Name: Executive Bourbon Steward Training
Start: 2017-10-02T13:30:00+00:00
End: 2017-10-02T22:30:00+00:00
Location: Chicago Distilling Company

Our latest Blog posts

What Is Wheated Bourbon?July 24, 2017 By law, Bourbon must be made from a mash of at least 51% corn. But what makes up the other 49%? Let’s find out. Bourbon must be made in America from grains. This requirement differs from some foreign whiskies. For example Indian distillers often use fermented molasses in place of grain. But here...
Read more...
4 Basic Bourbon Cocktails That Will Make You The Envy Of Your FriendsJuly 14, 2017Here are 4 basic Bourbon cocktails we love that are easy to make at home with minimal ingredients you can always keep on hand. Perfect the proportions of these drinks to impress your guests every time! I don’t pretend to be a bartender, mixologist, or what-have-you. Those men and women behind your favorite bar do...
Read more...
Bourbon, Sort Of Bourbon, And An Interesting Whiskey From CaliforniaJune 20, 2017We love bourbon and respect the laws that protect and define it. Working within these established regulations ensures a certain level of quality and consistency. By not allowing artificial flavors and colors these laws can push distillers, blenders, and marketers to differentiate bourbon in truly innovative ways. But it can also act to somewhat limit...
Read more...
Our Top 7 Bourbon Gifts for Father’s Day 2017June 2, 2017Your dad is an awesome dude. If he likes Bourbon as much as you do he deserves an awesome Bourbon gift this father’s day. From books, to apparel, to an all weekend Bourbon adventure we’ve got you covered. Check out our top gifts for father’s day 2017! THE ESSENTIAL SCRATCH & SNIFF GUIDE TO BECOMING...
Read more...
CH Distillery Invests In Chicago Made Spirits In A Big WayMay 16, 2017In December 2015 CH Distillery co-founder, Tremaine Atkinson, invited me to tour his Randolph Street distillery. This turned into Chicago Bourbon’s fifth blog post and the very first distillery tour I wrote about. Tremaine and his business partner Mark Lucas have been hard at work ever since. (Read our first article about CH Distillery,...
Read more...
A Letter From Illinois Craft Distillers…May 13, 2017UPDATE: The results are in! See the winners below! Nice to meet you. We hear you enjoy fine spirits. So do we. We enjoy them so much, we’ve made it our life’s work to bring the best distilled spirits to our community. That, in particular, is why we think you’ll be interested in...
Read more...
The Pappy Van Winkle Hype MachineMay 10, 2017Is there ever such thing as too much good publicity? For producers and fans of Pappy Van Winkle, the luxury, premium line produced at Buffalo Trace Distillery, the answer is a resounding “yes.” It would be hard to think of a brand in any industry, let alone the bourbon industry, that would balk at the...
Read more...
WhiskyFest Chicago 2017 Recap!May 2, 2017This year marked the 20th anniversary of WhiskyFest. An important milestone for any annual event but especially one spanning four cities, accommodating 82 exhibitors, and hosting over 2,000 attendees. I spoke with Joan McGinley, Director of WhiskyFest Events to get her thoughts on how the event has matured over the years. “The exhibitors are bringing out their best:...
Read more...
What Happens When Your Favorite Bourbon Brand Gets A New Owner?April 11, 2017Bourbon brands often change hands. This isn’t something new to the spirits industry. Classic mainstays like Jim Beam (Beam Family>American Tobacco>American Brands>Fortune Brands>Suntory>Beam Suntory), Maker’s Mark (Samuel’s Family>Hiram Walker & Sons>Allied Domecq>Fortune Brands>Beam Inc>Beam Suntory), and Four Roses (Paul Jones, Jr>Seagram>Pernod>Kirin) have been traded amongst parent companies since pre-prohibition. Bourbon brands were traded for a vodka brand,...
Read more...
Does the “No Age Statement” Trend Mean Bad News for Your Bourbon?March 28, 2017 To your average consumer, the age of a whiskey is often viewed as synonymous with its quality. Older = better was an easy gauge of value, especially since it almost always corresponded with a price increase. This was true for every dram from Scotches to Bourbon, and made marketing older whiskey an easy endeavor....
Read more...
Tasted: Cognac Cask Finished Belle Meade BourbonMarch 22, 2017If you haven’t heard the story behind Nelson’s Green Brier Distillery you’re missing out on a lot of whiskey history. Based in Nashville Tennessee brothers Charlie and Andy Nelson are crafting Tennessee Whiskey and Bourbon with a rich heritage going back before prohibition. You see, the boy’s great-great-great grandfather was distilling some of the first...
Read more...
An Interview With Adam Harris, Beam Suntory American Whiskey AmbassadorMarch 15, 2017Recently I sat down with Beam Suntory National American Whiskey Ambassador Adam Harris to learn about his role and experiences at Beam. Beam Suntory is the parent company of many whiskey and spirits brands including: Jim Beam, Maker’s Mark, Knob Creek, Booker’s/Baker’s/Basil Hayden’s, and Old Grand-Dad as well as top-shelf Scotch, Japanese Whisky, and Vodkas....
Read more...
