Would you like dinner with your bourbon?

 

What could be better than tasting your favorite bourbons in a relaxed atmosphere? How about pairing them with some fantastic food! That’s the premise behind “bourbon dinners,” a concept we picked up on, and have watched them grow in popularity and multiply, during the pandemic.

The idea is pretty simple – you get a dinner served in small courses, each paired with a different bourbon. Sometimes it’s a bourbon drink, other times the pours are served “neat” to taste the full flavors of each with the food. Then the bourbon rep explains something about each one. It’s also a pretty ingenious way for representatives of the distilleries to get more people interested and to try their product!

 

The latest bourbon dinner we attended was in January 2022 at Oliver Royale in downtown Knoxville. We’ve attended several bourbon dinners there and enjoy both the food and bourbon pairings each time! Christy is a fan of their pork belly, in particular.  Oliver Royale has various dinners throughout the year.  To keep abreast of the happenings, register to receive their emails or check out their events page.

Now let’s also add that there’s nothing wrong with drinking bourbon in the comfort of your home. We tend to do that as well! But it’s very cool to get to hear the stories behind the various brands, labels, and mashbills. That’s one of the reasons we enjoy bourbon – the stories! For example – at one recent bourbon dinner, we learned that the Weller Special Reserve label is green in honor of the green ink that William Larue Weller (the father of wheated bourbon) used to stamp his thumb print on every barrel.

At this particular dinner, which was hosted by Sazerac, the parent company of all-things Buffalo Trace, the welcome cocktail was bourbon and champagne in a flute (think French 75 but with bourbon).

To give you an idea how it works without too many of the gory, yet delicious, details… here’s a rundown of the pairings for this dinner:

•        Smoked Pork Belly paired with Eagle Rare Manhattan
•        Kale & Endive Salad paired with a Sazerac
•        Trout paired with Buffalo Trace Vieux Carre
•        Hanger Steak paired with Weller Full Proof Old Fashioned
•       Banana Spring Rolls paired with Blanton’s neat

They pretty much hit all of our favorite bourbon drinks in one sitting!

We should point out that these are not often full pours or full-sized drinks! It would be a challenge to navigate safely afterward otherwise. But you get enough of each to make the most of the pairings.

As we noted earlier, there are a growing number of places hosting bourbon events in Knoxville. We’ve attended a dinner at Boyd’s Jig and Reel, and other places like Barley’s in the Old City and Oak Room by Abridged are also offering dinners this year.  We have also attended bourbon and whiskey classes at Total Wine - just to name a few.

Is there a bourbon dinner in your future? You might even be able to ask your favorite restaurant to host one (assuming they have a good bourbon selection). 

 

Rediscovering Your Hometown

 

Can you really go home again AND find a good cocktail?

They say home is where the heart is … or wherever you have family … or something like that.  For Scott, “home” is always going to be Morgantown, West Virginia. That’s where he was raised, went to school, and had his first drinks (legal and not-so legal as a teenager). It makes sense that we would take advantage of a chance to rediscover Morgantown’s tastiest drinks from a more adult perspective.

That opportunity has presented itself in the last couple of years. Scott’s dad is 89 … and in 2020 we committed to visiting him at least once a month.  He lives in a two-bedroom house, with one bedroom as a den, in Morgantown. That means our visits have most often involved hotels close to his house and to downtown Morgantown, which these days is full of mostly college bars. Challenge accepted.

Let’s start by saying there’s nothing wrong with college bars … they have a time and place. Our experiences are more about quality rather than quantity, and that’s the audience we are hoping to attract with our musings.

Believe it or not, there are some excellent places to get craft beer and cocktails in downtown Morgantown!

There are lots of places to drink beer (including some good microbreweries in Morgantown), but for some of the tastiest beers around the world and an ever-changing menu, Apothecary is our place. This beer bar attracts a varied crowd – yes, including college students, but also professors, locals, young professionals, etc. The bartenders are versed in the offerings, including different styles, countries and often the breweries. We hear they are moving to a bigger venue with some outdoor space in summer 2022. Good luck to them!

As for cocktails, it’s hard to beat the menu and expertise at Tin 202. Their classics like a Manhattan or an Old Fashioned are on point and their wine list is extensive. The food is exceptional as well! We want to try their Sunday wine tasting experience sometime. It’s an added bonus that Scott remembers coming here as a kid when it was a drug store.

