Archive for the ‘Charlie Adler’ Category
Festival Celebrates Chesapeake Seafood – Oysters & Wine!
TasteUSA’s Newest Festival Under Management – Chesapeake Oyster & Wine Festival
Chesapeake Oyster & Wine Festival – A Shucking Good Time with Wine! is TasteUSA’s newest food and drink festival under management.
We’ll Have Plenty of Oysters & Wine!
After 3 years specializing in the food and drink festival management and organization of events in the Washington, D.C./Northern Virginia regions, we have added our newest festival – and now we’re in Maryland! On September 22nd and 23rd, 2018 we’ll be taking our newest concept – combining the popularity of Chesapeake Seafood and especially Virginia and Maryland Oysters with both local, domestic and international wines into a fun new festival. Chesapeake Oyster & Wine Festival was developed after the success of the VA Oyster Pavilion which was added to the Virginia Wine Festival® in 2016 and 2017 to immense success.
Wine festival lovers today want more than just quality wine – they want gourmet food items and Virginia oysters are the perfect addition to a top regional food and drink festival. We have taken that idea one step further by creating our newest Maryland seafood festival – The Chesapeake Oyster & Wine Festival puts the seafood category in front of the wine festival to target both the seafood “foodie” who loves oysters but also is interested in learning about wine and the wine lover who is curious about Virginia, Maryland and Chesapeake oysters and seafood.
Garnish your own Bloody Mary at the Bloody Mary Pavilion!
Great Food Trucks – But a New Twist: The Bloody Mary Pavilion
Charlie Adler, TasteUSA’s owner and festival organizer noticed a new trend among Millennials at recent festivals – more than just a fascination with all things local and “foodie” – a desire to “brunchify” events. Washington, D.C. is known as a brunch city, but the trend has spread to food and drink festivals – Brunchcon, Atlanta Brunch Fest and a slew of new festivals capitalizes on the fun excitement of eating brunch and sipping cocktails. The Bloody Mary Pavilion was added to the MD wine and seafood festival as a play on brunchifying festivals.
Upcoming TasteUSA Managed Food and Drink Festivals:
Chesapeake Oyster & Wine Festival – A Shucking Good Time with Wine
September 22nd and 23rd, 2018, 137 National Plaza, National Harbor, MD
43rd Annual Virginia Wine Festival®
October 13th and 14th, 2018, Arlington Gateway Park, 1300 Lee Highway, Arlington, VA 22209
Chocolate, Wine & Whiskey Festival
February 23rd, 2019, The Showroom DC, 1099 14th St., NW (1st Floor), Washington, D.C. 20005
3rd Annual Taco, Beer, Tequila Festival
2019 Location TBD
Charlie Adler, Founder
TasteUSA Festival Event Management
www.tasteusa.com
“I Drink on the Job”
Yum, Yum, EmporiYum!
Yummy in Your Tummy at Emporiyum at Union Market’s, Dock 5 – one of the last events at this foodie destination!
DC’s own True Tonics
I attended my first Emporiyum on Saturday, November 14, 2015 in Washington, D.C. and found a boatload of new artisans and stories of small local food artisans. My first impression of this event designed to be a “Meet Eat Shop” by the organizer’s pen was one of slight fear – I don’t mind crowds, but I am fearful of children running loose and amok around Foodie adults. No worries – for whatever reason, the kiddies were pretty well-behaved – this is likely because the adults were in their own fantasy land, and the children knew better than to ruin Foodie Mommy’s chance to feast on chocokombuchanola and other treats!
More Kombucha from Hex Elements!
District Donuts Creme Brulee on Fire!
Craft Kombucha at Emporiyum
Emporiyum comprised the major food categories, those categories being chocolate, booze and pork and some other delicious fillers like candy (had some awesome caramels from Mouth Party Caramels – I think these should be a food category as well!) and of course Kombucha – I think Craft Kombucha and other makers of this fermented/pro-biotic spritzed up to reduce the actual vinegary taste product are on to something – another relatively new drink category – tonics. I of course needed a cocktail (it was after noon of course!) and the wonderful True Tonics gentleman took goo care of me! Some other noteworthy beverages:
Thunderbeast – no booze in this, but this is root beer with character!
