Do you like bourbon? Do you like puppies?
That might sound like an unusual combination, but it made for a pretty good reason to get together.
On Monday, August 17, the Clocktower Bourbon Club gathered at the Morgan’s Multi-Assistance Center (MAC) at Morgan’s Wonderland in San Antonio for an evening hosted in partnership with Guide Dogs of Texas.
For anyone unfamiliar with Morgan’s Wonderland, the organization has built something pretty special in San Antonio—a place centered around inclusion and providing opportunities and resources for people of all abilities. Guide Dogs of Texas has a similarly important mission, raising and training guide dogs to help Texans who are visually impaired gain greater freedom and independence.
The location was also very much in keeping with what the Clocktower Bourbon Club is about. The club brings together military and civilian leaders, but the gatherings aren’t just about bourbon. By meeting at different venues throughout San Antonio and the surrounding area, members get a chance to discover local organizations, businesses, and services they may not otherwise encounter—and to build stronger connections with the community along the way.
This time, that meant getting a closer look at the work being done at Morgan’s and by Guide Dogs of Texas, while also getting to meet a few of the dogs being trained for a much bigger purpose.
Put the two together, add the Clocktower Bourbon Club, and we had the makings of a memorable evening.
Of course, there was bourbon.
The night included another round of the Blind Bottle tasting. Three mystery bourbons—White, Blue, and Red—were poured without anyone knowing what was actually in the bottles. Each pour was tasted and rated on its own merits, with wooden stars dropped into the corresponding jars to cast our votes.
No label. No reputation. No price tag.
Just the whiskey in the glass.
If you aren’t familiar with what the Blind Bottle Tasting Experience is all about be sure to read about it in the link (⬅). If you missed out this time, be sure to make a point of participating at our next event. Below, you’ll find the results of the experience.
As always, if you forgot to cast your vote, be sure to remember next time – just place a wooden star in the voting jar that corresponds to the color of the blind bottle that you liked the most. In any case, the voting results are not what is important. This is something that we do to help you remember which one YOU liked the best. What is important is what you remember about each of them and which one you liked. Now, you get to find out what was in each of the blind bottles.
THE RESULTS
Three very different bourbons and another good reminder of why blind tasting can be so much fun. When you take the label away, sometimes the results are exactly what you expected.
And sometimes they aren’t.
Blind Bottle: Red
Old Grand-Dad 114, Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, 114 Proof
MSRP $26, found at pretty much any liquor store in San Antonio, Texas
8 votes
Blind Bottle: White
Booker’s 2023-03 “Mighty Fine Batch”, Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, 126.6 Proof
MSRP $81, but a little more difficult to find at that price. Secondary market prices range from $130 to $199
1 votes 😯
Blind Bottle: Blue
Knob Creek, 9 Year, Single Barrel Reserve, Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, 120 Proof
MSRP $46, found at pretty much any liquor store in San Antonio, Texas
5 votes
The next meeting we will feature three whiskies for the blind bottles. One blind bottle will contain an allocated whiskey, such as (but not limited to) Colonel EH Taylor Small Batch, Eagle Rare, Blanton’s, or other hard to find whiskey. The other two blind bottles will contain a carefully selected, very good whiskey, that can easily be found and at a reasonable price, with one being under $30 and the other being between $40 – $60.
