Going it alone

In theory it was the dream invitation: a nine-course dinner at a fancy Sydney restaurant matched with nine different American whiskies.

These events are often single invites, but I was allowed to bring a plus one. Normally DD would have jumped at it, but he’s swanning around Europe, so I asked an old friend I’ve been meaning to catch up with forever.

I was so excited in the lead up and DD was so disappointed to miss it, as he loves his bourbons.

But the evening started to lose its shine 30 minutes from kick off when my plus one pulled out due to an unexpected issue at work.

Thirty minutes is nowhere near enough time to recruit a replacement.

I am normally totally fine to attend stuff on my own and make new friends, but everyone else was going to have a plus one … deep sigh.

Of course I knew lots of people there #airkiss so I wasn’t lonely.

I freaked out the owner of Jolene’s – a cool inner-city country and western cocktail bar – and his wife – who writes fantasy/romance novels – by addressing them by name when I introduced myself across the table. (Above are pics of them presenting Traverse City Whiskey and Uncle Nearest Whiskey at the event.)

I follow them on Instagram, so it feels like I know them both … well, I do now, Simon urged me to come and try some of his favourite backbar tipples sometime.

Sounds awesome, Simon! Such a nice couple.

Apparently the hottest items on Jolene’s bar list – other than the boring vodka and sodas that all the Gen Zs order, are the peanut butter whiskey and Chambord shots … an alcoholic version of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. They reckon once you’ve tried one, you’re hooked.

We had a great chinwag, but it was impossible to ignore the only empty seat at the long table was beside meeeeeeee.

A cocktail was served to kick the proceedings off, which turned out to be made from Red Eye Louie’s Vodquila. Yep, Vodquila. It’s a high temperature blend of premium vodka and 100% blue agave premium tequila.

The self-deprecating owner was hilarious, regaling us with stories of how hard it was to create a spirit from vodka and tequila, as apparently tequila doesn’t like being blended with other spirits.

But he soldiered on with the project because his daughter was keen for a spirit that didn’t taste like tequila and was delicious but affordable.

Apparently it’s a huge hit in the US.

My missing plus one came in handy about halfway through the night when I grabbed his undrunk welcome Vodquila cocktail to sip, due to event’s only other refreshments being straight spirits and water.

And I’m a Pisces who doesn’t like water.

As for my favourite whiskey from the event, I really enjoyed the Uncle Nearest. The story behind Uncle Nearest is fascinating.

Nathan “Nearest” Green was the first known African-American master distiller. In the hills of Lynchburg, Tennessee, once stood the Dan Hill Farm, the former home of Lutheran preacher Dan Call. Though a religious man, Call didn’t shy away from running a whiskey distilling operation on his land, produced by a slave called Nearest Green.

A seven-year-old orphan named Jasper Daniel was sent to work at Call’s farm. Better known by his nickname Jack, the young boy quickly became fascinated by the distilling operation on the farm and picked up work as Uncle Nearest’s apprentice, who taught him the art of producing Tennessee whiskey.

The distillery changed hands from Rev Call to Jack Daniel in 1865. And following the ratification of the 13th Amendment, which saw Green – nicknamed Uncle Nearest – become a free man, Jack asked him to be his paid master distiller. The two worked together creating Jack Daniel’s whiskey until Uncle Nearest retired many years later.

I find the concept of slavery so disturbing, but it’s amazing to think a young orphan and a former slave forged such a strong partnership.

Launched in 2017, Uncle Nearest Whiskey is pretty fascinating in its own right. The distillery has an all-women leadership team and is a 50 percent women-employed company. Its master blender is Victoria Eady Butler, a fifth generation Nearest Green descendant.

Anyways, something I hadn’t taken into account is that nine courses take a very long time to be served, so it was 10pm on a school night when the desserts came out.

On the plus side, my bus stop was literally just outside the venue.

So I retired from the festivities, which were continuing for the hosts at Jolene’s, and headed home to bed, where I proceeded to wake up at sparrow’s fart yesterday morning.

Cue very weary Wednesday.

But the festivities are rolling on, so there are more recaps in your future. I will try to keep them interesting!

Song of the day: Mental as Anything “The nips are getting bigger”