Charm City Meadworks – I said tonic, right? Well this is honey-based and alcoholic – honey+alcohol=deliciousness – and you don’t have to mix it! Use this with a little water or lemonade spritzer after a hot yoga workout to revive you – yes!
One Eight Distilling – Max said Hi and remembered me – that and the fact they make great white whiskey and gin .. I stopped by at their facility nearby after the show, and I can barely remember the rest of the day!
Rujero Singani – Singani..the next Pisco..
Element Shrub – yes, it’s vinegar based..but for us vinegar lovers, I’ve always wondered how lemonade vs vinegarade would taste – hey, acid is acid, lemons are not local, use local made vinegar in your ade’s first.
Kinderhook
And of course, I have to talk about Route 11’s potato chips – here’s a great recent article in the Washington Post about Sarah Cohen and how her family started this Regional chiphouse. And this was a twofer..right around the corner was Jeremiah “Bullfrog” Cohen, Sarah’s brother with his food business – Bullfrog Bagels and this tagline “Great people, making great food, for great people. #CARPEBAGEL” – just plain weird, but hey the Bagels are really Great!
So many great foods and drinks – I was most impressed by the visual presentation of Buredo – I kept wondering why a Sushi bar was in the middle of Emporiyum and then it struck me – this is the new sushi/burrito mashup that will probably storm America just like donut bacon cheeseburgers and cronuts – Americans just love mashups – I mean, we invented peanut butter and jelly sandwiches!
My conclusion on Emporiyum? It was a fun romp among about 100 food vendors which covered more than just snacky snacks but both real food and real drink. I’d prefer the event if it were 21 and over, but the kids seemed to be in designated areas (event organizers take note – parents and kids seem to need to sit – those alarming outbursts that seem to happen at the most opportune times don’t last long – give this stressed out demographic side seating!). If you paid $15 or whatever (hey, LivingSocial had a deal, so don’t bitch if you didn’t get one!) you shouldn’t expect a free meal – another peave of mine – the “I bought a ticket and it’s a free-for-all-stuff-your-face-get-my-money’s-worth” crowd should get over it, and expect to dish out an additional $15-$25 for lunch and snacks. This is also essentially a bazaar/emporium so a great time to stock up on snacks and other gourmet foods. There were easily 1,000+ people at the event, but crowd control was good – I think the fact that the event was 4 to 5 hours long made people realize that nothing would run out – I also went on Day 1 a Saturday which is often a madhouse, but again, people seemed pretty well behaved. The demographic was solid female 20 and 30 something and my impression is they loved it – a great day out, shopping, munching, and hanging with friends. Cheers!
Charlie “I Drink on the Job” Adler
Taste Ambassador, TasteUSA
Buredo
DC Beer Festivals Kick In – 2015 Fall Issue
A True Beer Connoisseur!
DC Beer Festival season kicks in again – an amazing number of craft beer festivals – from 1-price all you can drink to the Mega Snallygaster “money is no obect” – there are festivals for the craft beer lover this Fall, 2015
As the head of TasteUSA, it’s my job to attend and cover as many food and drink festivals in the U.S. as possible – and since DC is my home base, here’s some upcoming events and maybe a recap or 2 to help you plan your Festival Season.
Beer, Bourbon & BBQ (September 19th, 2015 – Tyson’s Corner – but this festival visits many different cities during the season)- Trigger Agency’s series of over the top porkiness (?porkyness?) events that combine too much of what every hearty foodie wants: pigliciousness, Bourbon and of course craft brews! Expect more bacon too – it seems this is the current foodie draw to over-the-top events. Medium on the Beer Geek/Bourbon Geek scale, Trigger really specializes in a more laid-back vibe for the city slickers who want to just throw on some jeans and kick back a bit!
Arlington Backyard Beer Festival (September 19th, 2015 – Arlington Gateway, Rosslyn, VA) – although a first year event, the Organizers have put together multiple other local beer festivals including Drink the World Beer Festival and All-American Beer Festival . Expect a nice selection of craft beers and really great food trucks for food – the price is also right – you can save 30% off the ticket price at our site with promo code “tasteusa” and the VIP Tickets are only $45 before discount!
