11 minute read
The Lady Entertains
Hosting a St. Patrick's Day Whiskey Tasting Party
BY KRISTA EHRET If there ever was an excuse to host a cocktail-driven party, St. Patrick's Day is it. For this article, I decided to do an Irish Whiskey Tasting as the main event, but this could easily be switched out for craft beer if that better suits your crowd's style. Tastings are fun events in general, but toss a boozy holiday in the mix and your stage is set. Here are some ideas and inspiration:
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Green, Tartan, and Gold All Over. St. Paddy's offers such a gorgeous color palette if you really dive in. Save the cheesy and cute décor for your family party and bring in a bit of elegance to honor this adult event. Shades of emerald, mixed with a great tartan pattern, dark wood tones, and pops of gold instantly bring an Irish vibe without being inundated with pots of gold and tiny green men in top hats.
Set the Zones. I recommend an intimate guest list with no more than you can comfortably sit around your dining room table. Have a designated seat for each guest with settings to include rocks glasses, a place card, a water glass, a small plate of crackers to nibble between offerings, and a place for jotting notes down. This is your first zone. Plan to have a buffet style dinner or selection of very heavy hors d'oeuvres. Most Irish food is not known for it's yummyness, so feel free to Americanize it a bit. Go for “stick to your ribs” kind of foods to prep the stomach for the booze. This is your second zone. The third zone needs to be a living or outdoor space for people to lounge in a bit after the food and tasting. This shouldn't be a rush in and rush out style party. Lastly, have a bar set up. Offer a couple of cocktails created with the sampled Irish whiskeys, wine, and beer. Portion Control. When we have hosted wine tastings in the past, we bring in an expert to serve and explain each option. This is nice as it transforms the party from a normal night of wine drinking into an educational experience. Plus, it implements portion control. I highly recommend a similar mentality when you're serving up straight liquor. What you do not want is an open bar with guests sampling lots of options at leisure. Consider bringing in a whiskey connoisseur or at the very least a bar tender to serve your guests. It keeps you from being the bad guy just in case someone needs to not be further served. If you plan to do this yourself, consider having only three or four tastings and pre-pour each glass before guests arrive. Other Tidbits. By mid-March, everyone has spring fever. Bring in some fresh greenery to use in the centerpieces or to adorn your bar and food table. Dessert and coffee may not seem an obvious addition with this theme, but some guests may be very happy to have this change of pace at the end of the evening. Skip the boozy Irish coffees and go for basic, but offer a nice cheesecake or dense chocolate cake with a bit of Bailey's Irish Cream for context.
KRISTA EHRET The Lady Entertains From intimate dinner parties to huge annual events, Krista believes we can always find an excuse to celebrate. With a background in interior and event design, she loves bringing people together in a beautiful and welcoming environment.
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A recent visitor to Chattanooga was gushing about that city as he was sharing a pint at Hop House Tennessee Taps and Tapas in Franklin. BY MARK R. COOK
Small brewpubs and larger craft breweries there, like Hutton and Smith are transforming the southside of town into a walkable beer destination, following the pattern of Asheville, North Carolina, which some have taken to calling Beer Disneyland.
Chattanooga’s evolution is a part of a business and cultural return to the past, when in 1900, after a century of immigration, there were entire neighborhoods of breweries. Today there are concentrations of breweries in Memphis, Nashville, Murfreesboro, Cookeville and Sparta, Knoxville and Johnson City. Franklin’s debut of two tap houses during the same week this past winter is also is part of the trend. According to Brewers Association statistics, brewing peaked in 1871, when there were 4,131 breweries in the USA. But through changing tastes and industry consolidation that number had dropped by 1980 to 101, and the ten largest beer companies controlled 94% of the market.
That’s the decade when tastes began to change again, and the Boston Beer Company (Sam Adams), started a wildfire that continues to spread. Today the Brewers Association counts 6,300 breweries, with 6,266 of them classified as “craft” breweries based on production volume and variety of styles. They counted ninety-nine breweries in Tennessee, including about thirty in Nashville and greater middle Tennessee. Middle Tennessee came to the party in 1994 when Blackstone Brewery opened. Yazoo started in 2003 in a corner suite at Marathon Motor Works, and last year moved into a large new custom-built facility overlooking the Cumberland River in Madison.
MARK R. COOK AND KENNY SIZEMORE
Franklin has served as an incubator for two breweries: Turtle Anarchy and Mantra. Turtle Anarchy moved to a large facility in West Nashville, and Mantra built a new facility on eighty-six acres near Murfreesboro. Mill Creek, which took over the Turtle/ Mantra brewing space in south Franklin, has since re-trenched at its Nolensville headquarters. Cool Springs Brewing continues to thrive as a restaurantbrewpub.
Beer has become as diverse as wine – perhaps even more so. Today there are hoppy India Pale Ales, malty brown ales and stouts, fruit beers, sours, and many more. Flavors tickle all classes of tastebuds, ranging from the piney and bitter to “juicy” and sweet, clear and crisp to dark and dessert-like. Ciders also are part of the story. Hop House Tennessee Taps aims to bring all that diversity together in one place. Those who say, “I don’t like beer,” probably haven’t tried it in a while, so come see us at Hop House and we can remedy that situation.
