How to Curate a Home Bourbon Bar
Tips for summer entertaining from HerKentucky and Stoneware & Co!
Today is National Bourbon Day!
Here in Louisville, it seems like every day is National Bourbon Day. The bourbon industry is booming, with tours and culinary experiences and so many amazing tributes to Kentucky’s favorite spirit. And, of course, there’s nothing like enjoying a bourbon at home with your friends and family. Today, I’ve teamed up with Stoneware & Co. to provide you some great tips for curating your home bourbon bar, featuring Stoneware’s stunning Embossed Running Horse serving pieces! (Check out the end of this post for a Bourbon Day gift to y’all from Stoneware and HerKentucky!)
Step #1: Keep a range of flavors!
Here’s the thing. You don’t need to spend a fortune stocking your bourbon bar. Yes, there are some fabulous high-end, high-priced selctions. But there are also some great entry-level bourbons that your guests would love to enjoy with you. You just need to know a little bit about your bourbon. I suggest that you start with a range of flavors by mixing up the mash bills in your collection. Federal law mandates that, to be called a bourbon, a whiskey’s mash bill, or recipe, must consist of at least 51% corn. The remaining 49% of grains in the mash bill contribute strongly to the flavor of the bourbon. As a general rule, a mash bill that contains wheat will provide a sweeter note, while the addition of rye provides some spice. The biggest trend in whiskey right now is barrel finishing — finishing a bourbon in a second barrel, whether it’s a different oak barrel, a custom-staved barrel, or a barrel that once housed a different spirit. I like to keep a couple of “finished” bourbons on hand to provide a different tasting experience. And, while it’s not an actual bourbon whiskey, I like to keep one or two rye whiskeys on board (produced at Kentucky’s distilleries, of course!) to accommodate those folks who like a truly spicy whiskey. At my house, Bob especially likes ryes for cocktails. Here is a great overview of popular mash bills.
Step #2: Select a range of proofs.
Proof is an indicator of the alcohol content by volume. In the U.S., this is indicated as a number representing double the alcohol percent. So, for example, an 86 proof bourbon is 43% alcohol. Obviously, a lower proof will result in a less intoxicating substance. Some folks prefer to sip on low proofs, while others like a higher. If you’re entertaining a group of true bourbon drinkers, you’ll want to have a couple of proof options to meet different tastes. Here’s a fun fact: In blind taste tests, it’s often found that female bourbon drinkers will prefer a higher proof.
Tip # 3: Don’t forget the finishing touches!
While many bourbon purists drink the product straight, your home bar should also include bitters and vermouth for popular cocktails like the Manhattan. You’ll also want to stock up on sugar cubes, oranges, maraschino cherries, and mint for garnishes. I’ve recently seen a lot of creative cocktails that utilize more savory herbs like basil and rosemary — the sky’s the limit! (Check out my sorority sister Heather Wibbels’ award-winning basil julep recipe here!!) I also love to have plenty of simple syrup on hand. I usually make a double batch of simple syrup — using a 1:1 ratio of sugar to water — and separate it into halves. One stays as simple syrup for drinks like an Old-Fashioned, while the other is mixed with lemon juice to make a sour mix. I love Stoneware’s 1 quart Bar Pitcher for serving syrup —it’s so easy to pour your desired amount into each cocktail!
Tip #4: Serve water and Ice in style!
Here in Louisville, we’re fortunate to have the very best tap water — it’s actually won awards! In fact, Kentucky’s water supply is pretty special. The rich limestone throughout central Kentucky provides the clear-tasting water that first made our bourbon special, and that nourishes our famous racehorses. Of course, no bourbon bar is complete without ice and a pitcher of water. Everyone has their own preferences when it comes to drinking bourbon — some folks like to dilute their spirits with just a drop or two of water, and some folks prefer a few — or a lot — of ice. I love Stoneware’s Embossed Running Horse Bar Pitcher and Ice Bucket to serve up water and ice in style. The best part is that these pieces, along with the julep cups, can be stored in the freezer so they’re appropriately chilled for maximum serving efficiency!
Tip #5: Keep some snacks on hand!
Don’t forget to have some snacks on hand to both compliment the flavors of the bourbon and to keep your guests from drinking on an empty stomach! Play with flavors you like to pair with bourbon , from salty cheeses to dark chocolate! It’s amazing how well so many different tastes coax out amazing notes in your whiskey!
