Macon Magazine

38 l MACON MAGAZINE DECEMBER/JANUARY 2013 all over the country with different aging techniques and mixes of grains. But Southern bourbon fans see it as a family tradition, as Susannah Maddux, owner of Goods Public Relations, explained. "It must be in my blood," she said. "My dad once told me, after I requested Maker's Mark bourbon for a college football game tailgate in North Carolina, 'That's fitting. It was your grandfather's favorite.'" And as our taste buds evolve, we become more discerning than we were in our college drinking days. "I see it amongst friends, as you get older gaining an appreciation for it," said Maddux's husband, Tripp. "We can all remember pouring a bourbon and ginger with bottom-shelf whiskey." But moving on from Maker's Mark to the usually lesser-known brands like Knob Creek and Templeton Rye, takes a little bit more encouragement. The Madduxes are always willing to lend a hand in opening up friends to a new world of bourbon, sometimes in an unexpected way. AN ACQUIRED TASTE "Like coffee, for many, the taste is acquired," said Susannah, who cites Black Maple Hill as her personal favorite and a permanent fixture on her husband's Christmas list. "So, when I have the opportunity, I enjoy introducing friends to bourbon. On a normal basis, you can find me adding the liquid pleasure to my kitchen ventures. When I want to kick up my homemade cinnamon ice cream or the whipped cream to top a pie, I add a little bourbon. Ever interested in updating a favorite banana bread recipe, I have been known to add in a splash or two. After all, in my book, bourbon accentuates the good in most any situation." Luckily, for Maconites willing to take the plunge into small-batch bourbon, a steady guiding hand comes in the form of Downtown Grill owner Richie Jones, the man many a bourbon fan relies on for recommendations. "I want people to get out of their comfort zone, try stuff they've never seen, and notice a little bit of a taste difference," he said. "You can walk into Applebee's and have Jack Daniels or Crown Royal, whereas here, while we do sell that stuff, I'd personally rather you try something different. There's a lot of great stuff out there that you might have never heard of. Or you may find something that becomes your new favorite." Jones is careful to have bartenders who can always help with advising customers in their drink choices, whether they are connoisseurs or newbies who are looking to graduate from the school of "Jack and Coke." "I try to see what they normally drink, and then maybe I'll recommend X, Y or Z, kind of based on their preference, or we'll get a lot of people asking, 'What do you like?' or 'What do you recommend?' and I would base it if I, a, know the person or, b, can get the gist of what they are looking for or if they want to try something off the wall, I can say what is a good choice for them." At our small bourbon-tasting event, Jones guided us through the descriptions of the bourbons' flavors (which range from the ever-present "oaky," to the less-expected hints of cinnamon, citrus and even leathery), as well as how to experience the flavor to the fullest (the Richie Jones prepares to pour.

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