Hidden Gems: State Lines
Last month we gave you a hidden gem we found on our trip to Bordeaux this month we will continue with the theme. I’m going to let this cat out of the bag but I know I’ll be kicking myself next year should this event become really popular as I hate divulging best kept secrets but when I do it’s only because it’s an exceptional experience .
Ready for the secret?
There’s a cocktail festival in Boston called Thirst Boston. Apparently this event happens every year with proceeds supporting a non profit. This year it was Lovin’ Spoonfuls, a hunger relief organziation in Boston.
As you check in you’re given a bracelet with pull off tabs that you can use for tastings. You also get a tasting wine glass which I found odd for an event not serving wine but it did make it easy for you to swoosh water in it after each tasting. Lastly you get a token to try a cocktail.
Bees Knees from Bar Hill
The tastings were easy as there were about 20 different vendors that offered tastings. I wish they had explained the cocktail option better though as I didn’t realize there were 4 different stations for cocktails which were located along the walls. Still I tried the Bees Knees which was made of raw honey, lemon juice and Bar Hill gin from Vermont.
In addition to the tastings some vendors had games such as ring toss, hook a ring, basket ball toss, match the duckies, and more where you could win prizes. All of this was held at the Innovation and Design Building in Boston’s seaport district. The experience was a fun indoor fair for the over 21 crowd with everyone imbibing in a responsbile manner.
Lastly for such an affordable event ( tickets were only $37) it’s amazing more people didn’t attend. Oh well their loss is our gain!
Think about going next year if you’re in town as you’re bound to have a good time!
Until then here’s a rundown of the samples we tasted.
Tequila Fortaleza - I hate tequila but this tequila went down smooth, it wasn’t until 1 minute after drinking it did I feel the burn.
Bimini- I was drawn to this brand because I wanted to know why something named after a Bahamian island would be located in Maine. I never found that out but the gin was delicious! Their original gin version was smooth and didn’t have an overpowering taste of junipers. The overproof version was bit of a kick, it is overproof after all.
Koval- Who knew they were making gin and whiskey in Chicago? You’d think the Cranberry Gin liqueur would taste like a christmas tree, but it didn’t. You taste the cranberry but it’s not overpowering.
Honeymaker - A maker of meads had a variety of meads for the tastings. I quite expected that the meads would be as sweet as honey wine from Ethiopia but it wasn’t. They were lightly sweetened, clean and refreshing.
Broken Shed- Purportedly voted the best vodka worldwide, it was a very good tasting and smooth.
