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Who wants to buy a distillery?

Old Fashioned cocktail with Organic Turbinado, Bitters

We received an email from our favorite local distillery yesterday, with the seemingly innocuous subject line “Blinking Owl Distillery NEWS May 2023.” Opening it up expecting a new featured cocktail or creative taco creation offered at the in-house patio restaurant, we were not prepared for what the email actually contained: An announcement that, if Blinking Owl does not find a new partner or buyer, the Santa Ana, California-based distillery may not survive much longer.

According to the email (sent on behalf of the venue but likely reflective of the voice of founders Brian and Robin Christenson), for the last 18 months Blinking Owl had “been working toward an incredible brand representation, licensing and production deal.” This plan would have allowed the distillery—which launched in just 2016 as the first craft distillery in Orange County—to rapidly scale production and distribution on a national level.

Due to “a sudden unexpected issue” on the end of the distillery’s partner in this deal, not only have all of those plans have come to a halt, but while the Christensons figure out their next move, they have temporarily paused operations of Blinking Owl’s downtown Orange County distillery and restaurant—the latter of which featured a delicious (and mostly locally sourced) menu of pizzas, appetizers, and desserts from Chef Luis Perez and Pie Maestro Eddie Perez. Although the bar at the tasting room is not currently offering spirit tastings, visitors can still drop by to buy bottles and merchandise.

The Blinking Owl founders are exploring all options, including searching for a new partner or a party interested in buying the turn-key business outright. (Serious inquires can be directed to the distillery via email at info@blinkingowl.com). As highlighted in their announcement email, Blinking Owl has “done the hard part”:

“Building a facility such as ours would take someone 2-3 years minimum and approximately $5M. Many have attempted to build distilleries in Orange County and failed after years of trying and hundreds of thousands of dollars. Coupled with our $2M+ aging whiskey barrels, this is a rare incredible opportunity for someone looking to venture into distilling.”

Anyone want to go in with us to save Blinking Owl? We’ve got *checks piggy bank* … well, we’ve got a great love of whiskey. And local businesses.

[Disclosure notice: The author was a (very small) investor in Blinking Owl Distillery’s recent funding campaign via WeFunder.]

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Choose your own Old Fashioned adventure at Las Vegas’ Double Helix

Old Fashioned cocktail and ingredients displayed on a bar top

Double Helix Wine & Whiskey Lounge—a long-standing dining and drinking establishment located in the Town Square shopping-dining-entertainment destination on the southern edge of Las Vegas—is inviting guests to “Build Your Own Old Fashioned” by choosing their favorite spirit, bitters, and syrup, as well as garnishes and other finishes, starting at $16.

Spirit options run the gamut from usual suspects such as Bulleit bourbon or rye, Crown Royal rye, and Johnnie Walker Black, with a rum (Ron Zacapa 23) thrown in to mix things up. For $6 more, more refined patrons can upgrade to  Bulleit Barrel Strength or George Dickel Bottled In Bond 13 Year.

Numerous flavors of bitters available include classics like Angostura and Peychaud’s, as well as orange, cherry bark vanilla, or chocolate. And beyond simple syrup, cocktail fans can choose from a number of other syrups, including Demerara , honey, barrel-aged maple, or thyme simple syrup.

Of course, that Old Fashioned isn’t complete without a garnish. All the classics are available–brandied cherry, orange swath, lemon swath—as well as nontraditional options such as a cinnamon stick, or for a $2 upgrade, bacon (but please don’t do this to your Old Fashioned; it’s not a Bloody Mary, after all). Double Helix is also offering a Talisker Scotch rinse as well as the option to have the cocktail smoked (we always go for the smoked Old Fashioned).

However, we take mild offense to a “large ice cube” being offered as an optional 75-cents upgrade. A single, large ice cube should be standard for a high-quality Old Fashioned—especially one that could cost you $20-plus after upgrades. But Vegas, baby, right?

All that said, if you’re not feeling all that creative, the house Old Fashioned (order it “Helix style”) sticks to a trusted recipe, featuring Bulleit bourbon, Angostura and orange bitters, Demerara syrup, and an orange swath. Aside from adding some smoke, that’s probably how we’d order it anyway.

Header photo courtesy of Double Helix.

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The Quick Pour: On The Rocks Premium Old Fashioned Cocktail

On the Rock cocktail bottle and Old Fashioned in glass over ice

Welcome to the first Bourbon & Bitters Quick Pour, where we skip the pretenses and dive right into a product review. Today, we’re trying out The Old Fashioned (of course) from the On the Rocks Premium Cocktails collection. This premixed cocktail combines Knob Creek bourbon whiskey (one of our favorites) with bitters, cane sugar, orange, cherry, and lemon flavors.

