Maker's Mark Whisky: Whisk(e)y Wednesday presented by Lock & Key

Maker's Mark Whisky

It seems as though I may have turned my back on Marker's Mark. While my score came in higher than the average, it still didn't raise the mean by all that much. I used to be a fan, so I'm not sure what happened. Perhaps I had just been a victim of marketing or perhaps I really just never compared it to anything but Jack Daniels while at a wedding reception. Also, it could be a sense of nostalgia because I've actually been to their distillery (speaking of distillery tours, want to join me on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail this summer?). Still, the scores for Maker's surprised me. You can of course find it at Lock & Key ($7) and try it for yourself, but be aware that if you drink it next to other bourbons, you might have remorse like I do!

The nose gives off a very generic aroma of vanilla, caramel, and oak. It is light and soft and really uninteresting. On the tongue you get a hay and grassy harshness. There is very little sweetness but some warming heat and a touch of spice. It is no wonder that I've always liked Maker's and Coke when I have to drink whiskey in that fashion. With very little inherent sweetness, it doesn't make the drink extra syrup with the addition of soda. Over the whisky (yes, they use the Scotch spelling) has one big note. It is a dry, simple tailgating kind of bourbon with a pretty decent price point. Enjoy it in mixed drinks, otherwise don't bother.

Maker's Mark Whisky
Average Score: 47.67

Whisk(e)y Wednesday is a blog post series on Bite and Booze sponsored by the Lock & Key Whiskey Bar. Lock & Key has one of Baton Rouge's best selections of bourbon, Scotch, Irish, and other whisk(e)ys available for on premise consumption. This WW feature was scored by Jay Ducote from Bite and Booze, Arthur Lauck from Lock & Key, and Jeremy Spikes. Using our own proprietary scoring system, whiskeys are marked for Nose, Taste, Finish, Balance and Complexity, and "Bang for the Buck" which should encompass the whiskey's overall value. 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 (though not undrinkable, you'd let somebody buy you one) while anything below 20 is absolute horse piss, anything above 80 is rather extraordinary, and anything above 90 is world class.

Cafeciteaux gets it right: the best roasts we've had in a while

by Sydney "Brown Nose" Blanchard

Cafeciteaux's Guatemala Patzen roast beans

If you're anything like us at Team Bite and Booze, you need coffee. It isn't an optional thing. It's a necessity. 

That's why we get deliveries monthly from Cafeciteaux. It's no longer a thing they do, but a while back they offered what they call "le pari," or the gamble in French. 

For a certain fee, they sent us different coffee beans each month to try. 

As a result, we've got bags and bags of coffee hanging out in the office, waiting to be drank.

Freshly brewed Cafeciteaux Guatemala Patzun.

Cafeciteaux is a great company for a number of reasons. First, they're local – their roastery is located on Airline Highway and you can buy some for yourself at Calandro's Supermarket. Secondly, these Baton Rouge-based roasters sell coffee beans that are directly traceable to the farm and mills where they were produced. 

I don't know about you guys, but I like to know where my coffee comes from. 

Blair and I decided to try the Guatemala Patzun first. We ground the aromatic beans and boiled some water to make the pour over coffee. 

The result was very cool. The coffee was very cloudy and a bit more viscous than other brands. The color of this roast was a dark amber, and we picked up hints of toasted sugar cane and dark dried fruits. 

We can't wait to try out our next bag of Cafeciteaux coffee beans. And thanks to our caffeine addiction, the next taste test might happen sooner than we anticipate.

Craft Beer Awakening in Lake Charles: The Inaugural Louisiana Winter Beer Festival

by Sydney "Brown Nose" Blanchard, intern

If there's one thing I always want more of in my life, it's free pizza... oh, and craft beer. Luckily in Baton Rouge, lots of bars and retail outlets carry craft beer from across the country. However, that isn't the case everywhere in South Louisiana. That's why I'm pretty pumped about the first-ever Louisiana Winter Beer Festival in Lake Charles.

This hoppy event will take place February 21 at 1 p.m. in the gorgeous Historic Calcasieu Marine National Bank building in downtown Lake Charles. Festival goers will be able to taste more than 50 different beers from brewers across the country. What better way could there be to transition out of Mardi Gras season?

On the night before the fest, these brewers will host a Louisiana Brewers' dinner at Lake Charles L'Auberge Casino's Jack Daniels Patio at 6 p.m. A hundred bucks buys you an incredible meal prepared by L'Auberge chefs and featured brews from Abita, Bayou Teche, Covington, and Nola Brewing. The founder and Editor in Chief of AmericanCraftBeer.com, Tom Bobak, will be there to talk about the Southern craft beer scene. I can't wait to mix and mingle with some of the big dogs in the craft beer scene with a Louisiana beer in hand.

