Kiwanis Club offers bourbon tasting

The Dover-New Philadelphia Kiwanis Club will host the chance to sample bourbons while also providing access to buying some of the hardest to find bourbons in Ohio. The Kiwanis Club Bourbon Tasting will be Saturday, Aug. 19 at 6 p.m. at Union Country Club in Dover.

Some of the rarities up for auction include bottles of Whistlepig, a complete Blanton’s bottle topper collection, Russell’s Reserve, Elmer T. Lee and Rock Hill Farms. Dozens of bottles of the tipple from Kentucky will be on hand.

Over the four years the Kiwanis Club has been offering the bourbon tasting fundraiser, Kiwanis Club President Cathy Palmer and member Brenda Cameron have become experts at tracking down rare bottles.

“It’s actually becoming harder,” Cameron said. “We were able to stay in contact with liquor outlets over a fairly wide area, and we could call and find out if something unusual was available. Now demand is so great that we can’t even do that anymore.”

Friends have proven to be good sources, and vacations out of Ohio, where supplies are sometimes greater, usually turn up a rare bottle or two. “It’s a year-long process finding them all,” Cameron said.

Cameron said the Kiwanis Bourbon Tasting has been popular from the start. The idea for a bourbon tasting fundraiser came about while on vacation with her husband.

“On a trip I saw a group who were offering an Irish whiskey tasting for St. Patrick’s Day and thought we could do that for the club here with bourbon. We started in 2020 and weren’t sure what to expect, but tickets sold out right away and we had to add more. It has sold out every year and is a good fundraiser for us,” Cameron said.

Tickets for the event are in limited supply.

The Dover-New Philadelphia Kiwanis Club concentrates its charitable activity in helping children, Cameron explained.

“When we get a request for a contribution, we always ask how it will benefit children,” Cameron said.

The club supports numerous local causes and provides scholarship funds for students in the Dover, New Philadelphia and Central Catholic school systems. “We gave out twenty-nine $500 scholarships last year,” Cameron said.

“At the bourbon auction every year,” Palmer said, “I always say, ‘Come on guys, bid. This is going to the kids.’”

The club helps the Friends of the Homeless Shelter, Dress a Child, local baseball teams, Noah’s Hope, Big Brothers Big Sisters and numerous other local charities.

The bourbon tasting event will include a four-course dinner featuring Kentucky-style dishes. The first course sees Louisville fried green tomatoes, blue crab salad and a Cajun remoulade. The second course is a Bardstown pimento cheese stuffed slider and Cajun dusted sweet potato fries. The third course is Lexington fried chicken, collard greens and cheese grits, and the final serving is of Kentucky Derby pie with Chantilly cream.

Each of the four courses will be served with a different bourbon. “Those will be brands that are excellent but that you’ll be able to find on the shelf most of the time,” Cameron said.

The true rarities will be saved for the live auction. Others will be sold off via raffle tickets.

Tickets for the bourbon tasting event are in limited supply and are $100 each. Call or email Cameron for tickets at 330-340-1235 or runner81@roadrunner.com. Checks also can be mailed to Dover-New Philadelphia Kiwanis, P.O. Box 103, New Philadelphia, OH 44663.

See a complete list of bourbons available at the event by checking the club’s Facebook page.