Das Best Oktoberfest (September 26th, 2015 – National Harbor, MD) – Hey, again you can get discounted tickets – only $29 for VIP all-you-can-drink – another Trigger Agency event that is very popular. You can do the German Oktoberfest thing, or simply enjoy lot’s of great beer – and since our discounted price is $29/per person (VIP) – you get a very affordable event to enjoy craft beers at!
All-American Beer Festival
Past Events (hey, they’ll be back next year!)
Snallygaster 2015 – Holy Smokes, this is one Great and expensive craft beer festival – Very High on the Beer Geek scale, maybe an 11 on a scale of 1 to 10! 300+ beers this year and many rare, cask, unique examples of hops, grain and yeast combined in an amazing array of choices. I actually tried a beer that
Annapolis Craft Beer & Music Festival – September 12th, 2015 – Outside the Navy-Marine Corps Stadium in Annapolis, this event is always fun and has a nice selection of local beers including Jail Break, Oliver Breweries, and Heavy Seas.
Have fun at upcoming craft beer festivals – I’ll include an article soon on new food and drink events at TasteUSA – Cheer!
Charlie “I Drink on the Job” Adler
So You Want to Organize a Craft Beer Festival?
We Feature literally hundreds of Beer Festivals at TasteUSA – So when a recent Report came out from Eventbrite about Millenials choices when it comes to Food and Beverage Festivals (Report here – it may be restricted..) it was no surprise that Millenials and frankly all ages over 21 prefer craft beer festivals to all other food and beverage events!
Since TasteUSA is the #1 Food and Drink Festival Website in the US, we have a special insight into what makes for a successful or not so successful event. Below are some observations/anecdotes on how you the craft beer festival organizer can improve the ticket sales and audience of your event.
1)Always Go Local – today Foodies and craft beer lovers want to know what’s going on in their neighborhood when it comes to eating and drinking. You’ve probably heard it before – “locavore” but it means much more. Today’s craft beer audience is younger – Millennial if you prefer – and they want a story behind their craft beer experience. The best way to tell a story is to let the newest local breweries taste at your Festival. The good news is that craft breweries are popping up so quickly, this shouldn’t be a problem!
2)Great Food Is a Necessity – Gone are the days when you could hold a craft beer festival and just have pretzels, jerky and fried foods to fill the stomachs of attendees. Today’s craft beer aficionados are generally “Foodies” and they want a culinary experience to boot! I’m often asked to define “Foodie” – The Eventbrite survey simply asked if Festival attendees were serious about food – and 50% said “yes” – that pretty much makes you a Foodie!
The key to delivering a positive food experience at a Festival is to have a variety of cuisines – and the easiest way to do this is to use local food trucks if available. I’ve been to events with as many as 60 food trucks, but you may only need a few – it really depends on the number of people who are attending and if you have other food vendors.
I recently helped an Organizer by suggesting that rather than use the venue’s food service, that they should consider using a local food incubator called Mess Hall. Since Mess Hall already curates local food producers, this was a win-win – a great variety of food items and local food producers! You may not have a food incubator in your Region, but there are literally thousands of food vendors – it can’t hurt to check out a few brew festivals in your region and see who’s selling food – do your homework!
Bacon!
3)Add a Second Theme – Simple – just add Bacon! Seriously, Bacon Festivals are Hot right now in the US – we should know, TasteUSA Features More Bacon Festivals than any other website! Here are some other themes – each is linked to an actual event we Featured:
-BBQ – Beer, Bourbon & BBQ – well that’s actually 3 themes!
-Food Trucks – West End Food Truck Rodeo – built in draw – food trucks represent American inventiveness, freedom and ingenuity – they also are catering kitchens on wheels!
-Seafood – multiple potential themes: Crab, Oyster, Lobster, Crawfish or regional themes like Chesapeake, Alaskan, etc. – Chesapeake Crab & Beer Festival
-Cider – DC Craft Beer & Cider Festival – did you know that Cider is the fastest growing alcoholic beverage category? It’s also generally gluten-free – while few craft beers are free of gluten – so you’ve opened up a new marketing channel!
-Taste of <your town/city here> – Great Tastes of Tysons – why not – everybody loves to check out local restaurants and of course local beers!
