A sold-out crowd of bourbon-loving Houstonians gathered at The Parador in the Museum District for Woodford Reserve’s School of Bourbon class, hosted by CultureMap.
After they arrived, attendees entered a world of whiskey. Prior to the class, guests sipped on cocktails prepared by Zimm's bartenders Judith Piotrowski and Weston Ball.
Piotrowski worked in a sly reference to cult classic cartoon show Futurama with her New New York Sour that blended Woodford Reserve, cabernet sauvignon, aquafaba, lemon, simple syrup, and angostura bitters. Ball's The Foreman delivered a spicy kick thanks to its combination of Woodford Reserve with creme de cacao, lime-cordial, dolin dry vermouth, corazon bitters, and a cinnamon stick.
Attendees, including Kevin Bryant, Elaine Dillard, Emily Jaschke, Cheryl Gibbs, Nick Scurfield, and Neera Patidar, also got a sneak peek at one of fall's eagerly anticipated new restaurants, Bosscat Kitchen & Libations. Set to open next month on Westheimer near River Oaks District, the restaurant's chef Peter Petro served a barbecue porchetta sandwich on Slow Dough bread and grilled Vietnamese-style short ribs. Best of all, everyone left with a $15 gift card.
After Ashley Bible shared the distillery's history, she explained the distillation process that turns a mix of corn, rye, and barley into delicious bourbon. Finally, it was time to taste. Foods like cheese, sorghum syrup, dark chocolate, and hazelnuts brought out different flavors in each of the three spirits: Woodford Reserve, Woodford Reserve Double Oaked, and Woodford Reserve Rye.
While sipping bourbon is fun and all, the night was made even better knowing that all proceeds from the evening benefited Mankind, a Dallas-based nonprofit that promises to help save lives and end suffering from prostate cancer by encouraging men to receive annual tests and help research scientists find a cure for prostate cancer. That is something we can all raise our glasses to.
Bartender Weston Ball serves his cocktail.
Behold the "Smorange Can." Smalls Sliders 