Bourbon Legacy

Sometimes I forget how much I really love my profession.  It can get overwhelming, dealing with people everyday.  Long hours are hard on the body and unhappy people are hard on the soul.  But then there are those experiences that make it all worth it.  A sincere compliment, a profitable day, a moment of shared laughter.  A few months ago, I had an experience that reminded me why I have chosen the bar life all these years.

I recently joined the United States Bartenders Guild, an organization of professional bartenders and those in the beverage world.  It's a great group of really talented, really passionate people in our industry. As a member of USBG, I get invited to attend tastings, meet and greets, and other educational events.  The most recent of these was a luncheon/bourbon tasting with a legend.

Jimmy Russell is a kindly Southern gentleman that reminds you of your grandfather.  A day before his 80th birthday, I got to have lunch with him, drink his bourbon, and listen to him talk about his passion, mainly, Wild Turkey bourbon.  Mr. Jimmy has been distilling Wild Turkey for 60 years, and, along with his son, is a member of the Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame.  Betcha didn't know that existed, did you?

We all settled in to a private dining room at the Capital Grille.  As I looked around, I was disappointed that other than the distributor rep, I was the only female.  That was my only disappointment, however.  Introductions were made, lunch orders were taken, and then we got down to the tasting portion of our lunch.

Before we got to taste the bourbon, Mr. Jimmy explained the best way to taste the various samples.  When tasting bourbon, you want to use your senses of sight, smell, and taste.  Before the actual tasting, take a look at the color.  Put it up against the light.  The colors of bourbon can vary from a light straw gold, to a dark amber, and everything in between.  The color of the bourbon indicates how long the bourbon was in the barrel.  Taking a few seconds to appreciate those rich jewel tones makes the experience that much better.  Next is the smell.  Each bourbon smells a little different.  Notes of pepper, fruits, vanilla, oak, all of these can be represented.

Finally, the best part, tasting.  As with the smell, you can get so many flavors, depending on the age of the bourbon.  But that isn't all you want to taste.  The finish is just as important.  Bourbons can finish harsh, smooth, oaky.  It's an all over experience that really makes you think about what it is you're drinking.

Using these guidelines, we were able to try eight different bourbons from the Wild Turkey line.  From Wild Turkey 101, the most common of the line, all the way up to the Diamond Anniversary, which was created to celebrate Mr. Jimmy's 60th anniversary with the company.  Each of the tastings had a completely different character, but I have to say that my favorite was Rare Breed, which, despite its 108.2 proof, was easy to drink.  It's also Mr. Jimmy's favorite.

All in all, it was a great afternoon.  Mr. Russell was sweet and very educational.  He discussed each of the different bourbons, told us the history of the distillery and his role in it, and answered all of our questions.  (His favorite non-alcoholic beverage?  Unsweet tea.  You're welcome.)  I was honored to be able to spend time with a legend, that being one of his final trips.  And before I left, I even got a hug and a kiss from the legend.  Not too bad for a Tuesday afternoon in December.

(I apologize for the lack of pictures, I blame it on being a bit starstruck.)

Thanks for reading, hip cats!  I'll be posting again soon, but in the meantime, stay hip and drink some bourbon!