Any regular readers know that, besides being a Guinness lover, my liquor of choice is almost always whiskey. And although I love a great number of whiskeys out there, including Canadian and Irish, my true favorites are the bourbons. (Yes Maker’s Mark, you’ll always hold a spot in my heart, and in my Manhattan, perfect, on the rocks).

The question is though, what makes a straight bourbon whiskey? How is bourbon different from other whiskeys? Dave shot me a link to William Litton’s article today, which did a rather good job of explaining key factors.

As Mr. Litton explains, bourbon is a corn whiskey that is aged in charred white oak barrels. This aging process, in these specific barrels, is what gives bourbon its distinctive coloring and tasty notes of honey, spice and floral, earthy complexity. There is however, a bit more to it than that.

In order to be labeled as an official straight bourbon whiskey, according to US federal law (it’s that big) whiskey needs to meet all of the following requirements:

• It must be distilled within the United States
• It must be made of grain mixture that is at least 51% corn
• It cannot be altered in any artificial way; no coloring, flavoring or special filtering allowed
• It must be aged for at least two years in new, charred white oak barrels
• It must be distilled to no higher than 165 proof, and introduced into the barrel at no higher than 125 proof

Bourbon brands’ tastes are as varied as their names, from sweet to fiery and everything in between. My favorite, Maker’s Mark, tends to be on the sweeter side but still with enough fire to know you’re drinking bourbon. Basil Hayden’s is a bourbon that I liken more to candy than any other. If you’re looking for pure heat and the classic whiskey-face, try Knob Creek—it may be the tastiest fire water you’ve ever thrown back.

Looking for a classic bourbon cocktail recipe? The Manhattan or Old Fashioned always do me well, but here’s something we haven’t posted yet… the Kentucky B & B.

Kentucky B & B
2 oz bourbon
½ oz Benedictine

Pour bourbon and Benedictine into a snifter and stir. Drink and repeat.

TAGS [ BOURBON | WHISKEY | BOURBON WHISKEY | KENTUCKY B & B | KENTUCKY BOURBONS | COCKTAIL RECIPES ]

You’ve got to love Bud ads… especially when they’re touting the Buffalo Bills (who practically invented the no-huddle offense). Enjoy!

TAGS [ BEER ADS | BUDWEISER AD | BUD ADS | BUFFALO BILLS BUDWEISER AD ]

We’re constantly adding exciting new products to our website. Whether it’s draft beer equipment, an incredible cocktail mixer or some kind of crazy t-shirt, there’s a whole process that happens behind the scenes. Before an item can achieve KegWorks.com website status it’s carefully selected, tested out, photographed, described and reviewed for quality.

Take this stainless steel straw for example. As a Marketing team, we’re smart enough to know that we can’t make it anything other than a straw – but we try damn hard to give you an honest and accurate idea of what kind of straw it is. As it turns out, this one is pretty awesome.

This is Greg (known on the blog as "Gerg"). Greg is key player when it comes to getting products on the site. One of his many duties is to take product photos, so you know exactly what you’re buying. It’s not as simple as pointing the camera at a straw and snapping a photo though - this guy has talent! In order to capture the real essence of the stainless steel straws, he made delicious milkshakes and root beer floats and recruited some fellow KegWorkers to partake in the shoot.

This photo shows Greg working his photographic magic. To the right you see Pete, one of the purchasing guys, our resident draft system expert and the official KegWorks model. Look around long enough and you’ll see his charming good looks all over the website!

The head of hair you see on the left is yours truly (known on the blog as "Liz") and I am the KegWorks copywriter. It’s my job to explain the straws in great detail and answer any questions that you might have in the product description.

Don’t worry- I am very qualified to write about these straws, as I drank an entire float through one right before I sat down to do tell you about them. I can honestly say that it’s not an ordinary straw. The stainless steel takes whatever you’re drinking and makes it a whole new kind of cold. When you’re dealing with frozen drinks, it’s quite an improvement. As strange as it sounds, there’s something to say about the mouth feel of the steel as well. It’s an entirely different way of drinking.

After the pictures and the description are all set, we load all of that information into the back-end of the site, have it reviewed for accuracy and then set it live so you can find it on our What’s New page.

There you have it folks, a stainless steel straw’s journey from KegWorks to you.

TAGS [ KEGWORKS | PRODUCTS | STAINLESS STEEL STRAWS | REUSABLE STRAWS | METAL STRAWS ]

Looking for something fantastic to peruse when you’re not scouring the KegWorks blog? We’ve got a few suggestions! There’s a ton of beer and drink related publications out there and we’re qualified to tell you what’s best, as we’ve tried most of them. Below you’ll find our top 10 list of magazines that have earned and retained KegWorks readership.

What We’re Subscribed To:

There you have ‘em! Start a fire (preferably one contained in a fireplace), pour a glass of your favorite libation and get cozy - you’ve got some reading to do! Think there’s something we missed? Let us know and we’ll check it out!

