Beer, Bourbon, and Bacon Garden Party | The Bourbon Social

Sorry, I took a hiatus from the blog, but I have been posting nonstop on IG (so, if you want to see it first, you can follow me there or on snapchat).

On June 19, The Bourbon Social put on a great event called, Beer Bourbon & Bacon Garden Party at the Ashland, The Henry Clay Estate. The weather was perfect! It was such a great time with delicious food and probably the best Kentucky Mules that I have ever had! {The Mules were made with Bib and Tucker}. This garden party was all you can eat and drink. There were featured bourbon cocktails paired with bacon infused plates, and they also had bourbon aged beers. Let’s be honest. I was there for the bacon and bourbon. Like I said, my favorite was The Kentucky Mule, and it seemed to be everyone else’s favorite too, because they ran out of the ingredients to make it. Bacon inspired bites were done by Lexington Diner and Creative Table Kitchen and Catering.

The Bourbon Social is a series of events throughout the year celebrating none other than bourbon, as well as delicious foods. You can’t go wrong with bourbon and local food from right here in Kentucky. If you want to go to one of their events, I highly suggest you buy your tickets in advance and don’t wait, because the event will be sold out!!

Before we get into the food, I’d figured I would share a little history about the Ashland Estate for those that don’t know. Ashland was the name of the plantation of the 19th-century Kentucky statesman, Henry Clay, located in Lexington Kentucky, which is in the central Bluegrass region of the state. The Estate is a registered National Historic Landmark. In 1797, Henry Clay came to Lexington from Virginia and then in 1804, he began buying land for his plantation. During Clay’s lifetime, the Ashland Farm was outside of the city’s limits. At it’s largest, it was over 600 acres. It is still unclear where the name came from, whether he named it himself or whether it was a prior name. Clay started referring to it as Ashland by 1809. However, the name derives from the ash forest that stood at this site.

Deviled eggs are such a Southern classic. Up until this day, I had never actually tried one, because I’m not a huge fan of mayonnaise and mustard. However, since I was there, I just had to. It was yummy and I actually liked it! This particular deviled egg was a Bacon and Jalapeño Deviled Egg with Bib and Tucker Bourbon infused Paddlefish Caviar, which was paired with a Bib and Tucker Kentucky Mule.

Another small bite was the Pimento Cheese Stuffed Cherry Tomato with Ol’ Major Bacon Bourbon bacon jam, which was paired with a Bacon Bourbon Bloody Mary. This bourbon was used in the Bloody Marys.

It wouldn’t be a Beer Bourbon Bacon garden party without Chocolate Covered Cayenne Candied Bacon planks, am I right? These were paired with Black Saddle Bourbon.

These were Pulled Pork Potato Skins with West Sixth Brewing Snakecake Chipolte BBQ drizzle paired with West Sixth Snakecake.

Out of all the food that I ate, this was my absolute favorite. These were Cooper Brothers Local Beef Sliders with Pork Belly, Ghost Jack, Fried Onion, and Barrel Bourbon BBQ sauce paired with Barrel Bourbon neat.

These were the dessert!! It was West Sixth Brewing Cocoa Porter Cupcakes with Buttercream icing & fried lardon, which was then paired with West Sixth Cocoa Porter. Who could say no to dessert?

I couldn’t mention the party without mentioning the beautiful grounds that surround the Ashland Estate.

“At Ashland, The Henry Clay Estate, beautiful iron gates lead into a traditional English parterre garden. The six parterres, or sections, feature a wide variety of trees, shrubs, perennials, herbs, roses and annuals. Benches and chairs provide delightful spots in which to rest and admire, paint, or read the free garden brochure available from the estate visitor center. Formal gardens have been a part of the estate since the days of Clay himself. The famous 19th-century statesman collected landscaping ideas while on trips of state to England. The current half-acre garden, designed to reflect the style of a formal garden of Clay’s era, was begun in 1950 and is maintained by the Garden Club of Lexington. ”
—via

Be sure to look out for my upcoming posts, since I’ll be recapping all of the foodie events that I have been to, since I’ve last blogged. It seems that foodie events are really the only events I ever go to! Some upcoming posts include: Hike for Beer With a Twist, Lexington Burger Week, Lexington Restaurant Week, Food Truck Friday (upcoming), CRAVE Lexington (upcoming), and not to mention a few other goodies that I’ll share in the upcoming month.

We are going to another event in October that The Bourbon Social is putting on, and I cannot wait! This particular event will be the weekend of their main event!

{event photos from: The Bourbon Social’s facebook page}