4)Add Buzz with Social Media – Ugghhh..Social Media – it’s too much work .. or is it? Keep it simple – setup a Facebook “Fan Page” (you’re on Facebook – right?), and put a link to it on your website (you have a website right? If not, email us Email TasteUSA we can help!). Twitter too – create a name on twitter that is simple and try to include “beerfestival” somewhere in the name. Instagram? Maybe.. Pinterest? The answer is we’re all evolving with Social Media – there are no easy answers. I’m only talking free marketing here – if you decide to advertise, market your event Give Us a Buzz or hire a marketing consultant. That may be overkill – maybe all your craft beer festival is a quick start?!
Cheers!
Beer, Bacon, Booze..Festivals That Is!
We’ve hit the big Foodie Festival Season in Washington, D.C. now that it’s the first week in May..more Bacon Festivals, more Beer Festivals, more Booze Festivals..ohh, and a few wine festivals, food crawls, Big Charity high-ticket dinners..ohhand of course DC Lamb Jam .. here it goes, a fun rollick through the Washington, D.C. Foodie Festival Season..
Saturday, May 9th, 2015 – DC Craft Beer and Cider Festival – Hey, they added Ciders and more Speciality craft beers impossibly hard to find.. Did I mention that Mess Hall (the Food Incubator) is Catering the event?
VinoFest, May 9th, 2015 – More Music than Foodie, but with over 20 wines included and some awesome food, I can see getting my boogie on and sipping away at this one
Beer, Bacon & Music Festival , May 16th, 2015, Frederick Fairgrounds – C’mon you got all the good stuff – plenty of craft beers, bacon both in 2 Tons to eat right away, and a bevy of food trucks and Bacon purveyors..and frankly a bit away from the city..
DC Lamb Jam , May 17th, 2015 – This is a Serious Chefstravaganza – 17 chefs, tons of food, wine, craft beer and Foodie Heaven – Chefs competing to win your tastebuds over .. and only $60.. c’mon, I’ve spent more than that at a Food Truck Festivals (well, I promote them!)
St. Michael’s BrewFest, May 30th, 2015 – hey sometimes you gotta get away and visit the Eastern Shore..I mean this could be a whole weekend, especially if you visit Lyon Distillery and other distilleries and breweries around the corner..I mean, that’s travelling for food and drink!
DCIST List Here – Hey, check out this short list from DCist..there are actually more Bacon Festivals coming, more beer, wine, cocktail festivals..and well..this just forces me to drink on the Job – Cheers!
Eater DC Added some events like Edible DC’s Cocktail Derby ..
And of course Fritz Hahn’s Going Out Guide Washington Post Article for 2015 Beer Festivals
Charlie “I Drink on the Job” Adler
Getting’ Piggy – Cochon 555 DC 2015
Cochon 555 Is the Pigging Party That Never Stops Giving!
Making Old Fashioneds 
Whistlepig Cocktail
Mr. Piggy Says “Hello”
Mike Isabella Being Piggie!
Mandu – the Piggie Winners! 
Yona Piggie! 
Piggie Pieces (Heritage!) 
Piggy Heart (Actually, Beef Heart – but REALLY Good!) 
Piggy Jowl with Spike Mendelsohn of Bearnaise 
Ummmm…Bacon!
Glorious Whistlepig! 
Punch Competition (Taha Won!) 
Ommegangness! 
There was wine too – Washington State Wines 
More Oinky Deliciousness! 
Did I mention there was PLENTY of Booze?? 
Charlie Adler Taking A Shot from “Say Hello to My Little Friend” Mojito Gun
Beer & Bacon Fest = Fun..
Gee wiz..after seeing this Video, I Gotta go to Bacon & Beer Festival – Must be Fun Video – Save some money out of your Piggy Bank by purchasing Discount Tickets at TasteUSA’s Site – Beer & Bacon Festival All-Inclusive VIP Tickets (Save $10 Ticket)
Ohh, and if you can’t make it, the same people who organize this – the Trigger Agency – we also have discounted tickets to Beer, Bourbon & BBQ – Tysons VIP Tickets on Saturday, Sept. 20th, 2014..Cheers!
Charlie “I Drink on the Job” Adler
Capital Food Fight Always Knocks Me Out – Round 2
Foodie Celebrity Alert..
