Bag & String exclusive Tommyrotter barrel-aged gin

The flavors in this barrel aged gin are unreal!

I’m very excited to try my hand at making some creative drinks with this Bag & String Wine Merchants exclusive from Buffalo’s Tommy Rotter Distillery!

A Sunday Tour At Southern Tier

Today is Cinco de Mayo.

I should be writing about tequila, but instead I’m going to recap my Sunday tour of the Southern Tier Brewing Company.

So crack open a bottle of Phin & Matt’s and pour a shot of Patron Silver!
 

The tour was an educational group outing for all the staff at the bar where I work. And it was appreciated by all of us at Forte!

It’s nice to have a world class, internationally-renowned brewery in our back yard.

The tour of Southern Tier’s facility really puts things in perspective, as you learn about exactly how much raw product it takes to make so much beer — grains, water, hops, malt and everything else.

And in this photo below? With the beer being aged in barrels!? It’s something dark and gingery we were told! Sounds like a cocktail I know!  
Southern Tier’s brewery at Stoneman Park in Lakewood is the only place in Chautauqua County you can stand underneath 22,000 gallons of IPA.

Or maybe the only place in Western New York? I don’t know of another regional brewery that makes beer in such bulk amounts.