This week I am feeling pretty lucky. You see Jim Rutledge, the Master Distiller from Four Roses is over in the UK and I have been invited to tag along with him as he does various events and trainings in bars across London, Leeds and Glasgow. He's here in the UK to kick start the new focus that Four Roses has on the UK market, since teaming up with InSpirit. So as we reach the half way point in Jim's stay I thought it only right to share some Jim's teachings and insight with those who've not been able to meet him in person.

I thought I would pick one day during his visit and share my notes from his training sessions as they panned out across the day... I guess I had better start with the bourbon Breakfast. That's right, you heard me, bourbon Breakfast!

Yesterday started with a small group of us meeting Jim for breakfast at Smith's of Smithfield as a chance for a few industry bods to get to know him in a fairly relaxed setting. It was only a matter of time before someone suggested that we 'just quickly run through the range' (while tucking into a full English fry up of epic proportions). I should state for the record that it's not my usual practice to have neat bourbon with my breakfast... but actually it did go really well with the bacon! So Jim kindly obliged by giving us a brief run through of the three products in the Four Roses range, Yellow Label, Small Batch and Single Barrel. He also talked a little about the history of Four Roses and how it has arrived at this point in time:  its rejuvination.

Well we made it through RumFest (just!) which was once again a great show. I have to say I really love the fact that it is the one event here in London that has some real life to it. I think that everyone there was shocked at how great the turnout was and how many people both in the trade and consumers are really passionate about rum!

But enough about rum, I have a few other things on my mind at the moment so if you will indulge me once again, I am going to talk a bit about bourbon, a bit about homemade ingredients, a bit about autumn and winter flavours (again) and a bit about garnishes.

I’m going to start with garnishes because I feel the need for a short sharp rant. Talking to American bartenders and friends in Canada there seems to be a dislike of garnishes by consumers over the other side of the pond. To my mind though a relevant garnish can take a good cocktail and elevate it into a drinking experience.

As you will know if you have been following our recent travels we have been pretty busy what with Tales of the Cocktail and our American Whiskey trip, but we thought it was about time we combined some of what we learnt in New Orleans with some of the new ingredients we have picked up along the way and come up with a few drinks.

We met the guys from Boiron at Tales and they have been kind enough to let us have some samples to play with. They produce a fantastic range of fruit purees that are ideal for all your cocktail making needs. Their range consists of 48 flavours all of which are made from pure fruit and other than adding sugar (only when seasonal variations in fruit demand it) they are additive, preservative and colouring free, so in other words using them is like adding fresh fruit to your drinks only better. 

So what makes a visit to an Area of Outstanding Alcoholic Significance (AOAS) an exceptional experience? Why would you want to give up your precious holiday time for a busman’s holiday? Would it really be worth your time to travel half way around the world to have a booze related holiday?

I guess for me the answer depends on how seriously you take your interest in spirits. If you are a bartender who likes to party hard then visiting a small city with a small nightlife may not be your scene. If you are a cocktail snob, then visiting the places where drinks were once made famous can be a disappointment when you realise their glory days are long since over. If however you are willing to invest a little time to meet a few interesting characters and can have an open mind about learning a thing or two about your favourite spirit, then the idea of visiting an AOAS might not be so crazy!

I know I promised daily updates during our stay in Kentucky, but between spending the days seeing bourbon being made, learning about bourbon’s history, tracking down hard to find bourbons to bring home and then going out and drinking bourbon… well there has hardly been a moment to spare!

Our goal of visiting all the major distilleries is still (just about) on the cards, but our time here has led us to realise that we are going to have to make another trip out here. There are two more distilleries gearing themselves up for visitors and there are a few bourbon history experts who are worth sitting down and chatting with… but our time here is almost done.

With Tales over, hangovers recovered from and New Orleans left as a distant memory in the rearview mirror, we have finally made it into the heart of American Whiskey country. As we drove from New Orleans the countryside slowly changed from monotonous swampland (how and why anyone settled this area is a mystery to me) to heavily forested flatlands, to wooded hills and finally to more open farming land with rolling hills stretching as far as the eye can see.
 
Our original plan was to hit Kentucky and do ‘the bourbon trail’ but someone told us that we might be pleasantly surprised if we stopped in at Lynchburg to check out Jack Daniel’s. So that’s where we find ourselves on a hot and sunny Tennessee afternoon. After a quick pit stop in town for a bite to eat at the bbq caboose (if you get there try the pulled pork sandwich!) and to stretch our legs it’s up the road to the main attraction.

This will be a brief blog for 2 reasons...

Firstly, the really interesting updates will be made over the next 5 days from New Orleans so honestly there is not much I can write now that will top that. The whole B&T team will be attending Tales of the Cocktail so hopefully we will end up with a stack of stories, ideas, thoughts, pictures and tasting notes to throw at you over the coming months!

Secondly, I still need to pack!

It has been a little while since my last blog, so I thought I had better do a quick update before getting back to the grind stone.

Tequila and Jager up for grabs

A quick word about the competition I announced last time. I will be putting a section up on the website which will be dedicated to Gregor de Gruyther and will have some of the drinks he came up with as well as some drinks made up in his honour.