Yes, I went to my 2nd round at Capital Food Fight in Washington, D.C. at the Ron Reagan Building on Monday, November 11th, 2013. Getting to taste 60+ chefs, hobnobbing with Celebrity Chefs like Carla Hall, and Jose Andres and just soaking in the restaurant/hospitality way of life is such a treat!
This annual extraganza raises $100,000s of dollars for DC Central Kitchen and also has the added benefit of raising the profile of Washington, D.C. as a True Foodie City – we always appreciate the added push! What really fascinates me about these mega-restaurant promotional events is there really isn’t one kind of crowd that attends – there are the diverse interests of DC from Lobbiests with clients, to Foodies/Restaurant people who either produce/make the dishes or are somehow connected with the industry. It’s definitely a schmoozerama, but it’s also a chance to meet some of the Big Name out of town chefs/celebrities like Tom Colicchio from Top Chef, Rick Bayless, Todd English, Art Smith and Battling Chefs Erik Bruner-Yang, Bertrand Chemel, Spike Gjerde and Anthony Lombardo.
Dishes I Loved:
-Smoked Oyster Dish with Lamb Bacon by Beuchert’s Saloon – 3 reasons: smoke, oysters and bacon (in this case from the lamb neck!) – gets points for originality, interesting blend of sea/land and of course tastyness!
-Pulpo’s creative Shrimp Ceviche – I actually thought it was lobster and it had Aquavit in it – so booze and seafood combined!
-Farmer’s Fishers Crab Bisque – I’m not sure if that’s the name of the dish, but it had tons of crab in it – sweet!
-Slider from PJ Clarke’s – so lowbrow – Love It!
And many more..
Kudo’s to the Bloomery Plantation folks who allowed me (Illegally – Press was denigrated to the regular $250 Riff-Raff fold..) into the Chairman’s Double-Secret VIP area upstairs where I had their great cocktails, a wonderful 25 year old XO Cognac and got to hang with Carla Hall and Jose Andres before I decided that I actually wanted to taste the dishes downstairs!
And the Winner of the Battling Chef Competition: Spike Gjerde, Woodberry Kitchen!
Ohh, and purely for SEO, here’s the list of Restaurants that participated: 1789
2941
Al Tiramisu
Ambar
Airlie Center
Art & Soul
BLT Steak
Bar Charley
Barmini
Bastille
Béarnaise
Belga Café / Btoo
Beuchert’s Saloon
Blue Duck Tavern
Boqueria
Carmine’s
Cava/Sugo Osteria
Charlie Palmer Steak
Chipotle
Cuba Libre
Del Campo
Delia’s
Dolci Gelati
Dolcezza Gelato
Eat the Rich
Entyse
Equinox / Salamander Resort
Farmers Fishers
Founding Farmers
Fujimar
Good Stuff Eatery
Gordon Biersch
Granville Moore
Gristmill
Hank’s Oyster Bar
Hill Country BBQ
Ici Urban Bistro
Indique
J&G Steakhouse
Jackson 20 / The Grille at Morrison House
Jaleo
Kapnos
Kaz Sushi Bistro
Lebanese Taverna
Le Diplomate
Lia’s
Lincoln
MXDC Restaurant
Mandu
Maketto
Matchbox
Mint Gastropub by Malcolm Mitchell
Nick’s River Side Grill
Osteria Elisir
Oyamel
PJ Clarke’s
Ping Pong Dim Sum
Pizzeria Orso
Policy
Pulpo
Rappahannock River Oysters
Ris
Santa Lucia Coffee
Sonoma
Sticky Fingers
Taberna del Alabardero Restaurant
Taco Bamba
Table
Teddy and the Bully Bar
The Majestic
The Source
Toki Underground
Tony and Joe’s Seafood Place
Trummer’s on Main
Vermilion
Vidalia
Vinoteca
Westend Bistro
Willow
Woodberry Kitchen
Zengo
On the Rocks Or Whiskeython!
On The Rocks: Whiskey & Fine Spirits Festival 2013
Washingtonian hosts our second annual whiskey and fine spirits festival, On the Rocks, on October 10, 2013. Guests will enjoy a live band, delectable fare, and sips of premium whiskey, Scotch, malt, bourbon, rum, vodka, gin, tequila, and much more. This high-end tasting costs $65 to attend and will be advertised in Washingtonian and on washingtonian.com, Facebook, and Twitter.
