PIQUA — Explore your bourbon and wine palate at Piqua Arts Council’s inaugural Bourbon Affair. With rare and barrel picked bourbons, high-class wines and a five-course tasting menu, this tasting event promises a great evening out at Piqua’s newest event venue, The Gallery Venue & Event Center. In addition to bourbon and wine tasting plus an elegant menu from Rich Taste Catering, PAC has invited Viva La Strings, a local chamber string quartet, to provide live entertainment throughout the evening. Finally, the Arts Council will host a large silent auction featuring extremely hard to find bourbons, local sporting event tickets including the Dayton Dragons and Cincinnati Reds, performing arts and concert opportunities such as the Arbogast Performing Arts Center, Dayton Live and more and an abundance of exclusive items donated by local businesses.
The 2022 Bourbon Affair will be held on Saturday, Nov. 5, at The Gallery Venue & Event Center, 319 N. Wayne St., Suite 300 in Piqua. Doors will open at 5:30 p.m. with the first course to be served at promptly 6 p.m.. Tickets are extremely limited and selling fast. Bourbon and wine tickets can be purchased at www.PiquaArtsCouncil.org/bourbon-affair.
Let’s talk bourbon and wine. PAC is thrilled to announce this year’s bourbon line-up. Kicking off the roster is a rye whiskey from Angel’s Envy that spends up to 18 months finishing in Caribbean rum casks. This bourbon is a combination of raw, spicy and earthy rye with a mellow sweetness of rum that creates an incomparably smooth whiskey.
Next in line is Elijah Craig’s Toasted Barrel. Twice barreled for added complexity, the bourbon is finished in a custom toasted new oak barrel where it’s left to develop even more sweet oak flavor. The award-winning Small Batch Bourbon highlights delightful spice and pepper notes that fade to milk chocolate with just a hint of smoke.
Along with these two especially picked bourbons, the Arts Council is bringing Carl T. Huber’s Bourbon Whiskey finished in sherry barrels from Starlight Distillery. After four years of aging in new, charred American oak, this bourbon is finished in a Spanish oloroso sherry barrel for over eight months to provide a finish with notes of dried cherry and orange citrus.
The fourth featured bourbon is a classic from Heaven Hill Distillery – Bottled-in-Bond. This Kentucky bourbon is extra-aged at 7-years-old and crafted from limited barrels. The bourbon offers a smooth, warm flavor profile redolent of caramel and honey, mingled with just enough oak and char to round out the richness.
The 2022 Bourbon Affair will feature a fifth bourbon that is still to be hand-picked by the committee members to pair with the tasting menu for the evening. In addition to these rare bourbons, the committee has carefully chosen high class wines for those that prefer to expand their wine palate.
Starting off the evening’s wine list is Emmolo’s Sauvignon Blanc (2021), a dry and fresh wine with notes of bright citrus, crisp acidity and zesty kumquat that presents a mouthwatering freshness perfect for warm days and cool nights.
Second is Caymus-Suisan’s Grand Durif (2019), a big, black and juicy Petite Sirah with notes of toasted herbs, deep boysenberry fruit and prunes alongside tobacco, black cherry and baking spices. The style of this wine is full throttle – rich, ripe and begging for a big rack of prime rib.
This year’s featured Cabernet Sauvignon comes from Rutherford Ranch, straight from Napa Valley (2019). Opening up with aromas of black cherry, dark plum and a hint of toasty caramel, this full-bodied wine has flavors of blackberries and mission figs intermingled by notes of clove and well-integrated tannins that promises an amazing vintage.
Next in the line-up is the Domaine Drouhin Dundee Hills Estate Pinot Noir (18/19). Texturally very pleasing, the velvety palate of this wine seemingly blends a kirsch core with an appealing influence of earthy undertones and a touch of vanilla. The engaging finish is luxuriously long and elegant.
The wine tasting menu could not be complete without a classic Chardonnay from Drouhin Oregon’s Roserock Vineyard. This Chardonnay is pressed immediately and sent in equal parts to tank and barrel. Opulent and refined, the wine presents a vibrant core of acidity framed by pear, cantaloupe and toasty spice flavors that build depth and richness on the savory finish.
Thirsty yet? Learn more about these spirits and get your tickets before they’re gone at www.PiquaArtsCouncil.org/bourbon-affair. Tickets are $100 each and extremely limited.
PAC extends a special thank you to the celebrity sponsors, The Gallery Venue & Event Center, North Construction and Builders and event sponsor, Apex Aluminum Die Casting Company for making this event possible.
