Whiskey Round-Up

I love being a Yelp Elite member.  This Monday was not a manic Monday thanks to Yelp…it was a fun, festive, and jolly Monday thanks to Yelp.  Bryan and I got to go to an exclusive Whiskey Throwdown of Seattle’s top six bartenders from some of the top bars in the city, all who were featuring a different Whiskey craft and with an original drink of their own.  Along with unlimited samples of whiskey drinks (and shots of it to try the “base”), we were provided scrumptious food from Tom Douglas’ Palace Kitchen, the event was hosted at Tom Douglas’ chic venue Palace Ballroom, there was a DJ, an emcee, and coffee and tea to tame the palate.

The six bars representing were:

• Tommy Gun
• Rob Roy
• Liberty (took Chad and Allie here)
• Nabob (Amy’s old favorite bar)
• Brave Horse Tavern (Tom Douglas’)
• Rocco’s

The six crafts showcased were:

• Knob Creek
• Maker’s Mark
• Jim Beam
• 2 Gingers Irish Whiskey
• Laphroaig 10 yr
• Canadian Club

The food offered was very southern comfort, upscaled, and went very well with the whiskey:

• Chicken and waffle bites with bourbon red eye gravy (surprisingly addictive)
• Shaved ham and cheese sliders
• Biscuits with honey whiskey butter
• Potato and cheese fritters with whiskey BBQ sauce
• Caramel bacon bites (um yum)

  

The venue was awesomely decorated with Christmas wreaths in the window and the atmosphere was lively.  You didn’t have to wait in line to get to the drinks or the food and the bartenders really knew their stuff and it was fun to hear their stories, their career records, and their visions for their drinks.  We each got a chip to vote for our favorite drink.  After much food (we went back for so much food…happens when you get to drinking) and trying a few of the drinks a second time, we both surprisingly agreed on the same drink.  The drink from Liberty, which they actually had the same drink except one with added cardamom bitters to make it the Fall/Winter version vs. the Spring/Summer version, was the perfect balance of sweet, acidic, and tasty.  The bartender was also super talkative and friendly and made us really want to go to her bar some time soon.  And she was the winner!!

We left our Monday night quite tipsy and full of good food.  Even Bryan exclaims that he “loves Yelp”!

Chelsea