Two of our favorite downtown hotels also have excellent cocktail bars – Bourbon Prime at the Marriott at Waterfront Place, and Anvil & Ax at the Hotel Morgan.  Unfortunately, both of them close fairly early (11 p.m. at the latest) so you have to get your drinks in at a “decent” hour. The Manhattan in Morgantown (essentially a smoked Manhattan) at Anvil & Ax is particularly good, as is their Lavender Rhodo.  Bourbon Prime, as you might expect, has a good bourbon selection and classics like a Manhattan and an Old Fashioned.

And for a waterfront view, Table 9 is hard to beat. Their cocktail and wine selection makes for a good evening out and they have an outstanding brunch.

One of the best things about coming back to Morgantown is the places that haven’t changed. You can still get a frosty fishbowl at Mario’s Fishbowl, now in several locations! We need to invest more time in visiting some of the classic spots including Crockett’s (a favorite of Scott’s in college), Mundy’s Place and Gene’s Beer Garden. 

If anyone has tips on something we should try next time, please let us know at offthetipsypath@gamil.com or visit our FaceBook and Insta pages … and if you’d like to join us when we’re in town, we’d love it! Oh, and GO MOUNTAINEERS!

Our Favorite Bourbon Drinks in St. Pete (So Far)

Hello and welcome to our first trek “off the tipsy path!” 

First, let’s get this out of the way.  We are a couple that enjoys having a drink – with dinner, with lunch (when we’re not working), occasionally at brunch – and we like learning about the art of distilling and brewing spirits, and of course, finding new places to enjoy our recreational sport.

Second, we love St. Petersburg, Florida!  The pandemic allowed (aka “forced”) us, along with millions of other people, to find new ways to travel and new places to explore. St. Pete is one of the places that we lucked into, thanks to Vincent Van Gogh! When the immersive Van Gogh experiences started popping up in 2020, we looked for places that were a short drive or quick plane trip away to see the exhibit - St. Pete was on the short list of direct flights on Allegiant!  We spent a long weekend in March 2021 along the bay in downtown St. Pete… and we were hooked. So much so, we went back again for a week in October 2021 for our anniversary. That time, we stayed in the Grand Central District within walking distance of our favorite bars, restaurants, breweries and museums. (We’ll hit those in future posts.)

Third, we love bourbon!  With all due respect to Mr. Daniel and Mr. Dickel, the Kentucky stuff just has a smell and taste that does the trick. Scott likes a good Manhattan and sipping on the brown water neat or with a few cubes, as well as a Sazerac, Boulevardier, and any other tasty concoction. Christy enjoys an Old Fashioned (well, we both do...)

Put all that together, and we have come up with what we think are our top 5 bourbon drinks (and locations) that we’ve found and enjoyed during our time to St. Pete. These are not ranked in any order…

1. The Jack Skellington at Tropez – A smoked pumpkin spice Old Fashioned that is a treat for the senses

2. Sea Ya Later at No Vacancy – A refreshing take on an Old Fashioned using Jack Daniel’s

3. Lion’s Tail at Bar Chica – A refined cocktail for the adventurous in a legit Speakeasy

4. Bonded & Infused Old Fashioned at Flute & Dram – A traditional Old Fashioned that begs to be sipped (Their Manhattan is mighty fine as well… and a steal during happy hour!)

5. Old Fashioned at Mandarin Hide – These folks should know how to make good bourbon drinks… and they do. 

Runner up: Old Fashioned at Club 201 at the Detroit – Refreshing when paired with live jazz; and just about any bourbon drink at the Saint! Their drinks are as fun as their theme.

As with all our posts, these are only our opinions. If you think we missed something in St. Pete on this, please drop us a note!  Anything else you’d like to see or places we should visit?  We love finding new places and drinks “off the tipsy path.”

Off the Tipsy Path

Welcome to our sliver of the internet! Hello, we are Scott and Christy... a couple that lives to travel, enjoys life to the fullest and strives to have no regrets when we die. We live in Tennessee with our three children - two have flown the coop and our youngest enjoys accompanying us on our travels (except for the drinking parts.) We have been married for 11 years and together for 13 years. Adventure fuels us and we are not afraid to put ourselves in uncomfortable situations to grow and expand.

Our favorite things include -

• Hikes in the mountains
• Dive bars
• Bourbon
• Wine
• Beer
• Coffee
• Champagne
• Sunsets and sunrises
• Yoga (at least for Christy)
• Reading and writing
• The Ocean
• Mexican food
• Wandering the world

And yes, we like taking photos of our favorite finds, including the drinks. We hope to inspire others to wander and explore the less traveled paths, including our favorite watering holes in our cherished cities - that's where "off the tipsy path" comes in. We believe in supporting small businesses where ever we are, even in our home town. But we also believe in doing it safely. Let us know if you have questions and/or recommendations to visit! We can be reached at OffTheTipsyPath@gmail.com.