On the Rocks bills this cocktail as “A stunning blend of classic bourbon, with the perfect touch of cherry and orange and a beautiful vanilla finish.” It’s earned a Gold medal from the Beverage Tasting Institute and a Silver medal in the World Spirits Competition.

Let’s see how this ready-to-drink Old Fashioned lives up to the hype. For our tasting, we did a simple pour over ice in a rocks glass, accompanied by an orange peel.

First impression: It’s stronger than you’d expect for a pre-mix. The cherry notes hit your nose right off the top, though the orange is more subtle, even with the fresh orange peel. It’s drinkable, but not as smooth as you might experience from a freshly mixed Old Fashioned with a classic muddled sugar cube. Still, for an at-home cocktail with no work required, it’s pretty solid. We’d recommend maybe dressing it up with a cherry or a bit more of an orange zest.

Rating: 3/5 tumblers

Three rocks glasses rating

On the Rocks Premium Cocktails | The Old Fashioned
Available in 375ml, 200ml, and 100ml bottles
35% ABV / 70 proof

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Scotchdale partners with West Coast Beverages to expand Nevada distribution

A whisky cocktail and a bottle of whisky

Scottsdale, Arizona probably isn’t the first place that comes to mind when you think of fine Scottish whisky. But the rookie Scotchdale brand defies expectations. Created by Scottsdale residents Travis Ranville and John McDonnell several years ago and brought to market in early 2019, Scotchdale’s 80-proof blended malt Scotch whisky comes from Angus Dundee Distillers’ two pure malt distilleries in the Highland and Speyside regions of Scotland, aged for a minimum of eight years in charred American oak bourbon barrels.

Whisky Advocate gave Scotchdale a solid 90-point rating in fall 2020, describing it as “medium-bodied” and noting that it “eschews sweetness and fruitiness to inhabit a world of dark toffee, Brazil nut, dry oak, malt, plain chocolate, hot peppery spice, and licorice.” The folks at Scotchdale simply tout it as “the most livable whisky.”

Previously only available in the Phoenix metropolitan area and surrounding Arizona communities, thanks to a partnership with Las Vegas-based West Coast Beverages, Scotchdale can now be found in a number of Southern Nevada bars and restaurants, including The Charleston Tavern, 18bin, and 595 Craft + Kitchen, as well as local retailers such as Crystal Liquors and Hacienda Liquor.

Scotchdale’s website features a number of delicious cocktail recipes for its flexible blended Scotch whisky—many inspired by the state of Arizona—but because McDonnell and Ranville are obviously men of good taste, the whisky brand’s signature cocktail is its eponymous “The Scotchdale,” a refined take on an Old Fashioned that subs chocolate and orange bitters for the traditional Angostura version, which naturally complements the spirit’s robust flavor profile.

The Scotchdale

  • 2 oz. Scotchdale whisky
  • 2 dashes chocolate bitters
  • 1 dash orange bitters
  • 1/2 oz. simple syrup
  • Top with soda water
  • Garnish with orange peel

Of course, if you want to get your sip of Scotchdale right now, you’d need to make your way to Arizona or Nevada. But now you know next time you find yourself in Vegas, Scottsdale, or even the New Age haven of Sedona, you can probably ask your bartender for a taste of this imported blend designed to “tame the Arizona heat.”

Main image by TAVITS Photography, courtesy of Scotchdale.

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Dessa and RockFilter Distillery team up for ‘Time & Distance’ bourbon whiskey

Dessa's Time & Distance Bourbon Whiskey

Bourbon probably isn’t the first thing you associate with Minnesota. Prince. Snow. Really nice people who say “you betcha.” But bourbon? This ain’t Kentucky.

And yet, if you believe the adage that “water makes the whiskey,” maybe it is Kentucky. Or, at least, it is if you consider that the water that goes into making RockFilter Distillery’s whiskey comes from a natural Karst limestone aquifer–which shares the same geology found in Kentucky–it’s close enough.

Dessa's Time & Distance Bourbon Whiskey
Photo courtesy Dessa.

The Spring Grove, Minnesota-located distillery is all about keeping things local, however, and aside from its pedigree (founder Christian Myrah descends from Spring Grove’s settlers) and community-minded approach to distilling, it’s even keeping its co-branding local.

To wit, RockFilter’s newest distilled creation is Dessa’s Time & Distance Organic Bourbon Whiskey, a collaboration with Minnesota musician and author Dessa–its Sept. 18 release timed with the publication of her new book, My Own Devices.

Dessa, a singer and rapper who’s long been part of the Minneapolis-based hip-hop collective Doomtree, has been working in secret with RockFilter on Time & Distance for more than a year. Her book is a collection of essays based on conversations she’s had with people she’s met on the road as a touring musician, and the name of the bourbon comes from a passage in My Own Devices.

