Despite the fact that he has a reputation as a power-mad debaucherous mad monk who required five assassins to finally put down, Grigori Rasputin's birthday is still celebrated each Jan. 21, particularly among beer lovers. That's because North Coast Brewing out of Fort Bragg, Calif., has immortalized him with an award-winning Russian Imperial Stout that they call Old Rasputin. This intense beer has acquired a cult following across the country, and now that Bounty Bev is representing North Coast in Nashville, we locals can enjoy it as well.
Over the years, Old Rasputin has won nine gold medals at the World Beer Championships and two more golds from the Great American Beer Festival in Colorado. RateBeer.com consistently gives Old Raspy a perfect score as an exemplar of Russian Imperial Stouts, and it's even better if you are lucky enough to enjoy a pint poured through a nitro system.
So to celebrate Rasputin's birthday, fine beer bars all over the greater Nashville area will be featuring the beer on tap and offering glassware, T-shirts and other swag beginning tomorrow night. 12 South Taproom and Broadway Brewhouse in Midtown will be pouring Old Rasputin through their nitro tap systems, which should make the beer even more luscious than usual. On the East Side, you'll be able to find it on tap at Rudie's, 3 Crow Bar and Hop Stop, and in Murfreesboro at Green Dragon Public House and O'Possums Pub. At some of these locations, the party will continue through the weekend or until the brew is through. Check with your favorite local watering hole's Faacebook page for further info.
While you can often find Old Rasputin in bottles in your favorite bottle shop, the chance to drink it on tap at so many places is a rare event that you should definitely take advantage of!
Whiskey drinkers have something to look forward to as well with the return of Whiskey Warmer to the Westhaven Residents' Club at 401 Cheltenham Ave. in Franklin on Saturday, March 12. The event will run 6 to 9 p.m. and feature more than 30 types of whiskey from some of the best distilleries in the country. Master distiller Allisa Henley will also be on hand to answer questions and take patrons through a tasting of Dickel.
This is an outdoor event, so bundle up, and there will also be food trucks where you can purchase some extra fuel for your internal furnace. Admission to Whiskey Warmer is $29 in advance, and your ticket purchase benefits the Westhaven Foundation, which provides grants, scholarships and acts as a catalyst for raising much-needed funds for charities and organizations serving Westhaven and the surrounding communities. Buy your tickets at the event website.
