This week the British Bourbon Trail cuts a path up north, to Nottingham. Bourbon certainly wouldn’t have been found there in the times of Robin Hood (nor would the baked potato street vendor that bears his name), and in fact it nearly wasn’t just the prince of thieves who missed out. The first time I visited Nottingham I didn’t find much bourbon. Two months later, Rub Smokehouse & Bar opened.
Happily they brought themselves to my attention in due course, so on a midweek afternoon I made the journey back up, checked into my hotel on Maid Marian Way (no word of a lie), and headed on over for some food and whiskey.
The bourbon collection at Rub is hard to miss, taking pride of place in the center behind the bar. The selection itself represents a solid baseline of whiskeys and bourbons the budding aficionado ought to familiarise themselves with. I started out with a glass of Knob Creek – a very easy to drink bourbon which is unusual for a flagship product in that it actually bears an age statement. Quite an impressive one too – 9 years. It has a well rounded oakiness to it, but also a nice fruity punch, with hints of citrus and pine.
As I was talking to the bar staff, one thing that became quickly apparent was that they take a real pride in their inventiveness when it comes to cocktails. And plays on words too, though the two seem to go hand in hand. Order yourself a “Harry Potter and the Chambord of Secrets” and you’ll see what I mean.
I myself chose a “Jean Claude Jam Dram” – a Buffalo Trace based cocktails containing blackcurrant jam and rhubarb syrup, and served over crushed ice in the style of a Mint Julep, complete with a few blocks of white Hershey’s chocolate. Like many of the other cocktails, it sounded a little bit Heston, but being a sweet tooth myself I found it really hit the spot.
As always, meat and whiskey are the perfect bedfellows and the food was as much under scrutiny as the bourbon. Rub specialise in over-the-top, epic servings of classic smokehouse fare, and had I brought my wingman for the night I would have been tempted by their #hungdrawnandquartered platter. As it was, even the recommended combo of brisket and a half rack of ribs was enough to put me into a luxurious meat coma the moment I got back to the hotel! The meat was flavoursome enough that it didn’t need to be absolutely saturated in BBQ sauce, especially the ribs which were lovely and salty and seasoned to perfection.
You can also have dessert served in a sink. So there’s that too.
Not far from Rub there is Boilermaker; a modern twist on the historic speakeasy which also boasts an impressive range of bourbon, with a few more hard-to-find gems. The one that caught my eye was Hancock’s President’s Reserve; a great bourbon that’s pricey to get hold of but worth every penny, with dark fruits, black grapes and toffee on the nose, and rich oak, molasses and char in the pallet.
Nottingham also has a branch of “The Whisky Shop“. These places are a good opportunity to see something a bit different. The ones I’ve been in recently have had stock of the Buffalo Trace ‘experimental’ bourbons, including one that uses rice for the secondary grain, and another which uses oats. They also stock the Woodford Reserve ‘Masters’ collection, which I’m a big fan of. It’s fun to check out, but of course the only way to taste them is to buy a bottle. Which is fine if you’re looking to splash out and treat yourself.
For even more choice, near The Whisky Shop in the Exchange off High Street, is a store called ‘Gauntley’s’, which offers quite a few American whiskeys, including the Michter’s range. I can personally recommend the Michter’s Bourbon, which has a delicious nose of blood orange, treacle and black pepper, and an easy drinking flavour with plenty of smoke and cinnamon sweetness.
So all in all, it took two trips to find the best of what Nottingham had to offer, but after it all I can safely say that if you find yourself in the East Midlands looking for a good selection of American gold, Nottingham is the watering hole for you.