Yesterday marked the 3rd Monday of the month. That means one thing: the Bourbon Society of Louisville was holding their monthly meeting.
If you’ve followed our site thus far, you’ll know that due to fellow-owner Matt Gates’ residence in Cincinnati, we have attended several of the inaugural meetings held by the fledgling Greater Cincinnati Chapter of the society, which is off to a roaring start. It was not due to lack of interest that we hadn’t attended a meeting of the original society in Bourbon Central, USA (Louisville), but mainly due to timing. In fact, a high school classmate of mine was one of the original members of the society, and had contacted me a few times (Thanks, Dave!) to invite me. Luckily, I was finally able to attend last night’s meeting.
It was a great experience. I sat with my high school friend and his family, along with Bourbon historian and all-around Bourbon Rock Star, Michael Veach. The meeting was opened by a toast from Jeff McKenzie, and was followed by various speakers. The speakers included a local artist with a bourbon-themed series of painting on exhibit, Chris Zaborowski, of Westport Whiskey & Wine who chairs the barrel selection committee for the Society, various Society officers, and the featured speaker, Chris Morris, Master Distiller of Woodford Reserve.
The Society has regular selections of private barrel bottlings available to members, with last night’s selection including Angel’s Envy and 1792 Ridgemont reserve. The tastings for the night were Woodford Reserve and Woodford Reserve Double Oaked.
Attendance appeared (to my untrained eye) to be between 85 and 100 people, despite the conflict with the United States Men’s Team in their game against Ghana in the FIFA World Cup. I was told that meetings often range upwards of over 150 people. The atmosphere was festive, friendly, and quite a bit of fun. It’s clear to see that the bourbon spirit is alive and well in Louisville, KY.
And, lucky for me, I was able to meet Chris Morris and get a little souvenir of the experience:
