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Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Downtown bar billing itself as premiere bourbon spot
I attended my first ever bourbon whiskey tasting last weekend at a bar working to transform itself into Dayton’s premiere bourbon bar.
Century Bar, 10 S. Jefferson St., held a blind tasting of six high end bourbon whiskeys from distilleries including Maker’s Mark, Wild Turkey, Four Roses, Buffalo Trace, and Jim Beam.
About 15 of us — a surprisingly even mixture of men and women, yay ladies! — got a great intro to some of the varied bourbon labels the bar offers, along with some door prizes, food and lively conversation. It’s an event the folks at Century hope will be the first of many as they transition to a modern take on the old-fashioned saloon.
Bartender Joe Head, who lead Saturday’s tasting, said Century Bar is moving away from the over-crowded craft beer scene to focus on bourbon.
The transition has already begun, as Century has cut down the number of beers offered and already increased their bourbon selection to 42 labels ranging in price from $4 to $8.50 for a single serving.
Head said eventually they hope to offer the maximum number of labels available in Ohio, which currently sits at 65. They will still offer a full bar’s worth of other spirits, but will focus on carrying about 15 quality beers instead of 75 assorted labels.
“Our goal is to be the premiere place to drink bourbon at least in Dayton, if not in all of Ohio,” he said. “There is a hole in the market for old time cocktails and an old fashioned Bourbon bar.”
If any spot in Dayton is perfectly poised to fill that void, it’s Century. The story goes that the beautiful wood bar was built in 1862 and was moved from Cincinnati in 1938. The current venue has been operating under the name Century Bar (or C-Bar in some circles) in downtown Dayton for decades.
It stands to reason that bar saw its fair share of bourbon drinking during the American whiskey’s heyday and the staff wants Century to be part of the drink’s current comeback.
“Bourbon lost favor in the 60s, 70s, 80s because people didn’t want to drink what their parents drank,” Head said. The new generation of drinkers is now embracing their grandparents drink of choice and leading a bourbon revival.
Moving forward, the small close-knit team at Century, headed by owner Diane Spitzig, is planning a Bourbon Club and more tasting events to showcase their new specialty. Head said they’re planning on holding events about once a month including a Wild Turkey themed Thanksgiving tasting in November and bringing in distillers and other guests to educate patrons about bourbon whiskey.
I think I still have a long way to go to call myself a connoisseur, but I discovered I actually like to sip bourbon neat and I’m looking forward to tasting more labels.
FYI here are the six bourbons we tasted:
Four Roses Small Batch, 90 proof. This was by far my favorite! It’s pleasantly sweet with hints of vanilla and honey, but it’s not overpowering. It becomes a lot more oaky when you add some ice.
Maker’s Mark 46, 94 proof.
Wild Turkey Russel’s Reserve 10-year-old, 90 proof.
Buffalo Trace’s Eagle Rare 17-year-old “Antique Collection”, 90 proof.
Jim Beam Devil’s Cut, 90 proof.
1792 Ridgemont Reserve, 93.7 proof.
What do you think? Will you become a bourbon convert?
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