Making whiskey is an industrial course of, soiled and noisy and smelly. However you’d be arduous pressed to search out any of that on the trendy Bourbon Path. The complete Blue Grass State has turn out to be a veritable Disneyland of gleaming guests’ facilities and glowing rickhouses, more and more too clear to be mistaken for what they really are: whiskey barns. The customer expertise has modified, as properly. What was as soon as, roughly, a bourbon scavenger hunt from tasting to tasting, has turn out to be extra of a bar crawl, and a excessive finish one at that. Lately, distilleries huge and small have added bars and eating places to their campuses, vying to assert extra of the bourbon vacationers’ time. And their {dollars}.
In 2021, the historic Stitzel-Weller distillery turned house to 1 such watering gap, the Backyard & Gun Membership. It was solely the second Backyard & Gun Membership within the nation (the primary is in Atlanta, the place the well-known life-style journal is headquartered). It’s an applicable pairing for the reason that journal’s focus is the “better of the South,” and the distillery, constructed by the notorious Julian “Pappy” Van Winkle Sr., lays historic declare to what many contemplate among the greatest bourbons on the earth. By no means thoughts that the place can also be steeped within the form of bourbon historical past that any model would covet. After closing, like so many, through the darkish days of the bourbon bust, Stitzel-Weller ultimately ended up within the palms of spirits large Diageo who painstakingly revived the campus to its former glory in 2014. It turned house first to Bulleit and now homes the Blade & Bow, I. W. Harper, and Orphan Barrel manufacturers, which, after partnering with Backyard & Gun, turned the main target of the membership’s spectacular bar program. However I’m getting a bit forward of myself.
First, the place itself. By way of the Guests’ Heart and up the steps, previous a little bit of tasteful taxidermy, you’ll discover a house that’s a cushty combine of contemporary industrial and classic with heat, inexperienced partitions, brass fixtures, and loads of leather-based. It’s an aesthetic clearly designed for the trendy bourbon drinker, however I think about “Pappy” would have been comfortable to seize a drink right here, too. The house isn’t expansive, nevertheless it’s sufficiently big to simply accommodate a mixture of native bar hoppers and bourbon vacationers, contemporary from their legally restricted tastings and on the lookout for only a bit extra.
From behind the bar, lead bartender Greg Hojnacki walks me by way of the cocktail program, which hues towards recognizable classics that spotlight the distillery’s flagship Blade & Bow bourbon. “Blade and Bow is form of a spicy bourbon to start with, properly balanced with a pleasant physique, so it stands out in a cocktail properly with some cinnamon spice on the again,” he tells me as I dive into the menu. Among the many classics on supply are a fan favourite Previous Customary with a home made Demerara syrup and a refreshingly fruity Paper Aircraft. “An enormous vendor lately,” Greg says, “maybe due to the nice and cozy climate.” The bar makes its tinctures and syrups in-house and sources attractive, customized ice cubes, in quite a lot of sizes and shapes, from Kentucky Straight Ice. Every part is served in traditional, customized glassware etched with numerous Backyard & Gun motifs.
Even with plenty of tried-and-true classics on the menu, there’s loads of cocktailing creativity afoot right here. Greg stresses that the workforce is all the time testing and creating new, distinctive recipes, albeit with a recognizable basis. A Chocolate Boulevardier and French 75 variation are mentioned to be within the works (if not already on supply since my go to final yr). My favourite tipple is one in every of Greg’s favorites, his tackle the New Customary with a little bit of Johnnie Walker Black and St. Germain within the combine. It’s well-executed and refreshing with nuanced layers of smoke, baking spice, and natural sweetness.
Whereas the backbar isn’t overflowing with spirits choices, you’re additionally not restricted to whiskey cocktails completely. It is a Diageo outpost, in spite of everything, so spectacular manufacturers of all stripes and flavors are readily available. “If you need a Martini, you may get a Martini,” Greg tells me. “The enjoyment of working throughout the Diageo umbrella is gaining access to so many nice merchandise.” However the whiskey-obsessed can relaxation assured, the bar presents all the things you’d style on a tour of the distillery after which some.
The tastings included within the Stitzel-Weller tour typically characteristic an Orphan Barrel product, however the Backyard & Gun Membership virtually all the time has the newest bottles readily available. Throughout my go to, the current Copper Tongue and Muckety-Muck releases have been obtainable by the pour or in a flight. If uncommon Orphan Barrels aren’t luxe sufficient for you, the bar additionally presents The Blade & Bow Expertise, a bespoke tasting of Stitzel-Weller’s oldest and rarest providing, Blade & Bow 22 Years Previous. The distillery periodically places a single bottle on the market within the reward store after it’s launched within the fall, however in the event you aren’t fortunate sufficient (or flush sufficient) to snag it, you’ll be able to take pleasure in a superbly introduced single ounce pour in a novel, dimpled tasting glass handmade in North Carolina by Terrane, a Backyard & Gun Made within the South winner. At $150 for the pleasure, it’s no straightforward splurge, however Greg swiftly closes the sale with me by stressing that I get to maintain the gorgeous tasting glass.
If an extended day of bourbon tasting requires a bit extra sustenance than bar nuts, the Backyard & Gun Membership has you coated with a small however artistic menu that features white cheddar jalapeno popcorn, Newsome’s nation ham, and pimento cheese, which, as one thing of a pimento cheese connoisseur, I can guarantee you greater than passes muster. Simply ask for a number of extra of the ocean salt crackers that accompany it. Bourbon and cocktail consuming are arduous enterprise, in spite of everything, and also you’ll must fortify your self for the subsequent distillery go to. And its new bar.
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