A Toast to Virtual Bourbon Drinking in the Time of Pandemic

By Brian G. Miller

Drinking alone at home is usually frowned upon. But in The Upside Down world we now live in, you’re only an Internet connection away from online drinking with anywhere from 25 to 2500 of your closest friends.

I put “virtual bourbon drinking” in my favorite search engine today and got more than 1.3 million results. I have to believe that a month ago, before the time of COVID-19, the number would have been much smaller.

Most of the bourbon tastings, brand roll-outs, master distiller meet-and-greets, and bourbon social groups I’ve been to happened face-to-face until just a matter of weeks ago. Now the world of virtual bourbon gatherings, including real 3-D drinking, is as easy as a computer mouse in one hand and a Glencairn glass in the other.

Over a two-night period this week, I easily found four different opportunities to log on and drink up in a variety of organized settings. (People are having virtual happy hours with groups of friends as well, but that’s another story.)

The view from the front porch

I began with the regular monthly meeting of The Bourbon Brotherhood, a Louisville, Kentucky-based “monthly social gathering of men who enjoy bourbon and camaraderie.” A group of 26 signed on to hear from Caleb Kilburn, Master Distiller at Kentucky Peerless Distilling Co. in Louisville.

While it seems like this digital social distancing might be cold and impersonal, it was anything but. The group’s toastmaster offered a toast as everyone raised a glass after a round-robin report on what everyone was drinking. (Lots of Kentucky Peerless this night.) The speaker joined us from his front porch and we heard a pleasant background of birdsong as he talked about his background in chemistry and biology leading to an interest in distilling. “Master Distillers were my heroes,” Caleb said. “I wanted to be one in the worst way.”

At 27, Caleb is now one of the youngest master distillers in the industry, and he described starting at Kentucky Peerless for $12.50 an hour, working to turn an old warehouse into the distillery. His experience growing up on a dairy farm gave him the skills to guide the assembly of the production equipment and he was named distiller and oversaw the production of the first barrel in 2015.

“At the Christmas party two years ago, I had no idea it was coming…I was presented with this big metal placard that said “Caleb Kilburn, Master Distiller” on it. As soon as I unwrapped it I started crying; the whole Peerless family was crying. My fiancé was there, my parents were there. It’s what dreams are made of: that moment when all the stars align and you just know dreams will come true.“
Caleb Kilburn, Kentucky Peerless Distillery Co. Master Distiller

People later asked questions and even offered marriage advice to Caleb, who is getting married this summer. Bruce Corwin, the Bourbon Brotherhood’s top dog, closed the evening with a toast to everyone’s health.

Live from Terry Bradshaw’s kitchen

Thanks to an email heads-up from Liquor Barn, the next stop on my online bourbon journey was the first virtual Happy Hour with former NFL quarterback and broadcaster Terry Bradshaw to promote his new Bradshaw Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey. Terry joined us from his kitchen at his Oklahoma horse ranch, nattily attired in a t-shirt and gym shorts. Here again, this offered a more personal and informal connection than you’d ever get at an in-person event with lots of people and a podium separating you from the speaker.

Terry’s wife worked the camera and called out who among his friends and acquaintances had signed on to the group of more than 2600 people. Terry told stories on them as he recognized the names, interrupting himself to yell at the dogs as they ran through the kitchen.

Terry talked about this being the first time he’s put his name behind a product (he hates the phrase “celebrity endorsement”), and why it’s important to him that it be a quality product. He mentioned the folks at Green River Distilling in Kentucky (O.Z. Tyler Distillery in Owensboro has said they are making the 2-year bourbon for Bradshaw.) The bourbon has a proof of 103.8, with an ABV of 51.9, a nod to Bradshaw’s passing completion percentage as a quarterback. He joked that it was a good thing his passing numbers weren’t in the 70 percent range.

Terry closed the event by pouring the four people (his wife and another couple who were going bass fishing with them later) in the room a glass and offering a toast. It began as a tribute to his deceased father and ultimately seemed to include just about all his family and friends. Then it was off to fish (and I suspect, some more Bradshaw Bourbon.)

Some pro tips from Brent Elliott’s living room

Brent Elliott, Master Distiller at Four Roses Bourbon, took Kentucky Governor Beshear’s advice to be “Healthy at Home” by offering a virtual bourbon tasting from his living room. (Brent’s living room, not the Governor’s.) The event was recorded and you can watch it here.

Brent was recently named Master Distiller/Blender of the Year by Whisky Magazine, so he knows what he’s talking about. I’ve seen him speak numerous times and he always does a great job explaining how Four Roses uses two mashbills and five different yeast strains to make 10 different bourbon recipes that are mixed to create Four Roses, Four Rose Small Batch, Four Roses Select, and Four Roses Small Batch Select.

After offering some basic advice on glassware, water, and cleansing your palatte between tastes, Brent walked us through tasting the different Four Roses products, explained the various tasting notes he was experiencing, and describing the variations in the process that creates the different flavors.

King of the Bootleggers Trivial Pursuit

I joined my final virtual experience already in progress because it overlapped with one of the others. Even online you can have multiple invitations and have to party hop. The George Remus bourbon folks have been doing “King of the Bootleggers Prohibition Era Trivia Nights” once a week. It was also recorded and you can watch it here.

Remus was the Cincinnati bootlegger who used his skills as a pharmacist and attorney to find the loophole in the Volstead Act allowing medicinal whiskey. He ran massive legal distilling and bootlegging operations, hijacking his own trucks to sell on the black market, before serving two years in prison. (Read more on the King of the Bootleggers in Karen Abbott’s true crime book The Ghosts of Eden Park.)

Scattered throughout trivia questions, representatives of local Cincinnati bars and restaurants demonstrated various cocktail recipes using George Remus bourbon. The owners of Homemakers Bar created an “East New York Flip,” which includes heavy cream, honey syrup and egg, a delicious looking after-dinner nog.

My personal favorite question of the night: “Which luxurious amenity could be found in George Remus’s home?” (A. Swimming Pool, B. Wine Cellar, C. The first Atari 2600.)

The correct answer is A: when you generate more than $50 million in bootlegging revenue you can afford to have an indoor swimming pool in your house. It also lets you have parties where you light cigars with $100 bills, while the men go home with diamond stick pins and the women with new cars as their party gifts.

A few tips for virtual bourbon success

I’ll close with a couple of tips to help you find success in the world of virtual bourbon drinking:

Virtually drink responsibly and make sure you’re 21.
Wear a nice shirt (regardless of the example Terry Bradshaw sets). Pants may be optional.
Know how to use the mute button if you’re on Zoom and the hosts can hear you. (in case you want to yell at your dogs.)
Sign on early (technology is wonderful, except when it’s not. Give yourself time to make sure everything works).
Don’t set your glass too close to your keyboard or laptop. (Don’t ask).
Support your hosts by ordering their products online at places like Drizly and ReserveBar or get pickup, curbside, or delivery service at your local liquor supplier or even at many distilleries.
Invite your own friends to (remotely) join the fun.
Wash your hands.

It looks like it may be awhile before we’re all back out in the world for face-to-face fellowship in the bourbon world. But these ever-increasing online opportunities mean you can continue to share your love of bourbon with others, even when you can’t leave the house. (Because, again, drinking at home alone is usually frowned upon.)