On The Rocks: Whiskey & Fine Spirits Festival 2013
Washingtonian hosts our second annual whiskey and fine spirits festival, On the Rocks, on October 10, 2013. Guests will enjoy a live band, delectable fare, and sips of premium whiskey, Scotch, malt, bourbon, rum, vodka, gin, tequila, and much more. This high-end tasting costs $65 to attend and will be advertised in Washingtonian and on washingtonian.com, Facebook, and Twitter.
What
- Unlimited spirits tastings featuring premium whiskey, Scotch, bourbon, rum, vodka, gin, tequila, and more!
- Exquisite cuisine from acclaimed caterer Spilled Milk Catering
- Live music and entertainment from NYX Entertainment
- Collectable ‘On The Rocks’ glasses for all party goers
- Spirits education from specialists in the industry
When
7pm until 10:30pm
Where
The Powerhouse
3255 Grace Street, NW
Washington DC 20007
Spirits
PLATINUM
Catoctin Creek Distilling Company
- Clyde Mays Whiskey
- Don Ciccio & Figli
- Green Hat Gin
- Republic National Distributing
Featuring: Aberlour, Avion Tequila, Absolut, and Jameson Whiskey
- Smooth Ambler
Featuring: Boyd and Blair
- Whistle Pig Whiskey
Upcoming TasteDC Whiskey Event:
The Single Malt and Scotch Whisky Extravaganza, Wednesday October 30, 2013
Meet the Distillers Crafts a Great Evening
Craft Distilling is more than just the current buzz in the food and drinks industry..
I attended a great craft experience – Meet the Distillers at Ris Restaurant in our Nation’s Capital on Wednesday, September 11th, 2013 – a chance to meet and identify with 4 of America’s most innovative craft distillers.
Here are the Distillers: Barry Young who, together with his partner C. Prentiss Orr at Boyd & Blair, distills what is arguably the world’s greatest potato vodka in Glenshaw, PA, John Little, co-founder of Smooth Ambler Spirits in rural Greenbrier Valley, WV and Clay Smith, distillery manager at Corsair Distillery in Bowling Green, KY.
I had a chance to taste 9 spirits and various cocktails produced by Dan Searing who is actually the Rep for American Still Life Spirits who promotes the most diverse American portfolio of craft distilled spirits.
Each speaker had time to open up and discuss their respective perspective and products.
Barry Young, Boyd & Blair
Boyd & Blair (Pennsylvania):
I had met Barry Young from Boyd & Blair a few years ago at a crafts spirits tasting in NYC when the whole movement was early, but building steam. His specialty is producing potato distilled vodka using exclusively Pennsylvania potatoes. Pennsylvania farmers were only receiving about 8 cents per pound for their potatoes which didn’t make much sense as an agricultural incentive. Boyd & Blair took this low-priced resource and turned it into a vodka that has won many rewards. We also tried the Vodka 151 Proof but it was in a cocktail made by Dan Searing. Interesting note: Boyd & Blair only throws out the heads and tails of distillation and only uses the “sweet spot” heart of distillation in their products..
John Little, Smooth Ambler
Smooth Ambler (West Virginia):
The next up was John Little of Smooth Ambler – he was quite a character and spoke a mile a minute with his exuberance and excitement! First up we tried the Greenbrier Gin which had a nice citrusy refreshing taste that enlivened my palate! Smooth Ambler is relatively new to the distillation process, so brown spirits have to be purchased. John took us through the process of choosing the right barrels of pre-aged Bourbons and how he chose their specific products (which in a roundabout way came from the US, was orderd and planned to be sold in Australia, but due to market conditions there, remained in U.S. stocks). Being a Rye fan, I really loved their Old Scout Rye (7-year old) and also enjoyed their Old Scout Bourbon (10-year old). John brought up the point or concept about whiskey and aging: does whiskey get better with age? He joked that some people are born “beautiful Adonis”, but most people feel we get better with age! He also brought up that Smooth Ambler doesn’t cold filter their products – fatty acids, which some people might consider gross, actually add interesting flavor and aromatics, and cold-filtering takes this away – Cheers to that!
