Whiskey

“Whisky making is an act of cooperation between the blessings of nature and the wisdom of man.” – Masataka Taketsuru

Making great whiskey requires effort, expertise, inspiration, and sometimes a little luck. Great whiskey has a beautiful color, an amazing nose, and a warming, complex set of flavors. It takes a little effort to appreciate the character of whiskey–something that often reveals an open-mindedness and great character in people. I have a high default level of trust and respect of those willing to try to appreciate it, succeed or not, and the conversations over great whiskey are among the best I’ve ever had. And so, I organize many whiskey tasting events, arrange for good whiskey to be served at other events, and now co-own a a great neighborhood bar, Remedy. This appreciation extends to other great spirits as well, so my events include ‘alt whiskey’ events at home, and our bar has one of the best curated selections of spirits in downtown Austin. So, this area of my website will share information about all of my whiskey/spirits-related endeavors!

NEWS: After taking some time off of hosting whiskey events to open and establish Remedy as a great bar for whiskey, we now host Whiskey Wednesdays with half price on select whiskeys–including all of our high end spirits! Come by any Wednesday 6-10pm for the best whiskey deal in town!

NEWS: September is National Bourbon Month, and Remedy will host a 30-day bourbon competition to see who can sample the most of our 30+ bourbon whiskeys in one month! The winner will receive a special bottle of whiskey from Remedy! Check the Remedy newsletter for more info soon!

“Too much of anything is bad, but too much good whiskey is barely enough.” — Mark Twain“

Here are the 34(!) previous whiskey (and “alt-whiskey”) tastings I’ve hosted at my and friends’ homes.

8/10/24 – Texas spirits: not just whiskey, but all kinds of distilled spirits made in Texas!
6/29/24 – Hooray for agave! We will celebrate and explore mezcals and tequilas!
10/4/23 – revisiting Scotch, the king of whisky.
9/16/23 – a celebration of Japanese whiskies–smooth, subtle, superlative.
3/4/23 – a special, small-group ‘whiskey reduction project’ to finish some delicious, but nearly empty, bottles with friends and make room on the Chez Boisseau bar for future events
12/10/22 – an ‘alt-whiskey’ event, featuring brandy, the “whiskey of wine!”
11/1/22 – Special Still Austin spirits tasting
7/16/22 – Back to Bourbon, Baby!
4/2/22 – Revisting Rum! and other sugarcane spirits!
11/13/21: Weird/world whiskeys in observance of the weird times we’ve all been through, not post-Delta….
6/12/21 – The return of in-person (fully vaxed!) whiskey tastings, with a welcome to all Texas whiskeys!
11/19/20 – Special online whiskey tasting for the Dell Technologies HPC Community, sponsored by Intel!
2/15/20 – Rye Rising: back to our American whiskey roots!
9/7/19 – special edition: Tastes of Americana! American whiskey and Americana live music with two bands!
5/25/19 – 20th edition of the whiskey tasting series: this special event, hosted at the new 4-story home of Amber Allen, celebrated Scotch, bourbon, Japanese, and many other whiskeys, floor by floor.
5/25/19 – Rye whiskey: over 20 beautiful rye whiskeys were tasted, with Robin Johnston hosting a great night of rye-influenced revelry.
11/10/18 – almost 20 wonderful whiskies of Japan, hosted by Thomas Giamboi and Rochelle Rae and with some Japanese whisky education from Steve White of Seven Grand and Philipp Detscher of Austin Wine Merchant.
8/11/18 – Bourbon whiskey: tremendous selection of bourbon whiskey, generou hosted by the amazing Amber Allen
5/19/18 – Irish whiskey: graciously hosted by the Irish Consul General for Austin, Adrian Farrell, with tips on whiskey-tasting from Level-3 Whiskey Sommelier Anthony Dina!
2/3/18 – Scotch whisky: perhaps best, most comprehensive whisky selection so far!
7/1/17 – Gin: leftovers have provided the base for many poolside drinks…
2/4/17 – Texas whiskeys: we still have a ways to go, but Balcones Single Malt #1…
11/5/16 – Tequila: delicioso!
8/13/16 – Japanese whiskey: everyone was amazed
5/28/16 – Scotch whisky: pretty good selection, and non-whiskey drinkers were impressed
3/26/26 – Bourbon whiskey: U-S-A!
10/24/15 – Absinthe: this was also a mistake…
8/22/15 – Texas whiskeys: hey, we’re tryin’!
7/18/15 – Irish whiskey: sweet sweet whiskeys…
5/30/15 – Moonshines & corn whiskey: This was our first mistake.
4/18/15 – Rum: surprise! there are many great rums!
10/8/14 – Tequila: many people learned that there are actually good tequilas
5/22/14 – Bourbon whiskey: Jay’s favorite’s class of whiskey
4/22/14 – Rye whiskey: love the spicy whiskeys… we need to do this again