I’ve always been curious about what goes on at a Bourbon Society meeting. The name evokes a secret society type atmosphere where you have to give a secret handshake or a password just to get in. Last night I finally checked it out, and I’m happy to report it’s nowhere near that mysterious.
The third Monday of every month, the Bourbon Society meets at The Henry Clay. They go through typical club business first- membership, introducing guests, treasury reports, et cetera. Then the main speaker takes the stage and talks about his or her particular distillery. The speaker is usually a Master Distiller or another high-ranking person in the industry. Last night’s guest was Greg Davis, Director of Distillery Operations for Maker’s Mark.
Davis talked about some of the things that make Maker’s Mark a little different from other distilleries. For starters, they use only one mash bill, and up until very recently they only made one product. They still rotate barrels from the top down in most of their warehouses, which makes the end product much more balanced and easier to blend. Davis says he only has one directive, and that is, “Don’t screw it up!”
Davis talked about the seasoning process the wood goes through before it is made into barrels as well as the 22 person tasting panel that keeps Maker’s consistent from batch to batch. He then opened up the floor to questions, which can get very lively and interesting in a room full of whiskey geeks.
Then the afterparty is hosted where all good afterparties should be- Haymarket Whiskey Bar. In fact, I knew about Haymarket’s Third Monday Master Distiller Nights before I ever heard of the Bourbon Society, which added to the mystery of the latter. It was a much more informal atmosphere where Davis toasted appropriately, “May your Derby horse be almost as fast as mine!”
Membership to the Bourbon Society is $125 per year and meetings are held on the 3rd Monday of every month at the Henry Clay. Master Distiller Night at Haymarket is always free and open to the public. Both are great ways to meet other bourbon lovers as well as leaders in the bourbon industry.
Photos Courtesy of Maggie Kimberl