So a few weeks back, I saw a pretty cool flier circulating that read “Women and Whiskey But Men Are Invited Too” not being one who drinks a lot of whiskey, that line alone caught my attention. The flier went on to read hand rolled cigars, complimentary cocktails and complimentary food. I was like this is so different, this might be fun. Then it slipped my mind…
Fast forward to I see SOLD OUT on my timeline. I was prepping to go to Belize, so I wasn’t thinking about spending my Friday night anywhere but home packing. Well, as always that didn’t’ go as planned. My best friend and I decided to hang out at the last minute. Not sure what to do, I received a text from another friend asking if I was going to Women and Whiskey, I said no, but that I would consider. I reached out to the person hosting the event and within minutes my best friend and I were added to the guest list.
So the event started at 6pm, considering I work 9-5 I had no intentions on ever people on time. I did get off work at 3pm but even so, I had to go home, see the kids, and do a few random things. I did have intentions on going by 7:30, I wanted to not miss any aspect of the flier (meaning I wanted to try the food, enjoy the drinks and possibly take a look at the cigars). Well, that didn’t go as planned either. My best friend had to wash her hair so we didn’t end up meeting at the event until about 8:30ish.
So my only issue ever with events downtown is parking. There are ample lots but of course they only take cash, the usual street parking is a great option but of course there were orange signs stating no street parking this day. On a day where the weather is nice, free parking anywhere downtown is great, the walk you take from your car to your destination is always pleasant because you get to take in the downtown scenery.
The event was being held at the Anatomy. So immediately upon arrival, you could see a crowd of people outside under a tent smoking cigars and drinking. I walked in and there was a host, asking for names if you had registered. After check in we were given two drink tickets and advised food was in the front, tastings were at the bar and hand rolled cigars were to the right.
The cigar line was long and I wasn’t eager to eat or go back outside, so my first stop was the bar! On my way, I ran into about 5 different people that I knew. I talked for a while, then finally made it to the bar. Once there, I was directed to start at the corner. It was at that time, that I realized the entire bar was set up like a tour of Jack Daniels.
The first stop was more of an educational piece. The bartender talked briefly about the history of Jack Daniels, and then poured shots for us to taste one before and one after the mellowing process. She even had samples of the black charcoal that’s grinded and used for the filtering. I’m not a big Jack Daniels person (unless I’m flying on an airplane) so this was a unique experience for me.
From there we went on to try the Jack Daniel’s Black Label, Tennessee Honey, Tennessee Fire, Gentleman Jack, Woodford Reserve Bourbon, Virginia Black and Old Camp Peach Pecan Whiskey. I’ll be honest, a lot of these were wayyy too strong for my liking but it was nice to get to try them all. At each stop on the tour you received a shot of the alcohol, and then you could use your drink tickets to order to full mixed drinks. My favorite shot was the Tennessee Fire and my favorite featured drink was the Tennessee Mule.
By the time I went through the tasting, laughed, talked with friends and took a few pictures, the food was gone and there was no more hand rolled cigars. That was my reminder that I should’ve arrived on time if I wanted to enjoy every aspect of the event. I will say, even though I missed out, I still had a great time. I don’t smoke cigars if I’m not with my husband anyway, so that was more of me just wanting to see it done and I wasn’t very hungry, but wanted to know what was there.
Anywho, this was a dope event. Different from anything I’ve been to in the past, with a diverse group of people and a wide age range (I saw people in there 20’s all the way to people in there 50’s). Someone said to me prior to going why would someone go if you don’t drink whiskey or smoke cigars, my response was to try something new. I’m don’t do either of those things, but it was nice to attend something different! That’s exactly what #CourtneyCoversCleveland is all about and I have to say it was a cool experience. I’d encourage to grab some friends and attend one of these events.
Follow @Elevatgroup on IG for more details and information on future events. Be sure to let them know that you read about Women and Whiskey on #CourtneyCoversCleveland
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