The lady’s out of town again, seeing family and friends and trying not to die from vacation exhaustion, so I thought I’d fill the void by sharing a Table for Two moment from before there was Table for Two.

One of our early dates was to the Chicago bar/restaurant Big Star. The place does a few things, but it does them really well. There are tacos from Chef Paul Kahan (of Avec, Blackbird and The Publican), cocktails from Mixologist Michael Rubel (of The Violet Hour), and honky-tonk and classic country vinyl from folks like Hank Thompson and Johnny Cash. What’s most important for this story, though, is that it has one of the widest and best selections of bourbon and rye whiskey available in Chicago.

Nestled up at the crowded bar, my whisky nerdom came out and we asked about the hand-selected whisky casks that Big Star picked up on distillery visits in Kentucky. They’ve bought entire barrels of Buffalo Trace, Old Weller and Wild Turkey, but what we decided on this night was two very interesting pours from Four Roses. The two barrels were filled at the same time, from the same newly distilled spirit and aged for the same length of time in the same warehouse, sitting literally right next to each other. But, wow, how different they were! Though nearly the same proof, one tasted light and floral, the other powerful and spicy. One drank best neat, one could use some water to bring more flavors out.

My giddiness did not go unnoticed by the lady and a few weeks later when Valentine’s Day came around, she gave me a very nice bottle of bourbon (and, since she’s cheeky, a mixtape titled Pairs Well with Bourbon, but that’s a whole ‘nother post). What would she pick, but a Four Roses Single Barrel bottling!  This one, hand-selected by Binny’s, is of that same Four Roses style, but is different still from the Big Star barrels. It has hints of mint and a good, thick mouthfeel with a higher alcoholic punch (over 120 proof!) and a solid spicy rye twinge. Deep. Complex. Excellent. 

For those who like more facts and less sap, it’s OBSF, barreled July 2002, bottled August 2010.

The next day I posted to Facebook, “Got a bottle of bourbon and a mixtape for Valentine’s Day. I may have found a keeper.”