Mark Cook, who was a journalist for thirty-eight years, is owner of Hop House Tennessee Taps and Tapas in Franklin and formerly owned Wild Hare Beer Company in Spring Hill.
Hop House Tennessee Taps features 30 different Tennessee-brewed beers and six from neighboring states. The Hop House kitchen offers a menu developed by Ray Whitlock, former executive chef of M Street restaurants of Nashville and currently executive chef of Country Club of Georgia. Noted Tennessee cookbook author Daisy King also helped in developing the kitchen and food service.
Reclaiming a
WITH LEE KENNEDY OF LEIPER’S FORK DISTILLERY
Up until the last ten to fifteen years, when one thought of whiskey, four primary regions came to mind: Scotland, Ireland, Kentucky and Tennessee. For native Tennesseans, this may not have been a surprise given the cultural importance of our state’s flagship distillery down in Lynchburg. The force of that brand has made Tennessee a household name every bit as much as country music has. Because of that, one may be surprised to know that Jack actually carried the torch for a much larger industry that had been a critical part of the cultural and manufacturing heritage of this state from its birth, well into the 20th century.
Historically, most of the whiskey in this country has been made between Ohio River in north Kentucky and the Tennessee River in north Alabama. This is mainly due to a couple of reasons; access to limestone filtered water, critical to the fermentation process of making whiskey, and the heritage of the Scotch-Irish people that settled this area and began distilling Native American corn into a beverage that would become modern day Bourbon and Tennessee Whiskey.
From its earliest roots, Tennessee has had a long and rich history with the tradition of whiskey production. The earliest known distillery, located in what would become Tennessee, was Evan Shelby’s East Tennessee Distillery, which was in existence by 1771, five years before the Declaration of Independence was signed. By 1799, John Overton, one of the fathers of middle Tennessee and serving as Supervisor of Internal Revenue for District of Tennessee, reported sixty-one stills serving 4,000 settlers in Davidson County. That trend continued to grow into the 19th Century. According to the 1850 Williamson County industrial census, there were ten distilleries located within its borders. In 1886, the Nashville Union, reported that the distilling industry was the largest manufacturing industry in the state. In addition, to celebrate Tennessee’s 1896 Centennial, the Nashville American newspaper reported that, as of June 30, 1896, there were 322 registered distilleries in the state of Tennessee. Sadly, for some, this cultural and industrial heyday wasn’t to last though.
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By 1910, fourteen years after the Nashville Union article was written, all distilleries in the state had shuttered and locked their doors. This wasn’t due to a catastrophic downturn in the industry. After years of clamor and struggle, prohibition had finally become a reality in the state of Tennessee. Few residents of our state realize that Tennessee enacted its own prohibition in 1910, ten years ahead of the Volstead Act, which officially marked the beginning of Federal Prohibition. Federal Prohibition permanently and drastically changed the shape and course of the alcohol industry in America. We continue to deal with its effects to this day. Much of our laws, and many of our well known alcohol brands, were propelled into prominence by Prohibition.
With the adoption of the 21st Amendment, in 1933, Federal Prohibition was repealed. At that time Kentucky, our sister state in whiskey production, reopened its doors and welcomed their distillers, and their own rich heritage, back into the state with open arms. Tennessee, for better or worse, did not do this. From 1933 to 2009, whiskey production was only legal in three counties in Tennessee. These were comprised of Lincoln, Moore and Coffee counties, where Jack Daniel’s and George Dickel reside respectively. In essence, Tennessee had a manufacturer’s prohibition of whiskey for 100 years, from 1909-2009.
Fortunately for Tennessee, in 2009, a group of forwardthinking State Representatives and ambitious distillers, including Williamson County’s own Heath Clark, came together to write and enact legislation to allow distilleries back across our state. This officially ended the state’s unofficial prohibition on the manufacture of whiskey.
Since 2009, the Volunteer State’s distillers have worked hard to reclaim the heritage of whiskey production our early settlers brought to the hills and hollows of Tennessee. Currently, there are roughly forty distilleries across the state. These distilleries range from traditional time-honored brands all the way down to a guy running a fifty gallon still to produce his great granddad’s moonshine recipe. As this rekindled spirits industry continues to grow, its economic importance continues to grow as well. The Distilled Spirits Council of the U.S. reports, as of January 2020, the combined spirits industry, in all of its forms, has contributed 21,000 jobs and $2.8 billion in GDP to the state of Tennessee. Both culturally and financially, our rich spirits industry continues to make itself known. Once again, the spirit of freedom and self-reliance, which defined our early distillers, can be reflected in a new generation in Tennessee Distillers. They’re working passionately to carry on our rich state traditions and to craft a product we can be proud of as Tennesseans. Go visit them, and whenever you raise a glass of Tennessee made whiskey, remember those early pioneer distillers and the spirit they passed to a new generation of Tennesseans that fought to reclaim their cultural birthright. For a comprehensive sampling of Tennessee Distilleries and what they have to offer, visit tnwhiskeytrail.com.
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