By Richard Thomas
(Credit score: The Henderson Seaside Resort)
On the subject of good drink and positive meals, dwelling in Kentucky provides a bounty so good that it usually surprises these not acquainted with the Commonwealth. The presence of the bourbon trade clearly covers the primary a part of that pairing, but additionally serves because the wellspring for the latter. Whiskey and meals pairings are actually a serious plank in drinks advertising and marketing, and eating/pairing occasions are a routine fixture of drinks festivals and the promotional agendas of whiskey firms.
The factor is, one encounters these occasions most frequently in main market cities, reminiscent of New York, or else within the facilities of that whiskey’s manufacturing. Louisville sees a daily schedule of whiskey and meals pairing occasions, a few of them not even sponsored by a specific whiskey firm, that on account of its position as Kentucky’s largest metropolis and its vibrant restaurant scene (itself the results of the bourbon trade, as many promising cooks and restaurateurs arrange store in Louisville due to it).
When you aren’t capable of attend the Kentucky Bourbon Competition or occur to be fortunate sufficient see a visit to Los Angeles coincide with a dinner co-sponsored by your favourite model, although, you aren’t out of luck. That is due to a few converging tendencies. One is the explosion of craft distilling. With greater than 700 energetic distilleries making whiskey across the nation, there are potential small companions accessible within the native space of any eatery.
The second pattern is the dedication of many upscale resorts and resorts to their in-house positive eating and bar packages (these geared toward preserving your vacationer {dollars} on their premises, in fact). By working collectively, these institutions can pair up and supply an expertise that rivals something Previous Forester would possibly do in Louisville or The Glenlivet in New York, and in a spot that’s already a vacation vacation spot. That makes whiskey and positive eating an adornment to a extra typical trip, which is kind of a unique prospect from constructing a visit fully round whiskey.
Enter Destin, Florida
I’ve heard about occasions of this nature for just a few years now, however exactly as a result of they’re exterior the same old whiskey circles or paths, it was solely not too long ago that I used to be capable of see one for myself at The Henderson Seaside Resort on Florida’s Emerald Coast.
The Henderson payments itself as “the place Southern appeal meets trendy luxurious,” a good description. A beach-adjacent resort property, it’s facilities make it equally well-suited for a pair’s getaway or household trip. Even the usual rooms are spacious, well-appointed and have balconies. A fitness center, yoga program, out of doors video games, in depth pool amenities, plus bike, kayak and paddle board leases prolong the exercise choices far past simply the seaside. However the seaside is the principle attraction, and the Gulf of Mexico is just some minutes’ stroll away. For additional leisure, the resort additionally hosts an expansive spa with full vary of remedies.
Pairing with the Henderson Seaside Resort is Timber Creek Distillery, situated some forty miles north. Timber Creek supplied the sourcing for the Henderson’s home bourbon and rye, launched in November 2024. With a rooftop bar and a foyer bar with terrace, along with the resort’s restaurant, having home whiskey bottlings from a neighborhood craft distillery is a serious bartender’s storytelling level for his or her cocktail program, and the usual bourbon was designed particularly for cocktails.
The home bottlings themselves had been concocted by the Henderson’s workers, below the steering of the workers at Timber Creek, together with co-founder and Grasp Distiller Aaron Barnes and co-founder Camden Ford. Henderson meals and beverage director Chris Matthew is a Basil Hayden fan, and their Black Rye Blended Bourbon displays that. He described spending 4 months engaged on figuring out particular person casks and mixing their pair of home whiskeys. “I’ve labored in meals and beverage for 25 years. [Crafting the whiskeys] was superb. Camden gave us a grasp class in tasting.”
(Credit score: Henderson Seaside Resort)
Timber Creek is a particular case amongst American craft distillers, in that regardless of their Florida roots, their manufacturing course of is most much like that utilized in Canadian whiskies. Barnes and Ford make single grain whiskeys, which is to say use only one grain in a mash. Just like the Canadians, they use these unitary mash whiskeys like the colours of a painter’s palate, pulling them collectively for mixing. So, after they label a whiskey bourbon, it’s as a result of it has drawn on the inventory wanted to fulfill the 51%-plus corn and new barrel growing old necessities. This has solicited criticism from some bloggers, who level out that bourbon ought to be created from a mash of 51% or extra corn, and never blended with corn whiskey till the proportions are 51%. The traditionalist in me agrees with that criticism, however I additionally don’t suppose my opinion on these points and labeling counts for a lot in opposition to the US TTB.
The Dinner Collection
The Henderson held their Timber Creek Distillery Dinner as a launch occasion and as a part of their annual positive eating and pairing collection. That collection produces six to eight occasions every year, which heretofore had been wine centered. The resort was happy with each their home bottlings and the chance to go native for the drinks a part of the night. “We went native not simply to say we went native,” stated Matthew. “We went native as a result of it’s good.”
The night handed with a starter plus 4 course meal drawn up by head chef Tyler Simmons, with every course paired both with one of many home whiskeys or else a cocktail made with stated whiskeys: fried oysters, duck salad, jumbo lump crab cake, pork duo and bread pudding. The latter got here with a caramel made with the Henderson normal bourbon.
(Credit score: Henderson Seaside Resort)
The dinner simply landed in the identical class as the very best of the pairing occasions I’ve attended over time, and the standard is one thing the area people appreciates. Though I consider these items by way of tourism first, the reality is they provide of us who dwell far afield from the aforementioned hotbeds of Los Angeles, New York and Louisville (plus Nashville and Chicago) a chance to get pleasure from the identical experiences. If a fancy whiskey and meals pairing occasion seems like an excellent night out, the primary place it’s best to all the time look is the closest upscale resort with a positive eating restaurant. The dinner I attended hosted a dozen and a half diners in an intimate surroundings, had Barnes and Ford current to speak about their whiskey, and solely two of the diners plus myself had been from out of city. I feel a part of that’s defined by the dinner going down in November and never throughout the peak vacationer season, however that the remainder of the seats had been occupied by of us from the realm speaks to the position a resort just like the Henderson can play in bringing such issues to fans far, removed from the Bluegrass.
