I'm finally feeling better, no thanks to my going out and "day drinking" at Coral Gables' House Kitchen & Bar on Saturday afternoon. Turns out bourbon isn't the best medicine for a sinus infection. Nevertheless, my outing was much needed and well worth it. It gave us a chance to catch up with our South Florida Bloggers friends who we haven't seen in ages. I also learned a ton about Coopers' Craft, a Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey (read, bourbon). Here are five fun facts I picked up:
1. True bourbon is made in Bourbon County, Kentucky. (Just like true tequila is made in Tequila, Jalisco and true champagne in Champagne, France.)
2. 100% of bourbon's color (and 50% of the flavor) comes from the barrel in which it is aged. Coopers' Craft barrels give it a light amber color and unique flavor sweet, toasted and spicy flavor.
3. True bourbon is aged in oak barrels, which is why Coopers' Craft is made with American white oak barrels.
4. A cooperage is what you call a place where a "cooper" makes barrels and casks. Coopers' Craft was named to celebrate the cooper and the ancient craft of making barrels.
5. Coopers' Craft has only been around for 3 years, but Brown-Forman Cooperage has been hand-raising the barrels in which it is aged since 1945.
Pretty cool, huh? I thought so too, particularly when I got to take my newfound knowledge and learn how to make bourbon cocktails that enhance, not mask, the flavor from the barrel. The group with whom I took the class was hilarious. We kept dropping all the fruit the bartender gave us and making a general mess. But, in the end, we made some pretty and delicious bourbon cocktails in some pretty tin cups. (They remind me of the coffee mugs I used to take camping when I was younger.) And that's all that matters, right?
We were invited to try Coopers' Craft and participate in this event by Coopers' Craft and the South Florida Bloggers. However, all opinions expressed regarding our experience are our own.
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