What’s The Deal With Canadian Rye Whisky?March 7, 2017(This article written by guest blogger Cameron Smith, author of Sublime Imbibing) Canadian Rye is Surging onto the North American Whiskey Scene Just like Scotch is an essential part of Scottish culture and bourbon an icon of Americana, rye whiskey is a distinctive part of Canadian heritage. Canadian whisky has a several hundred year history,...
Read more...
The Fascinating Story of How Bourbon Manufacturers Served In WWII: Turning Distilleries Into Penicillin FactoriesFebruary 22, 2017During World War II, bourbon saved the lives of countless American servicemen. Well, not because of imbibing the drink. But, instead, bourbon distilleries became the wartime producers of a modern miracle drug: penicillin. In WWI, the biggest danger faced by a soldier wasn’t an incoming bullet. In fact, it was disease. Antibiotics hadn’t yet...
Read more...
Chicago’s Baptiste & Bottle: A Bourbon DestinationFebruary 14, 2017 Baptiste & Bottle is fairly new on the Chicago dining scene. Situated on the 20th floor of the Chicago Conrad Hotel the bar and restaurant serves American food and cocktails with a focus on Bourbon and whiskey. When I first heard of Baptiste it was advertised as having a Bourbon cart accompanied by a...
Read more...
Evan Williams Custom Bourbon Tasting: New MakeFebruary 6, 2017The annual Kentucky Bourbon Affair provides the opportunity for distilleries to offer truly unique, behind-the-scenes experiences to bourbon aficionados. Last year, one of these events hosted by Heaven Hill allowed attendees to create a custom bourbon. Dubbed the “Build-a-Barrel” event, guests were given the dream job of deciding on key factors that influence the final...
Read more...
Bourbon In The Movies: Six Unforgettable ScenesJanuary 23, 2017For decades, filmmakers have used a choice of drink to reveal their characters. And bourbon, in particular, is the favorite of heroes and fearless tough guys. Here are some of bourbon’s best-known star turns: North by Northwest (1959) In this classic Alfred Hitchcock thriller, Roger Thornhill (played by the legendary Cary Grant) is kidnapped....
Read more...
You’ve Had A Store Pick, But Have You Tasted A Distributor’s Pick?January 10, 2017We’ve covered a lot of Bourbon producers, large and small. This week we met with a local Chicago distributor who’s just brought their own Bourbon label to market. Behind the new label is Brian Ciske, owner of BC Merchants in Ukrainian Village. From their website, “BC Merchants is a distributor of high-end spirits with a...
Read more...
We Worked In A Distillery To Make Your BourbonDecember 28, 2016Last July we gave you a peek inside Whiskey Acres Distilling Co located in DeKalb, IL. It was one of our most popular articles of 2016. When the distillery invited us back to spend the day hands-on distilling and bottling we jumped at the chance. Last time, we hung out with owner Jim Walter. On...
Read more...
Celebrating the 50 Year Career of Jim RutledgeDecember 19, 2016Jim Rutledge is considered a contemporary bourbon legend by many. 2016 marked his 50th year in the business. Most of those years were spent at Four Roses, where he played an integral role in bringing the brand back to U.S. shelves in 2004 after spending decades as export only. He retired from Four Roses in...
Read more...
Repeal Day And An Old Fashioned Face Off!December 13, 2016To celebrate the repeal of prohibition we joined Old Forester for their Old Fashioned Face-Off bartender competition. Taking place at West Loop’s Moonlight Studios this year’s celebration was packed with Bourbon enthusiasts and some of the cities most interesting bartenders. The event was an opportunity to sample over a dozen craft cocktails from Chicago’s hippest...
Read more...
Our Top 8 Bourbon Gift Ideas For The HolidaysDecember 5, 2016 It’s that time of year again! Time for decorations, holiday cheer, and a few more drinks and gifts! For you bourbon lovers out there take note of what to add to your wish list – and if necessary send this blog or post it to your social media to make it easier on those filling your...
Read more...
Rye Whiskey Is Making A Comeback, But Can It Overtake Bourbon?November 15, 2016 This year I was invited to attend the 2016 ‘Rye Heritage Month’ kickoff event at Chicago’s Untitled Supper Club. Part of a 3 city tour taking place first in Chicago, then Boston and New York City. Rye Heritage Month is an idea started in 2015 with the goals of raising awareness around the history...
Read more...
Recap: The 2016 Whisky Extravaganza ChicagoOctober 31, 2016 The Whisky Extravaganza, put on by the Scotch Malt Whisky Society of America, is one of the longest running whisky events in the United States. It runs in an impressive 10 cities across the country. Two thousand sixteen marked the 23rd year of the event. Chicago Bourbon was in attendance this year for the...
Read more...

Chicago's bourbon blog

Chicago's bourbon blog

What Is Wheated Bourbon?

4 Basic Bourbon Cocktails That Will Make You The Envy Of Your Friends

Bourbon, Sort Of Bourbon, And An Interesting Whiskey From California

Our Top 7 Bourbon Gifts for Father’s Day 2017

CH Distillery Invests In Chicago Made Spirits In A Big Way

Our latest Blog posts