Bourbon Hunters of Hampton Roads

I knew this dinner was going to be good. I knew it the moment Andrew and I sat down with the bourbon lineup to plan the menu.

We opened with an Old Fashioned built on Cork & Bull's Single Barrel Old Forester 100 Proof and that was by design. I wanted people to feel the room before the food ever came out. A pour like that tells you exactly what kind of night you're in for, and we wanted our signature, exclusive bourbon to lead the charge.

Course one, I sent out the scallop with smoked corn puree alongside the Old Forester Barrel Pick. Corn is the foundation of bourbon… putting it on the plate just made sense. The sear on those scallops was exactly where I wanted it.

Course two is where the room really locked in. Pappy Van Winkle 12 Year Lot B is a serious whiskey and people know it. When that bottle hits the table, something changes. I paired it with the candied pork belly burnt ends and apple slaw. The sweetness holds up to Pappy, the slaw keeps it from being too heavy. By the time that course was cleared, I had the whole room. I could feel it.

The Old Fitzgerald course was personal. Low Country food… fried chicken, collard greens, candied yams! That's food I grew up with, food that held me through my journey Staging through kitchens throughout the deep south. Old Fitz Bottled-in-Bond has that same kind of honesty to it. Not trying to impress you. Just really, really good. That pairing wasn't a flex. It was a feeling.

Colonel E.H. Taylor Barrel Proof and wild game picanha. Both of them demand your attention and neither one apologizes for it. The charred pineapple is what ties it together. that sweetness keeps the barrel proof from running the table. A few people got quiet during that course, you could hear a pin drop when I brought the meat into the room on a spit and started slicing it.

And then the Hot Honey Chicken Sundae. I'll tell you the truth, that was the only moment all night I had any nerves. Not about the flavor, not about the pairing with Stagg. I knew that was going to work. I was watching the clock on that ice cream, making sure it set in time and that we got it to every table before it melted. We nailed it. Everyone's face when it landed said everything.

Stagg to close out the night was the only way to end it. Bold, unapologetic, a little dangerous, and then this dessert delivers something completely unexpected.. That's the note I wanted to leave people on.

Thank you to everyone who came out. Let’s do this again soon, shall we?

— Dallas