The year 2017 was an excellent year for Bourbonveach.com. We more than doubled the views from the year before and we are approaching a quarter of a million views since the sight was created in late October 2015. Thanks to all of you the come and read the blogs on the page. We decided to do a couple of new things in 2017 that seem to be working out very well.

First of all I asked Maggie Kimberl to step out of being just an administrator of the page and write cigar blogs once a month. We then decided to expand her writing with a cooperative blog with Rosemary Miller featuring the search for the Perfect Manhattan. Both decisions have proved to be good ones. The Manhattan series is winding down but I think Maggie and Rosemary may continue on with similar projects on cocktails. The other decision made last summer was to do a weekly tasting on Wednesdays. These have also proved to be a success.

On the non-publishing side of things the Bourbon Country Institute has been a success. I did two in Louisville and one in Owensboro in 2017 but hope to expand it even more in 2018. If you would like for me to come to your city to do a Bourbon Country Institute, please let me know. The calendar is filling fast. I am also working with Shirley Harmon at Oxmoor Farm to revive the Bourbon Salon at Oxmoor series. We have six planned for 2018 with some great guests. Please check them out and if you are planning a trip to Kentucky you may want to consider the first Wednesday of the even numbered months to be in Louisville for one of these events.

I have found that all of my posts seem to be standing up to the test of time. In fact my four most viewed posts were from 2016. Life at Eight Miles an Hour, Bourbon date Night: The Next Chapter, Pappy 101 and Pairing Bourbon with Food are the top four. In fact, Pairing Bourbon with food seems to be getting ten to twenty views every day while the others are mostly seen in spurts when I repost them on social media. The most viewed from 2017 is How Warehouses Affect Whiskey followed close by some of the bar reviews I have done at the Old Kentucky Bourbon Bar, Delilah’s and Jack Rose. Here are my favorites from 2017.

10) Doing Business During Prohibition: I like to write the history blogs and this is an interesting subject.

9) A History of the Filtration of Bourbon: Another history subject that I enjoyed looking at and writing about.

8) Bill and Mike’s Excellent Adventure: We are making whiskey and I get to write about it. Of course this is in my top ten favorites.

7) An Impromptu Bourbon Date Night: I got to write about going out to nice bars and sample Bourbons with Rosemary. What is not to like?

6) Master Distillers: I like to create conversation on a subject and this one certain reached that goal.

5) What is High Rye Bourbon? : Another subject that created a lot of dialog on social media. It was interesting to put out the question for examination by the Bourbon drinking public.

4) Flavor Drift: The subject had been talked about for years by John Lipman and myself but we never really put a name to the term until this blog. Created a lot of conversation.

3) Early Kentucky Distillers: Where Did They Come From?: Another history blog and I enjoyed writing this because I feel the Whiskey Rebellion gets too much credit for early Kentucky’s Distillers.

2) The Ephemeral Nature of Tasting Whiskey: Another subject that John Lipman and others have been discussing for years but it took Rosemary to put a name to the subject.

1) Bourbon: An American Spirit: A post that combined history and conversation. I always have felt that the Scots and Irish were important to American whiskey distillation, but that there were others just as important.

These are my favorite blogs. There are many others that I considered for the list but did not use. I am sure that someone else would have come up with a different top ten and if they do, I hope they share it on this page.

Maggie’s Top Ten Favorite Blogs For The Year:

10. SoCal Cigar Scene – One of the nicest people I’ve ever met in my travels was a guy in a Beverly Hills Cigar lounge called Buena Vista.

9. Cigar Wrappers – because they often get too much credit.

8. Ring Gauges – More Than Just A Number – I learned a lot talking to Jose Blanco about this one.

7. Washington D.C. Cigar Scene – These were some of my favorite places to travel and they really know their bourbon!

6. Cigar Lounge And Event Etiquette – the bottom line is don’t act like an asshole.

5. New Orleans Cigar Scene – Crescent City Cigar Lounge for life. Enough said.

4. Traveling With Cigars – Because people still don’t know you can’t take a micro torch on a plane AT ALL.

3. Why Do We Smoke Cigars At The Kentucky Derby? – it’s a happening.

2. Cigar Minimalism – because you don’t need a bunch of “stuff” to enjoy good cigars!

1. All of the Manhattan Project Blogs because I’ve had so much fun researching this topic with Rosemary! Here is the most recent one.

Photos Courtesy of Maggie Kimberl