TAGS [ BEER MAGAZINES | COCKTAIL MAGAZINES | BAR MAGAZINES ]

Dave just sent me a link to this article in The New York Times by Eric Asimov, and the introductory paragraph really grabbed my attention:

"People get stuck on the word stout. It confuses, the way it connotes size and fleshiness. And the color, too — inky, impenetrable black — suggests mass and power. As a result, many people think stout is a formidable blockbuster of an ale, heavy and alcoholic, just the way they assume darker roasts of coffee have more caffeine than lighter roasts. Nothing could be further from the truth."

As the manager of a local coffee shop during my college years, and a woman who loves all stout brews, including my favorite go-to beer Guinness, I know these misconceptions well… and I thank Mr. Asimov for trying to set the masses straight.

Damn, now I need to pick up more Guinness. Thanks, Dave :)

TAGS [ STOUT BEER | GUINNESS | DARK COFFEE | STOUTS ]

The disturbing mind behind one of the creepiest websites around is at it again. John of pumpkinrot.com (whom I’ve previously mentioned here) has conjured yet another horrific image sure to bristle the hair on the back of your neck this Halloween.

A truly inspired work, this year’s horrific piece called, Tin Man (which clearly is not the same one mentioned in a certain story about a little girl, a dog, a scarecrow, and a lion) is a work of grisly malevolence suspended in time and is accompanied by a brief narrative that is certain to shake even the darkest imagination this time of the year.

Visitors should be warned NOT to oil "Tin Man" or suffer the consequences.

Thank you, John!

TAGS [ PUMPKINROT | HALLOWEEN ]

This past weekend, Dave and I had the pleasure and privilege to attend one of the best Real Ale Festivals this side of the Atlantic at Clark’s Ale House in Syracuse. A true Syracuse mainstay, and one of the first real beer bars to sprout up back in the early 90s before places like that started to become more common the past few years, Clark’s has always done it right with great beer, great atmosphere (there are no TVs), and a legendary roast beef sandwich that is basically a requirement to enjoy when you’re in town. The Peoples Real Ale Festival is an event they have held the past couple of years with great success, and this was my first opportunity to attend.

Cask Ale, or Real Ale as it’s known in the US, is beer brewed with traditional ingredients and allowed to mature naturally. Being only common in Britain these days, this beer is unfiltered, unpasteurized, and contains live yeast, which will continue to condition the beer in the cask (known as secondary fermentation).

The result is a natural CO2 carbonation which allows the hop and malt flavors to develop, giving the drinker a much more simple, naked, and un-fooled-with beer. No extraneous gas is used in dispensing of the beer, usually by way of a hand pump. It’s a very unique, and more importantly, traditional way of serving beer than the normal filtered, pasteurized, chilled beer we’re used to most of the time. Some people think that Real Ale is warm and flat; however this is incorrect. Cask Ale is served between 54-56 degrees, which is cool, but not cold like normal keg beer, and there should be a noticeable carbonation from the secondary fermentation in the cask.

Here is a complete list of the beers that were available:

Blue Point Oatmeal Stout
Blue Point Rastafa Rye
Brooklyn Best Bitter
Brooklyn BLAST
Captain Lawrence DIPA
Captain Lawrence Pumpkin
Captain Lawrence Smoked Porter
Ellicottville Prince of Pale
Empire Maple Smoked Porter
Empire Amber
Flying Bison Rusty Chain Amber
Ithaca Flower Power
Landmark Vanilla Bean Brown
Middle Ages X
Middle Ages Dragonslayer
Sixpoint Bengali IPA
Sixpoint Amberdeen Scotch Ale
Sixpoint Righteous Rye
Southern Tier Pumpking

I was fortunate enough to sample about of what was available, and everything I had was very enjoyable. Highlights for me were the Sixpoint Aberdeen, the Brooklyn Best Bitter (I have a real soft spot for simple English Bitters), and I made it a point to do a side-by-side with the two porters and the two stouts. Also of note was the presence of 2 different rye beers, an often under-brewed and favorite style of mine.

As impressed as I was with the beer list, I think I was even more pleased with the way the event was run. It was very well organized, with 2 guys sharing bartending duties on all the casks, which were placed in an area where no long lines would develop and bar traffic could move around with ease. Even better, you had the option of getting 8- or 16-ounce pours so you needn’t buy a full pint of a beer if you were unsure if you would like it. This provided the opportunity to try the majority. And most of all, the price point didn’t hurt—most 8-ounce pours were $2.

So, cheers to Clark’s for doing it well, and doing it right. Thankfully, there has been a bit of resurgence and growing popularity of these types of festivals over the past few years, and I encourage everyone to take full advantage of them when held in your area. After all, it is how our forefathers enjoyed great beer, and a bit a nostalgia and history never hurts!

TAGS [ CASK ALE | REAL ALE | BEER TASTING | BEER SAMPLING | CASK ALES | REAL ALES ]