beer, bourbon, and bbq…oh my

On Saturday night, the Beer, Bourbon and BBQ Festival came to NYC for an evening that was certain to be filled with lots of drinking, eating, and general merriment. So Lauren and I threw on some flannel, grabbed her manfriend, and moseyed on over to the Festival for what turned out to be a very great time.

None of us had been to this yearly touring festival before, so although we were excited as we shivered in line waiting to get in, we didn’t know exactly what to expect. Little did we know that inside, a four-hour slice of heaven awaited us. As soon as we stepped through the door, we were each given our own souvenir glass to take around to every booth at the event and get it filled up with either beer or bourbon. For free. For four hours.

And that wasn’t even the best part (okay, it was the best part). But the SECOND best part of the festival, especially for cheapos like Lauren and I, was all the free SWAG that was being passed out like hotcakes. In the words of Michael Scott, business visionary, SWAG stands for STUFF WE ALL GET. And oh boy, did we get it. Look at my booty from the evening:



This little pile of goodness includes 4 bottle opener keychains, a magic hat sticker, a box of matches, mardi gras beads, 2 magnets that look like bottle caps, a guide to great beer bars in NYC, my entry into the Maker’s Mark ambassador program, and of course a Magic Hat condom.

Now that’s some good swag.

I think it’s safe to say that if you don’t end up having a good time at this festival that you either have no soul or you got too drunk and yakked all over yourself and/or others. I’m happy to say that neither was true of anyone in my party, and so it was a grand, grand time. Some text messages that I sent out during these glorious four hours said things like:

you should have come here it’s like heaven only you don’t have to die to come

bacon flavored popcorn is good

we’re gonna go to the hustler after this *

*An explanation: when we first received our souvenir glasses, they included a business card tucked inside them, good for free entrance to the Hustler club. This prompted Lauren and I (after a few beers and bourbons), to decide that we were gonna hit up the Hustler after the Festival. Her boyfriend seemed fine with this idea. Then we went to the Hustler booth at the event, where one of the strippers approached Lauren and I and offered us a job working at Hustler because we “are hot and it pays a lot.” We told her we’d think about it and see her later. But alas, at the end of the evening, we all were craving more BBQ and ended up at Hill Country to gorge ourselves. This prompted feeling sick and/or tired, and we never made it to the Hustler. Next time for sure.

So all in all, the Beer, Bourbon and BBQ Festival is a great time and I encourage everyone who enjoys consuming things and having fun to attend it next year.

I also recommend everyone to join the Maker’s Mark Ambassador program, because they will put your name on a barrel of bourbon, give you updates about it as it ages, and then invite you to Kentucky to taste it when it’s matured. My six year countdown began on Saturday night…

Amen to that.