Stoneware has graciously provided a coupon code, valid through June 20th at midnight, to help y’all stock up your own collection of handmade Kentucky pottery. Use code BOURBONBAR at online checkout, in store, or on phone orders to take 10% off your purchase!
Cheers, y’all! Let me know how your favorite tips for entertaining with bourbon!
(Stoneware & Co provided me with products for use in this post; as always, all opinions are my own. In fact, I collected Stoneware far before I had the opportunity to collaborate with them!)
Draper James Shop & Sip
Shop with Draper James to benefit Dress for Success Lexington
I am so excited to be hosting another Draper James Shop & Sip benefiting Dress for Success Lexington this week! On Wednesday, June 12th, from 6-8 p.m., Draper James will graciously donate 15% of the Lexington store’s proceeds to the Lexington Dress for Success affiliate. This event is extra-special to me, as we’re very close to hitting our goal of raising the equivalent of one month of DFS Lexington’s rent through HerKentucky-Draper James events over the in 2018-2019 fiscal year. I mean, how wonderful is that?
I’m so amazed that so many of my friends, colleagues, and kinfolk have come out for these events, and I so appreciate Draper James for giving back to our community in such a wonderful and impactful way! And there is so much cute stuff in store at DJ right now!!
I absolutely love this floral ponte dress; I feel like I’ll be wearing it with sandals, pumps, and sneakers all summer! The material is so forgiving, and the floral print is classic!
Sophie totally photobombed me when we were shooting these photos, and the result was so cute that I just had to share it!
I hope y’all can join me at Draper James on Wednesday night. If you can’t make it in person, you can call the store at 859-618-6785 to place an order and help us reach our donation goal! Here are some of my favorite pieces at Draper James right now!
Odds and Ends
Pretty Dresses
Steel Magnolias Thirtieth Anniversary
Reflections on sisterhood, aging, and the classic chick flick.
Yesterday, I went with a group of girlfriends to see the thirtieth anniversary rerelease of Steel Magnolias.
Now, I’ve kind of grown up with Steel Magnolias. I was in high school when the film came out, and of course I loved it right away. In college, I felt a huge bond with the Shelby character, as she was based on a real-life woman (playwright Robert Harling’s late sister Susan Robinson) who’d been, like me, a member of Phi Mu Fraternity. Not only did Shelby, Julia Roberts’ character, have big curly hair, a Southern accent, and an obsession with the color pink (just like me…), she was my sister. There were little tributes to Phi Mu all over the film: pink carnations, a Phi Mu composite, a Phi Mu badge on Shelby’s wedding reception suit, etc; when I was in college at Transylvania, our Phi Mu chapter loved to watch the film as a sisterhood event and note these details. And, of course, the mother-daughter pair of Shelby and M’Lynn had that sometimes rocky, always honest and unshakeable bond that only happens when both the mother and the daughter have strong personalities and deeply-held convictions. Ask me how I know…
It’s really odd and lovely to go to a theater and revisit a film you’ve loved for decades. You’re not flipping through commercials or taking breaks or getting distracted by your phone. You’re giving the film your entire attention, and you notice things you’ve forgotten along the way. And, I have to say, there are A LOT of differences between watching a film at 13 or 23 and watching it as an adult.
At one point in the film, Dolly Parton’s character, Truvy, says “Time marches on and sooner or later you realize it is marchin' across your face.” Now, in 1989, the year that Steel Magnolias was released, stars Dolly Parton and Sally Field were both 43 years old, the age that I am now. Olympia Dukakis was 58 and Shirley MacLaine was 55. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised by this, but I found that, in watching Steel Magnolias yesterday, I identified way more with those actresses’ characters than with the then-22 year-old Julia Roberts.
Of course, Dolly was, is, and always will be The Queen. I think basically anyone who’s read my blog or followed my instagram knows that I’m obsessed with Dolly Parton. Her Truvy is the moral center and the comic relief of Steel Magnolias. Previously, I hadn’t really thought about the portrayal of Truvy’s marriage and the arc of her depressed, out-of-work husband, but Dolly and Sam Shepard really do convey a lot of big statements about relationships in a relatively brief number of scenes. It isn’t one of the laugh-out-loud, imminently quotable storylines, but it’s beautiful, as is the late-in-life, reluctant romance between Shirley MacLaine’s character Ouiser and her sweet suitor Owen. (The character Owen was played by the late actor Bill McCutcheon who, IMDB tells me, is from my husband’s Kentucky hometown. Small world!)
