What an epic night! We had the opportunity to hang out at a whiskey tasting event hosted by The Whiskey Bond, created by John Fazio. First, let me start by saying when this invitation came up, Matt and I instantly said hell yeah this is gonna be awesome. So we put on our Sunday best and headed down to Federal Hill in Baltimore to the Bookmakers Cocktail Club. John hooked us up when we got there with a killer old fashioned handcrafted by The Bookmakers Club’s rockstar bartender.
The Whiskey Bond started with a passion for whiskey. John took that passion and sprinted down the rabbit hole of Instagram’s whiskey community and found that passion became an obsession and that he wanted to create the ultimate in-person whiskey experience. The event he invited us too was his first and it was extremely successful. I can’t wait for the next one and the chance to get my hands on some more of that golden brown deliciousness! If you are into Whiskey, def be sure to give him a follow.
After settling in and having some awesome conversations the whiskey tasting started. Joseph Magnus was up first. They delivered 4 rad tastes: Joseph Magnus Bourbon, Murray Hill Club, and 2 Cigar Blends. All of them are delicious but my favorite was definitely the Murray Hill Club. It had a really strong pepper taste that added some heat. If you’re into sweeter alcohols, the 2 Cigar Blends are aged in Armagnac casks which makes them totally sippable for even the most novice whiskey drinker. If cigars are your bag, we’re told these pair perfectly.
Sagamore Spirit took the stage next with 4 of their locally produced rye whiskeys: Signature 83-Proof, Double Oak, Cask Strength, and Cognac Finish. Now I gotta say the Sagamore rye whiskeys were a super exciting adventure as I haven’t taken the time to explore much rye whiskey in the past. I wasn’t let down. All of them are great if I had to choose a favorite I think it was the Double Oak but don’t let that keep you away from the others. They all kept the fire stoked.
NOVA Cigars and Oak and Bond Coffee rounded out the bottom of the night. Now I’m not much on stogies but I did pass out the ones we were given to some friends and they said it was a great smoke and something they would go back too. I didn’t get to try the Oak and Bond Coffee but it sounds great with the beans aged in bourbon barrels to give them more flavor.
We gotta give a huge shout out to the venue, The Bookmakers Cocktail Club. This place is a speakeasy styled bar and restaurant in Fed Hill. The drink menu is gnarly; full of a ton of rare bourbons, whiskeys, and other spirits. Their handcrafted drinks were killer too with 6 styles of old fashioned cocktails, a seasonal drink list, and some other house favorites. The food menu is awesome with a good mixture of hip, fusion style foods and classic American cuisine. We started with a great charcuterie board and then ended with 3 styles of sliders; pork belly, crab cake and a 50/50 beef/brisket along with various sides.
If you ever get the chance to go to a whiskey tasting take it. If it’s being thrown by our buddy John you absolutely don’t want to miss it. Shout out to @thewhiskeybond @bourbon007 @sagamorespirit @districtmagnus @NOVAcigar @oakandbondcoffee @bookmakersbaltimore
