I received a blogger pass to Feast Portland. As always, all opinions are my own.
Rainy season is over! Portland is back to glorious days with lots of sunshine, and I can’t help but reminisce about Feast Portland. Last year was my first Feast, and I was lucky enough to experience it with the perks of a blogger pass. The Grand Tasting is one big, exciting experience, but the smaller events are where you’ll have an opportunity to hear from the experts and slow down to sip and savor at your own pace.
Presented by Imbibe, Drink Tank panels highlight some of the best brewers, distillers, and winemakers from around the country. I attended two Drink Tank panels at 2017 Feast Portland: Rosé All Day. Everyday. and Kilts Not Required: American Single Malts.
Rosé All Day. Everyday.
I’m not exactly sure when it happened, but rosé is super trendy right now. In a former life, I worked in advertising in the wine industry, and I don’t remember rosé being as big of a deal back then. One thing’s for sure though, this love for rosé isn’t going away anytime soon. How much you wanna bet Instagram has something to do with it?
The rosé panel consisted of Bon Appetit’s Marissa Ross, Bar Avignon’s Randy Goodman, and writers Katherine Cole and Jordan Mackay. We talk about summertime as being rosé season, but the truth is, this pretty pink wine is a lovely one to enjoy year round. I’ve always been a fan of darker rosés, which are richer and more complex, making them perfect for pairing with food. The paler rosés are lovely too and more ideal as a refreshing sipper. The back and forth banter between the panel got more and more entertaining the further into the tasting we got, as well as the legibility of my handwriting. ;)
Kilts Not Required: American Single Malts
Confession: I was not much of a whiskey drinker until I moved to Portland. With so many great local distilleries in town, I quickly warmed up to it. At Feast, I managed to snag one of the unclaimed spots at the American Single Malt Drink Tank. The bearded lineup at this panel included House Spirits Distiller’s Christian Krogstad, Westland Distillery’s Matt Hofmann, writer Andrew Bohrer, and Imbibe’s Paul Clark.
Scotland is renowned for its whiskey, but American distillers have been stepping up their game with single malts (made from a single distillery, using exclusively malted barley). We sampled six single malt whiskeys, including a Japanese one that was included in the tasting to show differences in flavor and texture. As a whiskey newbie, I’ll admit that my palate isn’t refined enough to pick up the subtle nuances, but it’s fascinating and helpful to be tasting along with folks who know what they’re talking about. Cheers!
Note: This post is in collaboration with Feast Portland. I received a blogger pass to the festival. This was not in exchange for a positive review and all opinions expressed here are my own.
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