Clay Smith, Corsair
Corsair (Kentucky):
Clay Smith of Corsair Whiskey was the 3rd Presenter and showcased 4 spirits: Corsair Barrel-Aged Gin, Spiced Rum, Old Punk Whiskey and Corsair Triple Smoke Whiskey. The most unique product was their Triple Smoke: their malted barley is smoked with Cherrywood, Beechwood and Peat giving it some Scotch/peat overtones but also some American wood smoke aromatics. This kind of creativity is what makes American craft spirits so much fun – Cheers!
Charlie “I Drink on the Job” Adler
P.S. – Below is some cut and paste from the Arrowine email – if you’re truly interested in learning more, read on!
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What are craft spirits and why we love them…
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Craft distillers focus on quality rather than quantity (often producing less in a year than multi-national brand distilleries bottle in one hour) and strive to educate consumers rather than supply them with cheap alcohol. Unlike the large spirits conglomerates that use continuous distillation to produce large volumes of the same product over and over, craft distillers employ pot stills that they often design themselves and distill in small batches using their senses to make cuts to achieve the desired results.
Most use locally sourced grains and fruits and trace their recipes, especially for whiskey, back to the days long before prohibition when America was a land of small distillers. Much like the craft beer movement that started in the late 1990s, micro-distilleries are making excellent products that pay homage to the authenticity and cultural heritage of their communities. |
The days where distilled spirits were peddled by a handful of gigantic multi-national corporations have come to an end. In less than a decade the number of craft, or micro-distilleries, has mushroomed from a mere 50 to over 300 operational distilleries across the U.S. Craft spirits are the product of an independently owned distillery with maximum annual sales of 52,500 cases where the product is physically distilled and bottled on site. |
What we will be tasting…
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We will taste a selection of Vodka, Gin and Whiskey (Bourbon & Rye), first in their pure spirit form, and then in a cocktail application that will showcase the wide range of flavors that these spirits can be expressed in. |
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About Barry Young and Boyd & Blair…
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Barry Young and partner C. Prentiss Orr didn’t set out to make the world’s best vodka. They set out to make a really great vodka distilled only from local produce. They started with the best Pennsylvania potatoes and a hand hammered copper pot still and added passion for perfecting a recipe that includes only the ‘hearts’ of the spirit, not the extraneous stuff you’ll find in mass-produced, continuous-still vodka. They named their vodka after two family patriarchs, James Boyd Rafferty and Dr. William Blair.
The vodka is triple distilled by batch in the 1,200 liter pot still without the use of any automated controls, and the heads, hearts and tails are cut by taste alone. The result is an exceptionally smooth tasting potato vodka with a slight natural sweetness and viscosity that is unmatched by any other vodka. Every bottle is filled, corked and dipped in wax by hand, and personally signed by Still Master Barry Young.
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About John Little and Smooth Ambler Spirits…
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In 2009, John Little and TAG Galyean founded Smooth Ambler to produce fine artisan spirits by combining patient Appalachian know-how with the finest of American ingredients. Located in the rural Greenbrier Valley of West Virginia, Smooth Ambler uses state-of-the-art distillery equipment in conjunction with natural resources of the region: high-valley mountain air, natural waters, ideal temperature variations and friendly folks. These elements combined with a hands-on, grain-to-glass distilling, cutting and filtering process create a truly remarkable drink best enjoyed one slow sip at a time. It is a fact that Smooth Ambler Spirits are now produced at the highest and purest level possible anywhere in the world.
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About Clay Smith and Corsair…
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Corsair operates out of two distilleries, one in Bowling Green, Kentucky, the other in Nashville, Tennessee. Our guest presenter Clay Smith is master distiller and distillery manager at the Bowling Green facility, where he oversees the production of Corsair’s various whiskeys and gins as well as the extensive renovation of the distillery’s new space. |
Friends Darek Bell, a dedicated home-brewer, and Andrew Webber, a self-described underground urban moonshiner, founded |
About the tasting location…
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Restaurant RIS is located in Washington DC, at 2275 L Street NW, Washington, DC 20037, right around the corner from Arrowine & Spirits, our new shop in DC. Restaurant RIS is open late each night. We expect the event to conclude by 9pm and should you wish to stay at Ris and have a late dinner, they would be happy to serve you. For more about this excellent restaurant, please see their website.
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Arrowine
Arlington, VA and our new DC location
