bourbon

Exploring KY cooking with top Lex chef Phil Dunn

Posted on by Pat and David
When England's horse-loving Queen Elizabeth first visited Lexington, her personal chef was Phil Dunn. We don't know what dishes he served to the Queen, but we do know that Dunn favors gourmet meals and enjoys exploring international flavors. He's particularly fond of making European pastries—and anything with pasta. A gorgeous display kitchen at Architectural Kitchens & Baths (345 Lafayette Ave., www.akandb.com) is the perfect setting for Dunn's popular half-day cooking classes. We attended a recent session and learned that Dunn is equally comfortable with down-home Kentucky cooking. He makes familiar dishes his own through refined technique and a penchant for turning larger plates into finger food—perfect for parties in this most social of cities. Dunn makes a spicy version of Kentucky Beer Cheese (a cracker...Read More
Belle’s Cocktail House is bourbon ground zero

Belle’s Cocktail House is bourbon ground zero

Posted on by Pat and David
A leading contender for the title of Best Bourbon Bar in Lexington, Kentucky, has to be Belle's Cocktail House (152 Market St., bellesbar.com), which opened in late November 2013. It is the brainchild of barman, musician, and restaurateur Larry Redmon and the young gents behind The Bourbon Review (gobourbon.com), Bob Eidson and brothers Justin and Seth Thompson (above). The magazine, by the way, calls itself “A Guide to the Bourbon lifestyle.” With coverage of bourbon bars, cocktails, horse races, and all manner of civilized drinking, the magazine's idea of the bourbon lifestyle is whole lot classier than the version that gave George Jones so much to sing about. The bar is named for Belle Brezing (1860-1940), the famous madam who ran Lexington's “most orderly of...Read More

A fine homegrown single malt whiskey

Posted on by David
As a lover of good whiskey — whatever its Gaelic or hillbilly pedigree — I was pleasantly surprised to find a whole new category that's just become available in the Northeast. Based on a tasting of Westland Distillery's American Single Malt, the folks behind this Seattle distillery are visionaries. The Pacific Northwest has been, arguably, the source of some of the most exciting craft beer making in the last 15 years. Part of that is due to the great barley-growing areas of Washington State and Idaho, and the localized skill in creating specialty malts. To my taste buds, though, it's a big jump from craft beer to a sipping whiskey, and I'm pleased with the fruity, not-too-sweet Westland house style. I'm typically a bourbon drinker,...Read More
Sipping a Seelbach Cocktail on Urban Bourbon Trail

Sipping a Seelbach Cocktail on Urban Bourbon Trail

Posted on by Pat
I always think of the mint julep as the classic Kentucky drink, but there's more than one way to imbibe the Bluegrass State's signature spirit, Kentucky Bourbon. As I reported in the January 12 issue of the Boston Globe Travel section, I'm only two drinks away from claiming an Urban Bourbon Trail T-shirt. It's offered to anyone who visits six of the 20 participating bourbon bars and restaurants in Louisville. (Click here to see the Globe story.) The Seelbach Cocktail, named for the classic hotel where it was invented in 1917, is one of those great accidents that seem to happen at bars as the night wears on. The drink originated when champagne overflowed into a Manhattan, beverage supervisor Michael Anderson (above) told me. “It's...Read More