one! And then the big break came with her second piece, which launched her to the next level artistically. In 2020, her piece caught the eye of a partner with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's Teremana Tequila, who commissioned her to draw the celeb's tequila bottle to be given as a gift for his birthday. To her surprise and delight, the former WWE champ shared this unique gift on his nearly 400 million follower-strong Instagram account and commissioned her to draw more for him. Needless to say, this was an incredible boon for Brie's business.
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson poses with Brie's drawing of his celebrity tequila, Teremana
Brie has come a long way from her first few bottles. She now exhibits her art across the burgeoning art scene in her current home of Richmond, VA, at multiple festivals (such as the upcoming Boardwalk Art Show in Virginia Beach), and is a member of The Art League Gallery at the renowned Torpedo Factory in Alexandria, VA. Beyond her shows and gallery features, she still works mostly on commission through her website, spreading desire for her work via word of mouth from happy customers. I, myself, recently commissioned her to memorialize my family's former whiskey brand in graphite. And it goes without saying that her one-of-a-kind custom pieces make exceptional gifts and are perfect for distilleries to memorialize their brands through artwork.
Brie has found a real niche in depicting everyday objects even beyond liquor bottles, such as bottlecaps and silverware. Her intensely realistic style highlights and conveys the beauty in even the most seemingly mundane of objects. But she has found unique joy in depicting liquor bottles, especially those steeped in history. She has recreated numerous pre-Prohibition bottles, using a large collection she recently photographed for inspiration. The way she masters the depth and light of the peeling edges of a label, the long-earned patina of foggy glass, and the delicate tendrils of early 20th-century fonts is masterful; you will no doubt mistake some of her work for a stylized photograph. And Brie loves the history behind them, too, eager to dig in and find any mention of long-extinct brands in the historical record.
She also does a fair amount of pet portraiture, though she doesn't want to be pigeonholed as a pet artist, which can be a rather easy specialty to fall into. What can I say? As an obsessive dog mom, my ears perked up and my eyes twinkled when she said she drew pups. People love to buy pictures of their furry friends. (And I still may try to commission her to sketch my dog.)
Brie's pieces - which are all free hand drawn, not traced from a photograph - take about 20-30 hours to create, which she spreads across 4-8 weeks. Each depiction comes matted and framed, ready to be placed on display. And no: they are not cheap, but they are painstakingly crafted one-of-a-kind pieces of art perfect for any bourbon lover. Each piece runs $400 for a 9 x 12 up to $2,000 for a 22 x 30. The good news for her fans, though, is that she recently launched a line of bourbon bottle prints that cost $40 for an 8 x 10 or $60 for an 11 x 14. And they are available just in time for the holidays!
Brie is a true talent and I cannot wait to see what she does next. I love supporting women in the arts, especially those who select subjects so near and dear to my heart. Be sure to check out Brie's work as the perfect gift for any booze lover in your life.
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