Our bourbon is back, and better than ever! The Grange bourbon dinners have become a celebrated event for Sacramento whiskey lovers, and on February 23rd Woodford Reserve Master Distiller Chris Morris will be joining us for the next one. Call 916-492-4450 to make your reservation!
February 23, 2011
Four-course prix fixe menu with paired bourbon cocktails
$65/person (does not include tax or gratuity)
Salad
Bitter Greens / candied boar bacon / fried sweet potatoes / poached egg
paired with
“Boulevardier”
3/4 grange bourbon
3/4 Campari
3/4 Carpano vermouth
Next
Beef Tounge Pastrami / Bone Marrow
Sorghum Bourbon Rye Read / shallot-fennel marmelade
paired with
“Boar Bacon Manhattan”
2 grange bourbon
1 boar bacon vermouth syrup
Served on the rocks with candied boar bacon
Entree
Bourbon Brined Rack of Wild Boar
pecan & dried currant spoon bread / candied pecans / smoked cippolini onions / bourbon jus
paired with
“Sarsaparilla”
2 grange bourbon
Ice
Small bottle of house brewed rootbeer
Dessert
Apple Cider-Bourbon Cake w/Bourbon Milk Jam & Candied Apples
paired with
“Smoke”
1 Grange bourbon
1 organic local cream
House made smoke tincture
Vanilla sugar
Liquid nitrogen
About Chris Morris:
Chris is Master Distiller for Brown-Forman Corporation, the seventh since the company began in 1870. A Louisville native, Morris has spent most of his working life promoting Brown-Forman brands. He is responsible for providing taste profiles for many Brown-Forman whiskies, including Early Times, Old Forester, Canadian Mist, as well as the super-premium Woodford Reserve bourbon.
Morris has grown up around bourbon his whole life. His dad was a production manager, and his mother worked in the art department at Brown-Forman. His career with Brown-Forman began in 1976, as a trainee in the Central lab working for Master Distiller, Lincoln Henderson. In 1988, he transitioned to Glenmore Distilleries Company, where he worked as brand manager for their North American Whiskies Group.
Morris joined United Distillers through their acquisition of Glenmore in 1991 and quickly assumed the role of Bourbon Portfolio Brands Development Manager, where he developed new bourbon brands, designed and directed sales and trade programs, and served as the company’s bourbon brand ambassador on a global basis. While on the road, Morris began his avocation as a spirits historian. “My hobby is whiskey – reading about it, collecting it, visiting sites associated with whiskey. I have hundreds of bottles of whiskey at home; my passion is whiskey.”
In 1997, Morris returned to Brown-Forman and subsequently was chosen to begin training to succeed Lincoln Henderson as Brown-Forman Master Distiller. “I love keeping involved with the crafting of the brand,” says Morris. In a way he compares himself to Brown-Forman’s founder, George Garvin Brown, who personally guarded the taste profile of his brands.
