Felonious pursuits and other whiskey stories — The Spirits of Savor Dallas 2013

By Jim White

The charge is breaking and entering. How do you plead?

We plead guilty as charged, your honor. And, may I say, it was well worth the effort. Let’s raise a toast!

What’s this? Shouldn’t some remorse be shown for this crime? Au contraire. In fact, this crime has a motto: “Our plunder is your pleasure.”

Meet “Breaking and Entering” bourbon produced by an upstart distiller that Esquire Magazine says has “a penchant for gleefully shunning the spirits world’s conventions.”

No need to jimmy a lock to try it, though. It’s one of the numerous premium spirits featured during the Ninth Annual Savor Dallas March 14th through17th.

Breaking and Entering is the brainchild of St. George Spirits Company founder Jörg Rupf. The craft distillery in Alameda, California also produces Hangar One Vodka. They’re fond of saying, “We stole this bourbon.” Ostensibly from someone’s old Kentucky home. And, with not a twit of contrition further proclaim, “We may be thieves, but we’re honorable thieves.”

Meanwhile, returning to the scene of the crime, we call your attention to another fine bourbon featured at Savor Dallas: Knob Creek, steeped in tradition and founded by Jim Beam’s grandson, Booker Noe. Named for the small stream that flowed near Abraham Lincoln’s childhood home in Kentucky, Knob Creek is known as “Bourbon the way it was meant to be”. Their mission is to restore the standards of pre-prohibition bourbon. Even the label depicts the bottle wrapped in newspaper. The way bottles were shipped from the distillery before The Eighteenth Amendment and The Volstead Act ushered in the era of bathtub gin, The Untouchables, and Al Capone.

South of the border, the old saying is “Tequila to wake the living, mezcal to wake the dead.” Sample an ancient tradition when you try Montelobos Mezcal at the Savor Dallas International Grand Tasting. Legend has it that a bolt of lightning split a sacred agave in two, cooking its core and releasing its juice. Smokey, piquant, and complex, the mezcals of today carry on a tradition that has thrived throughout Oaxaca for over 500 years. Aficionados will tell you that, technically, tequila is a type of mezcal, but you should “just as soon confuse a mezcal with a tequila as you would a wolf with a coyote.”

Here’s a condition that surely received some attention from an astute attorney back in the day: Monkey Shoulder. It was an injury suffered by Malt Men of yore “who suffered for their art” when turning the barley by hand in the old Scotch whisky distilleries. Monkey Shoulder Triple Malt Single Whisky gets its name from the malady, and you’ll be pleased to know that, in their words, “Whilst our men of the maltings are among the few who still turn the barley manually, working conditions are now such that, fortunately, the injury has been consigned to the past.” Share a wee dram with us at Savor Dallas. And now, the disclaimer: “No Malt Men have been injured in the making of this product. Do not try turning the barley by hand at home.”

Two more notable spirits featured at Savor Dallas include “the Grands crus of rum”, Plantation 3 Stars Rum from Barbados, aged in Cognac Ferrand casks, and an outstanding Texas corn whiskey from Balcones Distillery. The Texas can-do spirit is exemplified with Balcones. They started out in a welding shop, under a bridge in Waco. They produce handcrafted, small batch whiskey in a distillery built with their own hands (although, they spell it “whisky”).

So, in case you’re wondering: Is it whiskey or whisky? The answer is yes.

No matter how you spell it, whisky/ey is an umbrella term for a type of spirit distilled from a mash of fermented grains.

Within the broad category of whisky/ey are many sub-categories, including bourbon, rye, Tennessee, Scotch, Irish, and Canadian style whiskies. The manufacture of each of these types of whisky/ey is guided and regulated by the government of the spirit’s country of origin. As a result, Canadian whisky, for example, is a whole different animal from Scotch whisky, Irish whiskey, and American-style whiskeys such as Tennessee (or Texas), bourbon, and straight rye.

There’s been much gnashing of teeth and tearing of cloth over the correct spelling through the years. But, for the most part, you’re generally safe if you spell it Whiskey for brands manufactured in the United States and Ireland; and Whisky for Canada and Scotland.

Now that we have that resolved, please join us for a nip. Savor Dallas purposely added spirits to its name—A Celebration of Wine, Food, Spirits and the Arts—when the event launched in 2005, to attract a more diverse audience in general, and connoisseurs of fine liquors specifically.

The good stuff is poured throughout the International Grand Tasting and other events.

The big night on March 16th at the Irving Convention Center at Las Colinas, features a dizzying lineup of more than 50 top chefs serving signature samples of their cuisine, and pours of more than 400 premium wines, spirits and craft beers.

Be sure to join us sometime during the weekend. Savor Dallas is March 14th through 17th in various venues throughout Dallas County. Get tickets and all details at www.SavorDallas.com.

Everybody says it’s the most delicious food and wine festival in Texas. We say it’s “big fun and big flavor in Big D”. So, bring your friends to Savor Dallas.

Savor Dallas promotes responsible consumption by urging attendees to follow the “four S’s of sampling”—swirl, sniff, sip and spit. Dump buckets are plentiful at all Savor Dallas events. Water is readily available. Carpooling and public transportation are encouraged. A designated driver ticket is sold (food only). And numerous hotels feature Savor Dallas room specials so imbibers can take the elevator home.

This is the third of three articles about the chefs, the wines, and the spirits of Savor Dallas. It’s an honor to be invited to share our message of entertainment and conviviality with the esteemed and august followers of The Texas Lawbook. Cheers!

Jim White is known as Dallas-Fort Worth’s “Wining and Dining Guy” thanks to his long-running “KRLD Restaurant Show”. The award winning broadcaster and inductee to the Texas Radio Hall of Fame is the co-founder “KRLD’s Restaurant Week”, and co-founder of Savor Dallas, along with his wife Vicki Briley-White. Contact: Jim@SavorDallas.com.