Luckily the event hasn't sold out yet check out the Brewers' Dinner menu and reserve your spot or purchase tickets to the fest. It looks like the entire weekend will provide a spectacular time.

Four Roses Bin-Q Single Barrel: Whisk(e)y Wednesday presented by Lock & Key

Four Roses Bin-Q Single Barrel

Four Roses, one of the distilleries that we will absolutely be visiting on our trip to Kentucky in July, is an expert at the single barrel bourbons. This particular single barrel is available to bring home only at Bin-Q in Baton Rouge, but Lock & Key has some available to taste ($14 for a pour). It is a barrel strength elixir that certainly impressed our judges.

On the nose it is big, bold, and sweet. The intense Big Red aroma shows the whiskey's strength at over 120 proof. It smell like a hot toddy without even having to add any cinnamon or sugar. On the tongue it'll put hair on your chest. Oak, white pepper, and cream all come to play on the merry-go-round of flavors. The full bodied whiskey packs a spicy punch and warms the lips before it continues to the tongue and all the way down to your belly. The long and bold finish highlights a solid bourbon that has plenty going on yet remains balanced the whole time. The price tag also helps. The value is pretty darn good for the quality of this bourbon, plus you get the novelty of knowing where every drop of this barrel of Four Roses ended up.

Four Roses Bin-Q Single Barrel
Average Score: 83.33

Whisk(e)y Wednesday is a blog post series on Bite and Booze sponsored by the Lock & Key Whiskey Bar. Lock & Key has one of Baton Rouge's best selections of bourbon, Scotch, Irish, and other whisk(e)ys available for on premise consumption. This WW feature was scored by Jay Ducote from Bite and Booze, Arthur Lauck from Lock & Key, and Jeremy Spikes. Using our own proprietary scoring system, whiskeys are marked for Nose, Taste, Finish, Balance and Complexity, and "Bang for the Buck" which should encompass the whiskey's overall value. 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 (though not undrinkable, you'd let somebody buy you one) while anything below 20 is absolute horse piss, anything above 80 is rather extraordinary, and anything above 90 is world class.

Bleu Cheese and Bread Pudding: The Bistro Byronz Stride

by Sydney "Brown Nose" Blanchard, intern

Heading down Perkins Road, not much revolutionary exists in the span of pavement between Bluebonnet and Siegen. In the last few years, neighborhoods and suburbs boasting large, stately McMansions have cropped up in the expanse, but Baton Rougeans in the area had little to brag about beside a strip mall or two,Perkins Rowe, and the oft praised Louisiana Lagniappe.

Bistro Byronz's famous Bleu Cheese Chips

I think Bistro Byronz sensed this. Their new location at Willow Grove offers a dining option where before options were limited.

The second Baton Rouge location opened for business a couple weeks ago at Village Plaza Court on Perkins Road, and the new location maintains a lot of the same atmosphere as the original decade-old Government Street location.

Old fans will be excited to hear the white and black interior mimics that of the original location, with tiled floors and low lighting setting the mood. Mirrors line the walls, opening up the space and making it feel much larger than it looks from the outside. 

But that’s the only optical illusion Byronz is pulling. The food is the real deal.

Redfish Meuniere

Legend has it, the only way to begin a meal at Byronz is with the bleu cheese chips. Go with the large, and don't turn your back on those chips for one second. Trust me, Jay, Blair and I were fighting tooth and nail for the last chip.

When it comes to choosing an entree, you can’t really go wrong with any item on the menu. Jay opted for the Redfish Meuniere, a pan-seared redfish filet topped with a meuniere sauce – a tasty take on a classic. Interestingly, it is served with a risotto cake and asparagus. Jay made a happy plate, so I'll take that as a thumbs up from him.

I ordered the stand-out on the menu – the Abita Pork Chop – a thick, French-cut chop glazed with Abita root beer and served with roasted potatoes and asparagus. The syrupy glaze paired well with the juicy pork chop. I had to stab my fork at Jay and Blair to keep them from swiping my chop.

Abita Pork Chop

Bistro Byronz serves up a handful of yummy dessert options, but to dine at the bistro in Carnival Season and not have the King Cake bread pudding would be a mortal sin.

In my experience, bread pudding tends to fall short of impressive, but this unique take on a traditional Louisiana dessert is something to write home (or blog) about.

And, word on the street is, Byronz will soon be serving up some sweet potato fries with a similar twist. Be on the lookout!

A relaxing evening in a dimly lit, newly-built restaurant is tough to top, and Bistro Byronz surely delivered in this first experience at their newest location.