For this week’s calendar of culinary happenings, we’re concentrating on the more spirited side of things with some really interesting upcoming liquor and beer events.
Kentucky distillery Castle & Key has finally released its first bourbon after waiting for years for their whiskey to mature in oak. Along the way, C&K has produced some other excellent products, including gins and a nice rye whiskey. But this bourbon is really what everyone has been waiting for.
To showcase the new introduction, Lockeland Table has planned a special dinner with Castle & Key drink pairings for Tuesday, April 5, beginning at 6 p.m. The menu that chef Hal Holden-Bache and his staff have put together looks pretty intriguing:
Passed apps with welcome cocktails:
• LT chicken liver pate w/smoked peach jam on crostini (radish, microgreens)
• Assorted wood fired pizza
• Smoked trout dip, radicchio, lavash, lemon horseradish EVOO (chive, sesame seed)
First course with Rise Spring Gin:
• Wood-fired Gulf shrimp, spring pea & avocado puree (mint, cilantro, lemon), shaved fennel salad, blood orange, marcona almonds
Second course with bourbon:
• Grilled SN Farm NY strip steak, horseradish & sour cream mash, mushroom leek ragout (madeira, butter), “Au Poivre” bourbon cream sauce
Third course with Restoration Rye:
• LT kale caesar salad w/deviled egg, smoked trout roe
Dessert:
• Caramelized banana bourbon ice cream, warm O&S chocolate mousse, peanut brittle crunch
Tickets for the dinner are $125 per person, plus tax and tip, so call to reserve your spot today at 615-228-4864.
It won’t be long until hundreds of craft beer lovers descend once again on East Park for the return of the East Nashville Beer Fest on Saturday, April 9. The event’s presenting sponsor is M.L.Rose Craft Beer & Burgers, who has signed on for a three-year partnership. M.L.Rose is planning to feature a lager bar at the event, offering some crisp lagers and pilsners as an alternative to some of the more exotic beers that will be poured for tasting by the more than 50 participating breweries.
ENBF organizers have also made it a point to invite some Black-owned guest breweries to be a part of this year’s festivities, shining a spotlight on a woefully underrepresented portion of the industry. Joining the roster of brewers this year will be Weathered Souls Brewing Co. out of San Antonio, Texas; Knoxville’s Ebony & Ivory Brewing; and Beale St. Brewing from Memphis.
In case you need more encouragement to make plans to attend, the festival has released its full list of brewers and schedule of bands:
Breweries
2nd Shift Brewing
3 Floyds
Against The Grain Brewing
Bad Idea Brewing
Beale Street Brewing Co.
Bearded Iris
Bells Brewery
Black Abbey Brewing Company
Blackberry Farm Brewery
Blackstone Brewery
Calfkiller Brewing
CANarchy Craft Brewery Collective
Common John Brewing Company
Crazy Gnome Brewery
Creature Comforts
Crosstown Brewing Company
Czanns Brewing Company
Diskin Cider
DSSOLVR
East Nashville Beer Works
Ebony & Ivory Brewing Co
Fait la Force Brewing Co.
Half Batch Brewing
Harding House Brewing
Hi-Wire Brewing
Highland Brewing
Honeytree Meadery
Jackalope Brewing Company
Living Waters Brewing
Maypop Sparkling Water
Monday Night Brewing
New Heights Brewing
Orpheus Brewing
Rhinegeist
Salud Cervecería
Scofflaw Brewing Co.
Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
Soul & Spirits
Southern Grist Brewing Company
TailGate Brewery
Tennessee Brew Works
TennFold Brewing
Terrapin Beer Co
The Bruery & Offshoot Beer Co!
Three Taverns Brewery
Urban South Brewery
Walker Brothers Kombucha
Weathered Souls Brewing
Wiseacre Brewing
Wooden Robot Brewery
Xul Beer Co
Music
12:30 MIPS performing 80-90s altnerative
1:30 Gorman Table Napkin Choir performing music of the Black Crowes
2:30 Drug Dog
3:30 The Tennessee Warblers
If your arm still needs a little twisting, you can save 10 percent on the price of your ticket by using my last name as a discount code at the event’s ticketing site. Short of actually typing in your credit card number for you, I can’t think of anything else I can do to convince you!
In addition to organizing the ENBF, Rhizome Productions has also announced the return of an old favorite event, The Mystery Beer Dinner. This event will move from its previous home at City House to TKO at 4204 Gallatin Pike, with this year’s edition taking place on Wednesday, April 13, from 6 until 9 p.m.
As the name indicates, both the food and beer menu remain a secret until guests arrive, but the Rhizome team has been squirreling away rare and hard-to-find beers from around the world to share with the 65 lucky attendees. The food menu will be designed by Aaron Clemins (Bill's Sandwich Palace, Kuchnia & Keller, City House) and Ryan Bernhardt (TKO, City House, Cafe Margot), three friends who are fine chefs and who have a deep appreciation for pairing great beer with amazing food.
Your $100 ticket gets you three hours of all-you-can-eat and drink plus a commemorative tasting glass, so if you want to be one of the fortunate guests who are in on the secret of MBD, get yours today!
Finally, the JW Marriott downtown is planning to kick off a series of Beer Brunches with guest brewery Bearded Iris pouring at a five-course brunch with seating options on Saturday and Sunday, March 26-27.
They’ll be hosting the brunch at their Stompin’ Grounds lobby restaurant with seatings at either 11:30 a.m. or 1:30 p.m. Each course will be paired with a different Bearded Iris beer from an opener of hamachi crudo and Bearded Iris Dance Party to a dessert of chocolate cherry stout crème brûlée paired with Ice Breakers. Your $65 ticket includes valet parking, so that’s one less thing to worry about. Choose your seating at the event website.
