The wristband for the attendees of the 10th anniversary of the Beer, Bourbon, and BBQ festival. Love the slogan!
I took an Uber there and back to be safe, and couldn’t help but wear this shirt from Woot. It was too perfect for a BBQ related festival!
There were quite a few proprietors in attendance, and quite a lot of deliciousness in a very small period of time. I have a few of my favorites listed below.
Seeing a whiskey based mixed drink that also contains tea intrigued me, and though I am not a huge fan of sweet drinks, this blew me a away. The recipe is posted above if you want to give it a go! It’s made with TOPO’s Eight Oak Whiskey, tea, juice, and bitters.
Willie Clay Call was also in attendance with their 96-proof moonshine, and mixed with some apple and ginger juices to create a wonderful flavor. Lots of ginger notes, so if you are not a fan of the burn of ginger, might not be your thing.
I took a chance with this IPA, as I am more of an Amber & Red fan, but the Rye really makes this one work. House of Clay was brewed by Raleigh Brewing.
Probably my favorite non-liquor tasting was Brother Vlgaly’s Jabberwock. The amount of spice and heat brought together was a real delight and the presence of the peppers combines with the chicory to give a nice lasting heat. It’s a liqueur that you could make some very interesting mixed drinks with!
After all that drinking, I figured I should take a break, and with all the BBQ around (and the shirt I was wearing), it was hard to say no to pulled pork!
While eating, the Part Time Blues Band came back on stage and played some more – including a very well done cover of Louis Armstrong’s What a Wonderful World. If you can catch one of their shows, I highly recommend it!
On my way out, I came across this vendor, and while initially drawn to them by their creative naming it was hard to leave after sampling their sauces. All of their sauces have spectacular flavors, and though I went with Phoenix (I felt it was the most versatile of the ones available), there were a few that left a fairly intense lingering heat that builds over time. I can’t say enough good things about these guys – they know what they’re doing!