May 2, 2024
By Rebecca Herman McBrayer

Last night was the 4th Annual Kentucky Bourbon Festival (KBF) Bourbon Pairing Dinner at the Levee Bourbon Bar in Louisville, KY. It was the perfect setting for such an event during Derby Week. The riverside location allowed us to watch the Kentucky Derby Festival’s Great Steamboat Race. Many of the event attendees wore traditional Derby attire including flamboyant hats for the women and jackets for the men. It made for a very colorful evening.

The event featured Heaven Hill Distillery Master Distiller Conor O’Driscoll who guided us through a tasting experience of Elijah Craig Rye, Elijah Craig Toasted, Elijah Craig 18 Year & Elijah Craig Barrel Proof. The four-course dinner was crafted by Chef John Varanese, chef and owner of the Levee Bourbon Lounge.

Passed Appetizers with Welcome Cocktail

When the doors opened, we were offered the official 2024 Kentucky Bourbon Festival cocktail. It had a very balanced flavor – Old Fashioned with Elijah Craig Small Batch. It had a very nice hint of cinnamon.

The Levee Bourbon Bar is terrific and with an amazing selection. We will need to make plans to visit again. The patio has a fantastic view of the Ohio River and we decided to sit outside and enjoy the festivities.

The wait staff was awesome. Food trays were passed frequently, and someone was also ensuring that everyone had bottled water on this rather warm evening. The passed appetizers were top notch!

* Elijah Craig cured salmon on house-made blini, fried capers, and crème fraiche.
* House-made smoked chicken sausage, with Kalamata olives, fennel sprigs, and fresh citrus. (Wayne’s favorite)
* Kenny’s Cranberry Fromage Blanc baked on brioche topped with Elijah Craig sorghum glaze. (Rebecca’s favorite)

The Great Steamboat Race

Just as Conor O’Driscoll was about to speak, he noticed that the steamboats were approaching and invited everyone to enjoy the event from the balcony. The riverfronts on each side of the Ohio were lined with onlookers and the boats were filled with people having a great time. We were surprised that their speed was greater than we anticipated. It was fun to witness.

According to the festival site, this race on the Ohio River has taken place since 1963. Tickets are available to ride on the boats with various amenities. This year’s race featured the Belle of Louisville and the Belle of Cincinnati. The race was anticipated to last approximately two hours. According to news reports, the Belle of Cincinnati was victorious.

Salad with Elijah Craig Flight

The dinner portion of the event was kicked off by Heaven Hill Distillery Master Distiller Conor O’Driscoll who guided us through a tasting experience of Elijah Craig Rye, Elijah Craig Toasted, Elijah Craig 18 Year & Elijah Craig Barrel Proof.

We then enjoyed a terrific salad: Crisp Roma Crunch Lettuce topped with apple chips, Elijah Craig-soaked dried cherries, shaved Kenny’s Bleu Gouda cheese and finished with a toasted vanilla bean vinaigrette.

This lovely salad also gave us an opportunity to meet those we were sitting with – a very fun and friendly table!

Dinner with Entrée Cocktail

The entrée cocktail was like the welcome cocktail, but it was more citrus forward. The plated dinner was fantastic. Chef John Varanese and his team prepared smoked beef tenderloin topped with a duck confit ragout over a savory cornbread panzanella, roasted asparagus, heirloom carrot and red peppers finished with Elijah Craig caramel demi-glace. It was a good as it sounds and appeared, and I did not notice any leftovers around the room!

Dessert with Dessert Cocktail

The dessert was light and very tasty.  The panna cotta was just perfect, and the dried apricot really added a bright fruit essence to the dessert. The cocktail was an espresso martini.  It has a great coffee flavor, but the overall profile was a tad sweet for most at our table.

Description: Milk chocolate genoise, with a dried apricot marmalade, fermented honey and a vanilla panna cotta.

Master Distiller – Conor O’Driscoll

We were excited to meet Conor O’Driscoll. We caught a live interview he did with Jason at The Mash & Drum and we thoroughly enjoyed it! Conor’s drink of choice was the Heaven Hill Bottled-in-Bond … and he was truly loving it. We appreciated his candor to the questions that were asked, and he came across as very approachable and “real.” Listening to him during the interview encouraged us to meet him. This was about four weeks ago and shortly afterwards, I received the email about this dinner. It just seemed like it was meant to be!

During the interview, one of Jason’s subscribers asked a question about whether he thought there was something to the “neck pour” of a new bottle not being as good as the rest. Conor literally laughed out loud. Then, what we will never forget … he took his bottle, flipped it over, and said, “wait, here’s your neck pour, oh, now it’s gone” as he flipped the Heaven Hill BIB bottle. We laughed so hard and kept replaying it.

We took an unopened bottle of the Heaven Hill Bottled-in-Bond to the dinner and asked Conor to sign it with that comment. He did one better and flipped the bottle and signed part of it upside down. Oh my – this will always be cherished! Thank you, Conor!!

Bourbon with Friends

With every bourbon event, there is an opportunity to connect with friends and make new ones. This one was no different. We got to see Mark Rucker and his wife Annita. Our table mate and new friend Bryan Miller … as well as his guests Pat and Pat! Thank you for the cigars, wish we didn’t have to drive back home so we could have had them with you and visited some more! Next time!

Closing Thoughts

The event exceeded our expectations. The KBF team organized and executed a fantastic evening from start to finish. When we arrived at our reserved seating, the KBF pin and Elijah Craig PGA coin were waiting for us.

At the end of the evening, we were each offered an Elijah Craig rocks glass and a set of golf tees. All will be great mementos. We look forward to adding this annual event to our Annual Bourbon Events Calendar. After attending this one, we really want to return!

Cheers until we meet again!
Rebecca & Wayne