Watching Steel Magnolias in my forties, I realized I felt more kinship with M’Lynn’s pragmatism than Shelby’s dreamy optimism. Like Ouiser, I grow vegetables, wear funny hats, am not as sweet as I used to be, and would donate a kidney to my dog. And, like Truvy, I firmly believe there’s no such thing as natural beauty. It’s interesting to see how my tastes and opinions have grown up in relation to a film I love. It’s also interesting to see elements I may have missed when I was younger, like dialogue in which Robert Harling signaling his own gay identity at a time when sexual orientation politics were far more coded than they are today. I’d also forgotten how very terrible Daryl Hannah’s Southern accent is, and hadn’t realized that Harling himself appears in a cameo as the wedding minister.
It was great to see that Steel Magnolias holds up as an incredible film after 30 years. All of the quotes you remember are as hilarious and heartbreaking and all-around perfect as you remember. I loved being able to celebrate female friendship with a group of dear friends, including a lovely mother and daughter pair. If you can make it out to a showing of the film this week (there are additional showtimes in Lexington and Louisville on Tuesday and Wednesday!), you absolutely should. And, if you love the film as much as I do, you should probably check out the coverage that Garden & Gun has given the play and the film in recent years, especially their excellent podcast episode.
The HerKentucky Guide to the Vineyard Vines for Target Capsule Collection
Tips for shopping Target’s latest collaboration!
Two of my very favorite brands of all time have a huge new collaboration that goes live sometime tomorrow morning. I can’t wait to shop Vineyard Vines x Target, but first I want to share a few tips with y’all.
Now, I know a lot of y’all remember Target’s collabs with Lilly Pulitzer and Hunter. A lot of those pieces were great, but they sold out in a hurry. You’ve got to plan ahead. Here are a few tips I’ve
Find the pieces you love!
The first thing you need to do is decide what you love. Head to Target.com now and pick out your favorites, marking them with the “heart” favorite symbol on the Target site so you can come back to them later. My very favorite is this pink 1/4 zip, and its striped counterpart. (I predict these will be the first to sell out; they’re FABULOUS and so reminiscent of the VV Shep Shirts!)
I also love this gingham long-sleeve shirtdress and striped midi skirt. The best part about these pieces are that they are size-inclusive! This dress runs from sizes XS-3X, so there should be a great fit for most folks!!
This baseball cap is the perfect wear-anywhere piece, and this tote is absolutely perfect!
Of course, I found a few pieces that Sophie will love as well. There’s this Stoneware feed dish, and the cutest collars in patchwork and whale print!
Once you’ve picked your favorites, you need to get ready to lose some sleep for Step 2!
2. Set Your Alarm!!
We never quite know what time Target will drop these collections. It could be anywhere from midnight eastern to the early hours of the morning. Check early and often. That’s how I actually scored a few pieces of the Lilly collection — around 3 am on the morning of its launch!
3. Check back in Stores!
Now, I don’t love lines. Waiting outside a store for hours is not my thing. If you want to hit the store in the morning, it’s all you. I’ll be drinking coffee. But, I will check back at Target over the next few days. You’ll be surprised how many returns and late shipments will trickle in. You may very well score something you didn’t expect!
Let me know if you score any Vineyard Vines for Target!
Vineyard Vines Kentucky Derby Sale!
New Discounts on Derby Favorites!
We all know that Vineyard Vines knocks it out of the park every year with their Kentucky Derby collection. This year’s was absolutely fantastic, and I’ve especially worn this Shep Shirt so many times this Derby Season!
I’ve also worn this Vineyard Vines x Formé Millinery fascinator to a couple of Derby season events! (Click here for my interview with Louisville’s own Jenny Pfanenstiel of Formé!)
A fun little secret about Kentuckians that I’ve noticed recently is that a lot of us like to scoop up some Derby-themed decor and clothing after the big race. It makes sense; it’s a whole lot like finding Christmas decorations you love and putting them up for next year! I still wear last year’s Derby Shep Shirt all the time, and I’m thinking of snagging the Run for the Roses tote for next year’s Derby fun! Let me know if you save Derby items for next year’s use!!
