Sleeper Whiskeys

The other day, I hosted a BARDS (Bourbon And Rye Drinkers Society) meeting at Bourbons Bistro. My theme was “Sleeper Whiskeys”. These are whiskeys that are not thought about much, but are excellent whiskeys. It was well received and I thought I would write about it here.

I started the meeting with an opening drink while everyone arrived and got comfortable. I started by pouring everyone a taste of Barker’s Mill, a Bourbon Bottled-in-Bond from MB Roland Distillery. It is made with white corn, red winter wheat and malted barley. It is an excellent whiskey with a sweet caramel and fruit note that everyone loved. Surprisingly, not many of the members had tried this Bourbon and they were very pleased with the flavor and it turned out to be the favorite of the night. They were pleased to hear that the price was only about $40-50 a bottle.

We sat down to eat and the summer salad was served and I paired this with a drink of Linkumpinch cask strength Bourbon from Dueling Grounds Distillery. This wheat recipe Bourbon paired well with the fruit in the salad and was full of sweet vanilla, fruit and oak. It only cost $65.00 a bottle, which is very reasonable for a 120 proof whiskey.

Next came the main course, a choice of white fish or salmon and I paired this food with a drink of Dad’s Hat Bottled-in-Bond rye whiskey. It was five years old and made with a mash bill of 80% rye, 15% malted barley and 5% malted rye. I had the salmon and the food brought out a very nice fruit note in the whiskey, but the people who had the white fish noticed an increase in the pepper spice in the whiskey. It was well received by everyone and it costs about $79.00 a bottle.

We finished the dinner with a flourless chocolate tort and I paired this with a drink of Leiper’s Fork Tennessee whiskey, Bottled-in-Bond. The whiskey is full of dark fruit and caramel flavors and paired well with the chocolate in the dessert. It was a crowd pleaser and only costs about $79.00 a bottle.

The event was a success and everyone enjoyed all of the whiskeys. The Barker’s Mill was the overall favorite, followed by the Leiper’s Fork, then the Dad’s Hat and Linkumpinch. The Linkumpinch was a bit hot and, in truth, I should have picked up the Bottled-in-Bond expression for the meeting as it would have fared better. I may have to use the same theme next year when I host my next BARDS meeting.