Biblio Bacchanal: The Search for America’s Best Whiskey

Saturday, 5:00 pm EDT - 7:00 pm EDT November 2, 2024

The Center for Fiction

Calling all whiskey lovers! Join us for an exploration of American whiskey with Colin Spoelman, the Co-Founder of Kings County Distillery and author of The Bourbon Drinker’s Companion, and Clay Risen, New York Times reporter, whiskey expert, and author of American Rye.

Whiskey made in the United States acquires a distinct identity depending on its region, distilling processes, and more. Spoelman’s book investigates the nuances of this iconic spirit, traversing the West Coast’s craft scene, learning from emerging distillers in the South, and revisiting one of the country’s oldest distilleries—Buffalo Trace in Frankfort, Kentucky. Throughout, he brings an analytical perspective to the search for America’s best whiskey that may refine your own palate.

At the event, Risen will join Spoelman for a conversation and readings from The Bourbon Drinker’s Companion, interspersed with tastings of four varieties of Kings County whiskey.

Featuring

Colin Spoelman

Colin Spoelman

Colin Spoelman is Co-Founder and Distiller at Kings County Distillery, New York City’s premier craft whiskey producer, and has written The Guide to Urban Moonshining and Dead Distillers about American whiskey. His latest book, The Bourbon Drinker’s Companion, is a travelogue through American whiskey distillery by distillery. He grew up in the moonshine (not the bourbon) part of Kentucky and graduated from Yale University. He is an honorary Kentucky Colonel.

Photo Credit: Valery Rizzo
Clay Risen

Clay Risen

Clay Risen is a reporter at the New York Times and a leading expert on American whiskey. Along with writing for the Times and other outlets, he is the author of four books on whiskey, including American Rye: A Guide to the Nation’s Original Spirit and American Whiskey, Bourbon and Rye: A Guide to the Nation’s Favorite Spirit, which has sold more than 125,000 copies across two editions. His reporting on the historical links between Jack Daniel and Nathan “Nearest” Green inspired Fawn Weaver to found her company, Uncle Nearest.

Photo Credit: Kate Milford

Featured Book

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The Bourbon Drinker's Companion

By Colin Spoelman

Published by Abrams Image

PURCHASE

The Bourbon Drinker’s Companion is an illustrated and narrative journey into the heart of American craft distilleries, taking readers from the well-known Jim Beam Booker Noe plant to craft whiskey brewers on the West Coast to the emerging new traditional distillers of the South, in search of America’s best whiskey.

Bestselling author Colin Spoelman is back to celebrate all things whiskey as he explores the effect branding, taste, region, and distilling processes have on America’s beloved and most notorious drink. Head down to Louisville to visit Angel’s Envy Distillery, go east to Jeptha Creed Distillery in Shelbyville, Kentucky, and then be sure to hit one of America’s oldest distilleries, Buffalo Trace, in nearby Frankfurt, as you follow the road of spirits.

Complete with sidebars and infographics highlighting key whiskies, bourbons, and ryes from each distillery, as well as tasting notes, pricing information, distilling methods, and more, The Bourbon Drinker’s Companion is the perfect plus one to bring along.