We were all so excited to attend
our first whiskey dinner and, of course, it's always great to listen to
my good friend, Lew Bryson who is so knowledgable about drinks. We have
had him down in Somers Point to fascinate us with Bourbon and Irish Whisky
and are looking for his return to do another Bourbon seminar soon.
Well, this was also our first time
at Percy and we were impressed by the decor and the great whiskey and beer
selections. Only a few taps but a nice variety of canned beer, yes canned!
We enjoyed a beer or whiskey before the start of the dinner.
Several prominent beer people were
in attendance: Chris Lapierre, brewer at Iron Hill-Maple Shade, Casey Hughes,
brewer at Flying Fish, and several guys from Stoudt's.
The first whiskey we tasted was
1792 Ridgemont Reserve "Kentucky Tea" accompanied by a variety of Country
Hams: Fathers from KY, Phillip's from NC and Edward's Wigwam from VA. They
were fantastic but not enough for the 6 of us.
Next up was Sweet Potato Soup w/smoked
pork rillettes. We could've made a meal out of this. My wife and I love
soup and this was outstanding. It was served with Stranahan's Colorado
Whiskey which I had always wanted to try, but never had the chance. We
were all impressed with it, a very smooth drink for such a young one. FYI,
this whiskey used to be made with wash from Flying Dog Brewing that was
right next door to them, but then FD left for Frederick, MD and Stranahan
had to set up a brewing system for itself.
Trout has never been high on my
list of favorites and my friend Don eats no seafood at all, but we were
presented with Smoked Trout on a bed of greens with apples, onions and
fingerling potatoes. The smokiness was just right and no flavor of fish
came through. Even Don ate some! Four Roses Yellow Label was poured for
us and was by far everyone's favorite! It was the epitome of smooth!
A smoked Stuffed Quail made its
appearance in front of us next with cornbread and sausage stuffing and
brussel sprouts. The quail was smoked a bit too much for my taste, but
it was a new experience. It was served with a Rittenhouse Rye Manhattan
which was my first. Very strong alcohol presence in this drink and certainly
warmed the body!
Finally, we enjoyed a most delicious
dessert to end this unique meal. It was a blend of Byrd Mill Grits, caramel,
peanuts and vanilla ice cream accompanied by Rowan's Creek Bourbon.
We wish we could have stayed for
one more, but we had a timeframe and we were well past it. Having been
the first drinks dinner here, they did very well. Service was good, food
was warm and drinks superb.
We are all looking forward to returning
to Percy St. for a dose of their regular menu and some of the fine whiskies
on hand. If you're ever in Philly, don't pass this place up. A convenient
parking garage a block away and a Whole Foods store across the street,
there are lots of reasons to go but none not to.
Hope to see you there!