Beer, Bourbon, and Barbecue…again!

By Blake

Just wanted to throw a short post up reminding everyone that the world famous Beer, Bourbon, and Barbecue festival is going to be in Cary this weekend. If you have not yet heard about this wonderful event, check out their website at beerandbourbon.com

This year, we will be entering our very own smoked BBQ pork, baby back ribs, and chicken in the contest! Wish us luck, better yet, come out to support us and maybe even get a taste of our soon-to-be award winning Q!

Universal Whisky Experience

By Blake

I have to briefly interrupt our Febrewary posting series to make a quick plug for the Universal Whisky Experience in Las Vegas next weekend, March 18th – 19th. For those of you who are hearing about this for the first time, it is a huge gathering of connoisseurs, distillers, and collectors that celebrates one simple thing, whiskey! This is where you go to sample everything from the most premium up-and-coming whiskeys to the rarest and most collected whiskeys in the world!

Thanks to some good friends of ours, we have a special discount code for our readers which gets you 15% off of the ticket price! just enter the code “LOH159436” when you are purchasing your tickets and your discount will be automatically applied.

Friday Night Pig Pickin’

By Blake

Other than the heat, which us North Carolinians have become quite used to, Friday night’s pig pickin’ at the beer, bourbon, and barbecue festival was a wonderful experience! Once you get into the festival area, you are greeted at the gate by live bluegrass music and pretty girls serving up cold beer, at which point you turn the corner and enter a world of all you can drink and eat. Not a bad way to end a long week in my book!

As for the event Friday night, I really enjoyed the quaint atmosphere. The venue was not overcrowded, yet you never felt alone while traveling from tent to tent. Beautiful bluegrass tunes echoed across the amphitheater while the myriad of barbecue smokers filled the air with flavors of sweet hickory. The true spirit of southern tradition came alive here in Cary, a place so often criticized for its noticeable population of transient yankees. Leave it to beer, bourbon, and barbecue to serve as the great equalizer!

I was quite impressed with the selection of bourbon and beer available for tasting at the festival. Buffalo Trace showed up with their top shelf: Blantons, Eagle Rare, and Buffalo Trace bourbon. Jim Beam and Heaven Hill also had a nice showing of top shelf delights to share with the attendees. From the beer perspective, the big producers were represented, but in no way overshadowed the local breweries. I was back for a refill of the Big Boss Blanco Diablo to enjoy with my barbecue, one of my favorite beers of the evening.

In addition to the great selection of beer and bourbon, there were a few other liquors and cocktails represented at the festival. The most memorable to me were the Patron XO Cafe, which is a very smooth tequila that is mellowed with coffee, and the St. Germains Liqueur, which is a French spirit that is derived from a rare flower. The St. Germains line was by far the longest at the festival, and it was packed with ladies. I can only assume that they were after the refreshing St Germaine Cocktail, which is a real gem! I had one and loved it!

Overall, the event was well planned and very comfortable. We are headed back out on Saturday, but expect it to be much more crowded and hot. My recommendation for anyone planning to go next year is to hit up the Friday night pig pickin’ and then make a game day call whether or not to go back on Saturday.

Beer, Bourbon, and Barbecue

By Blake

The Beer, Bourbon, and Barbecue festival in Cary is right around the corner! I don’t know about you, but I cannot think of a better way to spend a Saturday than mingling with good people while enjoying the three essential B’s!

So what should you expect this year? In a nutshell there will be live music, over 60 beers (most locally produced), 40 different bourbons, a Mrs. Bar-B-Que Babe beauty contest (yep, daisy dukes required), a “beer belly” contest, and a lot of really good people looking to have a fantastic time! Plus, if you are really dedicated to enjoyment of the three B’s, a genuine pig pickin is planned for Friday night, which is sure to be a finger-lickin’-good time!

I know there were a few complaints last year about the size of the crowd and the shortage of top-shelf bourbon samples, but Trigger Agency has addressed these head on. They are selling fewer tickets this year and they have added more booths for vendors to serve from. This means that the lucky few who are smart enough to buy tickets now will have a very comfortable and enjoyable experience this year, but those who wait will be SOL!

For your clicking convenience, the link to the main page for the festival is here: Beer, Bourbon, and Barbecue Festival Home Page. Come on out and join us Friday night and Saturday for the fun and festivities! I recommend the VIP ticket if there are any left. Those extra two hours are totally worth the extra change.