Stories in a Bottle: The Story of Kentucky Bourbon

A Private Blind Tasting with Rhonda Shires of Bourbon Trails and Bluegrass Tales

Join us Wednesday, September 23rd for a blind bourbon tasting celebrating National Bourbon Heritage Month! This event is ticketed and spots are limited! Don’t wait.

Kentucky bourbon didn't start in a glass. It started with pioneers pushing west, flatboats drifting toward New Orleans, stubborn distillers who refused to let Prohibition be the end of the story.

On September 23rd, Smoke Justis is teaming up with Rhonda Shires for an evening that walks through that history one pour at a time.

Five bourbons. Five chapters. Every pour served blind, so there are no labels to lean on and no reputations to get in the way. Just what's in the glass and the story behind it.

Chapter One: The Frontier
We’ll introduce a bourbon that represents The Whiskey Rebellion, the settlers who came to Kentucky chasing opportunity, and where bourbon's story really begins.

Chapter Two: The River
Next, a bourbon that represents the flatboats bound for New Orleans, and how Kentucky whiskey earned a name far beyond Kentucky.

Chapter Three: The Visionaries
A pour that represents Dr. James Crow, Colonel E.H. Taylor, George Garvin Brown, and the pursuit of quality that led to the Bottled in Bond Act of 1897.

Chapter Four: The Dark Years
A bourbon that represents prohibition, survival, and the distilleries that found a way through.

Chapter Five: The Renaissance
Finally, we’ll pour a glass that represents bourbon's remarkable comeback, and the future being written right now by legends and newcomers alike.

Rhonda reveals each bottle after the pour!

Wednesday, September 23rd

6:00 to 6:30 PM, welcome - join us and get settled!

6:30 to 7:30 PM, the tasting.

Snacks are on the table throughout. Crackers, pretzels, chocolate, the sort of thing that keeps your palate honest between pours.

Every guest also leaves with a ticket good for 10% off dinner downstairs the same evening!

$47 per person.
35 seats.