“I’ve often joked that time, distance, and whiskey are the standard interventions for a broken heart,” said Dessa in an email interview. “The book, in part, tells the story of a heartbreak that resisted the normal course of treatment.”

The 88-proof Time & Distance is being produced in a very limited edition: 395 750ml bottles ($69.99 suggested retail), and 240 375ml bottles ($39.99 suggested retail), 60 of which will be available for sale in the RockFilter Cocktail Room in Spring Grove. The rest will be available only in select to-be-announced Minnesota locations (or by mail order where allowed by law).

Dessa describes Time & Distance as “flavorful, but still easy drinking,” a profile that she and the RockFilter team came to after blind taste tests and “clandestine cocktailing.” So, just how does Dessa enjoy her bourbon?

“On ice or in a great cocktail,” she said. “Ginger beer and St. Germain are always favorite mixers.”

Header photo courtesy RockFilter Distillery

UPDATE: Here are the (Minnesota) locations RockFilter announced are carrying Dessa’s Time & Distance (subject to availability):

  • ANDY’S CROSSROAD LIQUOR
  • ANDY’S MARKETPLACE
  • FRANCE 44 WINES & SPIRITS HASKELL’S
  • HASKELL’S PLYMOUTH
  • HUM’S LIQUOR STORE
  • HY-VEE WINE & SPIRITS Winona
  • HY-VEE WINE & SPIRITS Rochester
  • KOWALSKI’S UPTOWN MARKET
  • LIQUOR BARN
  • MIDTOWN WINE & SPIRITS
  • NORTH LOOP WINE & SPIRITS
  • ORCHESTRA HALL
  • SOLO VINO
  • STINSON WINE & SPIRITS
  • SURDYK’S LIQUOR
  • THOMAS LIQUORS
  • ZIPP’S LIQUORS
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Why the Old Fashioned? Why is the sky blue?

The Federal Bar

I honestly don’t know when I fell in love with the Old Fashioned. Did a friend suggest I try one? Was it love at first sip? Am I just too lazy to order anything else? All I know is that one day, I started drinking Old Fashioneds. And then I never stopped.

Most of my 20s were spent teetotaling. I didn’t have a particularly good reason why. I was never a heavy drinker. I didn’t bottom out or anything. I was just trying to live an ascetic lifestyle, eschewing meat, animal products, cigarettes, alcohol, caffeine–basically, I was Mormon minus the magic underwear.

When I finally broke away from straightedge-ness  in my early 30s, I really had no idea how to order an alcoholic beverage. I knew I didn’t really like beer or wine (both of which I’ve learned to appreciate in limited ways since then), but I knew literally nothing about mixed drinks at all. After a few missteps (White Russian? Naaaaaah.), I defaulted to what you’d expect from an amateur: vodka plus whatever mixer was handy. Cape Cods. Greyhounds. Whatever the heck you’d call vodka and Sprite with a splash of grenadine.

By my mid-30s, I “graduated” from vodka to gin, which seemed like a logical step–it was also clear, and also mixed well with most ingredients. Plus, the recipes were cooler: Aviations, French 75s, Negronis. I spent my entire wedding drinking gin drinks (too drunk to remember what else was in them) and rarely got sick, so that was good, right?

At some point in my late 30s, I realized I didn’t like gin on its own, and I was definitely done with vodka (one day ask about me blacking out at a nightclub after drinking way too many Cape Cods), and approaching middle age as I was, brown liquor seemed mature and alluring. Scotch, bourbon, whiskey–these were liquors you could consume neat or on the rocks and actually enjoy. Plus, they paired easily with Coke or ginger ale in a pinch, and for me, at least, left less of a negative impression the next day (mostly).

From there, it didn’t take long for me to discover the Old Fashioned. It seemed to be–when made well–the perfect drink: strong, but smooth; musky, but slightly sweet; drinkable, but not so much to overdo it. It was the perfect drink for me–and to me. Living in Las Vegas at the time, I was surrounded by dozens of cocktail bars who whipped up excellent versions of this American original, which only deepened my love and fascination.

Since then, I’ve made it my mission to try whatever Old Fashioned a new restaurant or bar has to throw at me. I’ve had them made with mezcal, with tequila, with rye. I’ve had a terrible, watered-down one in Hell’s Kitchen. I’ve had a surprisingly delightful one at a chain restaurant. I’ve had one smoked at a cocktail bar in Huntington Beach. I wrote about a half-dozen of them served at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. And now, I’ve launched this blog as a way to celebrate this greatest of all the classic cocktails, and to share that journey with you.