Beer, Bourbon & BBQ

Yup, that’s the name of the this traveling eatdrink circus.  Today was the first 2014 tour stop in NYC at the Tunnel on 11th Ave and 28th.  It’s really a great, well-curated round up of bourbons & ryes & beers & hot sauce & cravaeable eats. Festival founder Greg and the awesome food/drinks curator Monica rolled in from Baltimore and put on an exemplary exhibition.  Making their way from “apples to oranges,” as Monica puts it, meaning there are apples galore up in the north east with New York being the first stop, right on down to the world capital of oranges, Florida, with many stops in between.  Get details here and def check it out if it comes to your neck of the woods. http://www.beerandbourbon.com/

We did an informative bourbon & rye tasting and I finally learned the difference. Dave from redemptionrye.com (my fave tasting at the festival) helped me understand my preference. I like a rye and rye-forward bourbon and specifically his ‘redemption rye’ which taste of “spice and leather with mint at the end,” and is absolutely perfect for a Manhattan or Sazerac.  Rye whiskey must have at least 51% rye mash as opposed to bourbon which needs at least 51% corn and when that corn mash is coupled with a high percentage of rye then thats the bourbon I seem to like.  And by the way, the only difference between whisky and scotch is Scotland–whiskey is whiskey everywhere but in Scotland it’s scotch!