Lilly Pulitzer and the Kentucky Derby
The famed Palm Beach clothing designer's ties to the Kentucky Derby
(Reposting this popular post, which was originally written in 2016. This post was brought to you by Shircliff Publishing. For more Kentucky Derby history, download The Kentucky Derby Book by Bill Doolittle for only $9.99; available in Kindle and iBooks editions.)
Here in Kentucky, a lot of us love to wear our Lilly Pulitzer prints to the racetrack. A flattering dress in a bright, preppy print is the perfect outfit for a day at Keeneland or Churchill Downs. Lots of us break out our favorite Lilly dresses for Kentucky Derby week activities. But did you know that Lilly Pulitzer herself had lots of ties to the Derby and thoroughbred horse racing?
Lilly's famous Derby-themed prints
Lilly's stepfather, Ogden Phipps took horses quite seriously. He used Paris, Kentucky's storied Claiborne Farms, for the breeding and training of his horses. He helped found the New York Racing Association and served as Chairman of the Jockey Club for over twenty year, and he lost the famous coin toss that awarded Secretariat to Penny Chenery. Mr. Phipps owned horses that won the Breeder's Cup and the Belmont, but a Kentucky Derby win eluded him. In fact, in the 2004 book Essentially Lilly, Lilly told her co-author, Jay Mulveny, "I don't race, but everyone in the family has had horses in the Derby. And no one has ever won."
While Lilly never saw a relative win the Kentucky Derby, her half-brother Dinny Phipps did win the Derby with Orb in 2013, only a month after Lilly's passing.
Of course, longtime HerKentucky readers know that Lilly's ties to Kentucky don't stop with her family's racing heritage. Lilly briefly lived in Eastern Kentucky, putting her love of horseback riding to good use as she volunteered as a courier for Mary Breckinridge's Frontier Nursing Service.
And, of course, the Lilly Pulitzer company has put out some lovely Derby- and racing- themed prints over the years; these prints are traditionally cherished by Kentucky Lilly-lovers!
My grandmother made me this quilt from a vintage, Kentucky Derby-themed Lilly print.
Shop my favorite Lilly Dresses for Kentucky Derby 145!
Formé Millinery Company
Louisville-based milliner Jenny Pfanenstiel creates one-of-a-kind masterpieces for Derby and dress-up occasions!
All Derby hats are NOT created equal. Every Derby season, you see a selection of hats and fascinators in every corner of Louisville, even the grocery store! While you can find your Kentucky Derby hat at nearly any outlet or price point, only a few are real works of art. A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to visit a true hat wonderland, Formé Millinery, which elevates hat-making to an art form!
The hat forms on which Jenny Pfanenstiel creates Formé hats.
Formé’s owner, Jenny Pfanenstiel, blocks all her hats by hand using vintage hat forms and a 19th century braiding machine. Every nook and cranny of her shop is simply delightful! And, oh my goodness, are Formé hats unique and gorgeous!!
Gorgeous hats at Formé. That pink one wound up at HerKentucky HQ…
Jenny majored in fashion design in college, and soon became fascinated with the art of millinery. After learning to hand-make hats by molding straw or wool over wool hat forms. Soon, Jenny found herself making an annual six-week trek from Chicago to Louisville every year to sell her creations for Derby season. Eventually, she moved here and became one of the premier designers for high-end Derby looks. In fact, Formé is now the official milliner of the Kentucky Derby Museum.
Handcrafted fascinator perfection…
Of course, the Derby-ready hats and fascinators were unbelievably beautiful, but I was simply captivated by the vintage-style wool hats as well. Jenny’s designs channel so many 1920s and ‘30s vibes, and I am here for it. (And did I mention that she carries a full line of men’s hats as well?)
I love this chic Formé creation so very much!!!
This incredible cloche gives me serious Babylon Berlin vibes.
swoon.
Jenny has partnered with one of my very favorite brands, Vineyard Vines, to create a lovely line of Kentucky Derby fascinators. There’s even a fascinator that benefits the Norton Cancer Institute! My friends at Vineyard Vines were kind enough to send me a piece from this limited-edition collection; I absolutely love it!!
Dress c/o Draper James; Fascinator c/o Vineyard Vines
Thanks so much to Vineyard Vines for working with me on this post, and to Jenny Pfanenstiel for taking the time to talk shop with me! Happy Derby, y’all!!