Last night hordes of people (and some zombies) gathered at Churchill Downs’ Millionaire’s Row for Idea Festival’s Taste of Innovation and Bourbon. Some of the best restaurants in town came out to show off their culinary skills. Four of my favorite bourbon writers were on hand to sign books and teach the crows about bourbon. Most importantly, some of the biggest brands in Kentucky bourbon were sampling their wares.
The overarching theme of the evening was, of course, bourbon. Many of the culinary treasures I got to sample contained bourbon in some form or another, and one confection contained two different bourbon concoctions. There were pork tacos from Manny and Merle, tiny bite sized chicken biscuits from Proof on Main, and curry from Shalimar. The Seelbach had the most interesting presentation with their pot liquor in a pipette going into a tiny corn muffin atop collard green puree with crispy bacon crumbles on top.
Even The Louisville Water Company had a table where they were serving up Pure Tap, the best tap water in the nation. The also had fruit infused waters, and I have to admit I made many return trips for the strawberry basil water. They were conveniently located right across from my favorite Art Eatables bourbon truffles.
Throughout the evening, there were different speakers and awards. Fred Minnick talked about women’s role in the bourbon industry. Susan Regiler talked about bourbon tourism. Michael Veach talked about Kentucky’s bourbon history. And Albert Schmid talked about the history of cocktails.
This event is an excellent complement to the idea festival. Bourbon is much more versatile than most people realize, as evidenced by the fact a room full of diverse foodies can experience it in so many different ways without growing tired of it. I highly recommend attending this event next year if you get the chance.
Photos Courtesy of Maggie Kimberl and Jordan McFarland
