McKenzie Pure Pot Still: Whisk(e)y Wednesday presented by Calandro's Supermarket

The McKenzie Pure Pot Still Whiskey is made in the Irish style by Finger Lakes Distilling in New York.  The nose produced a clean aroma with a little honeysuckle and slight floral tones.  It also had hints of birdseed, boiled cabbage, and open meadows.  The taste presented a crisp flavor of grains and grass.  Eric suggested that it tasted like a horse barn minus the manure.  I guess that's a good thing.  The finish of the pure pot still whiskey blossomed smoothly and remained easy to drink throughout.  Overall it seemed a bit muted, lacking complexity and true depth of flavor.  Knowing that Finger Lakes Distillery hasn't been operational for all that long, I would imagine that this whiskey will only get better with time.  A little more aging could work wonders to add much needed complexity and variety of flavors to this whiskey with strong potential.

McKenzie Pure Pot Still Whiskey

63.5 Average Score

Whisk(e)y Wednesday is a blog post series on Bite and Booze sponsored by Calandro's Supermarket. Calandro's has one of Baton Rouge's best selections of bourbon, Scotch, and other whisk(e)ys as well as wine and craft beer. WW is created and rated by the hosts of Raise a Glass. Scores are marked for Nose, Taste, Finish, and Balance and Complexity using our own propriatary scoring system. Marks are then added and averaged, leaving us with a final score out of a 100 point scale. Our scale should be looked at on the full range of 0-100 rather than an academic range where 70 is passing and anything less is failing. A 50 should be considered a very mediocre whisk(e)y while anything below 20 is absolute horse piss and anything above 90 is rather extraordinary.

A Tin Roof BREW Kind of Week

There are two big events on my radar this week, so I wanted to put them on your radar as well.  First, this week is Baton Rouge Entrepreneurship Week (BREW).  To go along with that, there's a big food truck event going on at the North Boulevard Town Square on Wednesday from 11-1.  Come eat lunch downtown from all the food trucks while they compete to see which one can use the new Tony Chachere's Sandwich Sauces the most creatively and effectively.  Also as part of BREW, I'll be at the SeNSE Pitch Night on Thursday to cheer on The Outdoor Shopper, a show that brings televised shopping to the outdoors... and that I'm the host!  You can find the all the BREW events on their website: celebrateBREW.com.

On Friday, Baton Rouge's own Tin Roof Brewing Company celebrate's their 2nd Anniversary in style with food trucks, live music, and much more.  The entire party will benefit Cancer Services.  The event lasts from 5-8, so join me in an evening of eating and drinking like a local!

Meanwhile, Back at Cafe du Monde...

The hit food monologue show that I've been proud to be a part of as a headline and emcee has now been transformed a coffee table book filled with stories from all walks of life.  Everyone has a story related to food, and the Meanwhile, Back at Cafe du Monde... coffee table book is filled with 67 stories by everyone from chefs to college students and from politicians to journalists.

My good friend Peggy Sweeney-McDonald created the show and edited the book which is now out from Pelican Publishing.  I actually have a FOUR PAGE spread in the book (starting on page 66, if you're counting)!  My story gives a brief history of my love for food, some memorable experiences from LSU Tailgating, and the birth of Bite and Booze.  The book is a great gift for the holidays, a wonderful collectors item for a coffee table, and a spectacular tribute to Louisiana's culture as it relates to food and life.  Amen to that!

Jay sign's a copy of Meanwhile, Back at Cafe du Monde...

The book has already gotten some very impressive praise from some big timers in the Culinary world!

"Good people, good food, good stories. This book is Louisiana!" —Jeffrey Marx, Pulitzer Prize winner and author of Season of Life

“Tasty and amazing stories about our favorite subject, FOOD!” –- Emeril & Alden Lagasse

“Peggy draws attention not only to our food but also to the people who make it part of the character of Louisiana.” --Chef John Besh, author of My New Orleans and My Family Table, co-author of The New

Orleans Program

“…Our experience with food – preparation, consumption and a focal point of our social interaction – are unique, memorable and, now, even the subject of monologues that are funny, poignant and quite revealing about the psyche of Louisianans.” —Jay Dardenne, Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana

“I'm laughing, I'm hungry, I'm happy - when is the next edition?” —Lally Brennan co-proprietor of Commander's Palace and co-author of In The Land of Cocktails

“Inspiring, funny, entertaining stories of food, relationships, and life… A must-enjoy for readers

everywhere…” —Susan Irby “The Bikini Chef” and host of “Wine Dine and Workout” PBS

“…our oral and culinary traditions walk hand-in-hand. It is a Sunday potluck supper in book form. The beauty of Meanwhile, Back At Café DuMonde is that it captures that magic.” —Chef Stuart Reb Donald 2010 Gourmand World Cookbook Nominee

“…Page after page of so many wonderful experiences and recipes…I’m already salivating!" — Doreen Fang, Chef/Host, Dining with Doreen and Resident Chef of the Vegas Morning Blend

“What a charming book of food stories and history! I’m inspired to get in the kitchen or at least head to Café du Monde for a cup of coffee and plate of beignets.” – Erin Z. Bass, Publisher, Deep South Magazine

Jay and Peggy celebrate the release of Meanwhile, Back at Cafe du Monde...

Want a copy of the book?  You can order it on Amazon!! 

Finger Lakes Distilling: Whisk(e)y Wednesday presented by Calandro's Supermarket

Jay poses outside the Finger Lakes Distillery

For the first time, Whisk(e)y Wednesday features a distillery instead of a single whisk(e)y review.  Don't worry, the actual whiskey from Finger Lakes Distilling will come in subsequent posts, but for now, I wanted to give a little shout out to Brian McKenzie and the Finger Lakes Distillery.  I had the chance to visit his fine establishment recently.  It was my first time New York's wine country, and finding the distillery certainly made me happy after two days of Reislings.  Brian's distillery puts out vodka, gin, liqueurs, grappa, brandy, and of course, whiskey.  I got a sampling of all of it, but the whiskey certainly interested me the most.  Finger Lakes had a white whiskey, pure pot still whiskey, bourbon, and rye.  Again, each will get their own separate Whisk(e)y Wednesday review, so I won't go into further detail.

The beautiful distillery sits on the hills overlook Seneca Lake.  Just a little ways from Watkins Glen and the speedway there, the Glen Thunder White Whiskey pays tribute to the bootleggers who gave birth to stock car auto racing in America.  The gin and some of the fruit liqueurs I also found to be especially interesting.  The scenery all around the distillery is fantastic, especially when copper stills and oak barrels highlight your view!  This is definitely an artisan distillery to check out if you're ever in the Finger Lakes area of New York.  Amid all the vineyards and wineries, your palate will appreciate a little whiskey break!


Whisk(e)y Wednesday is a blog post series on Bite and Booze sponsored by Calandro's Supermarket. Calandro's has one of Baton Rouge's best selections of bourbon, Scotch, and other whisk(e)ys as well as wine and craft beer. WW is created and rated by the hosts of Raise a Glass. Scores are marked for Nose, Taste, Finish, and Balance and Complexity using our own propriatary scoring system. Marks are then added and averaged, leaving us with a final score out of a 100 point scale. Our scale should be looked at on the full range of 0-100 rather than an academic range where 70 is passing and anything less is failing. A 50 should be considered a very mediocre whisk(e)y while anything below 20 is absolute horse piss and anything above 90 is rather extraordinary.

State Fair... Fare: Turkey Legs and Red Velvet Funnel Cakes

Sometimes a food writer and radio host just needs to get down on some grub at a fair.  The Greater Baton Rouge State Fair recently passed, and I had the opportunity to visit the festivities in order to taste a few deep-fried delicacies.  J.H. Martin, the Foundation Chairman for the Fair, invited me out personally to try a new addition to the culinary lineup: the Red Velvet Funnel Cake.

Jay eating a turkey leg

 Before I could go for the funnel cake, however, a giant turkey leg caught my eye.  In high school I helped cook and sell turkey legs for a fundraiser at our annual County Fair, so seeing a giant leg of smoked poultry made me long for those days.  I had to have one.  I grabbed the leg using its natural "handle" and sunk my teeth into its deliciously moist and tender flesh.  Memories flourished in my mind as I drifted back to my childhood.  I took another bite and another.  Damn, I love a turkey leg!  I devoured the entire thing... and it looked something like this:

Disney's Sir Kay from The Sword in the Stone eating a (gigantic) chicken leg

Then I got to the Red Velvet Funnel Cake.  The delicate red batter drizzled lusciously into the pool of hot oil.    There it fried, floating on the surface until cooked through but still tender.  A cream cheese frosting then melted over the funnel cake to create this genius dessert.  Well, almost.  Ultimately it ended up being a little soft and soggy.  While very tasty, the textures weren't quite what I was hoping for.  Maybe it needed to be fried a little longer to hold up to the wet frosting instead of the traditional powdered sugar.  Regardless of any flaws, the red velvet funnel cake definitely is worthy of trying.  We scarfed down the entire cake and could have eaten more.  Still, next time I'm in the mood for a funnel cake, I think I'll go for the original.

And thanks to Noel Marcantel Photography for snapping and sharing a couple pictures!