‘Bar Rescue’ Host Jon Taffer Wants You to Use His Browned Butter Bourbon in a Cocktail Competition

“Bar Rescue” host and hospitality personality, Jon Taffer, is hosting a cocktail competition behind his spirits brand Taffer’s Browned Butter Bourbon. (Photos: Taffer’s Browned Butter Bourbon)

On Thursday, Jon Taffer and the team behind Taffer’s Browned Butter Bourbon announced that a social media contest called Taffer’s Browned Butter Bourbon “Best of 2024 Cocktail Competition” will run from Thursday to March 30.

The entries will be judged by Taffer, the award-winning hospitality personality whose claim to fame stems from Paramount’s “Bar Rescue” series.

“When I created Taffer’s Browned Butter Bourbon, I was so excited to get it into the hands of creative people who could take the rich, complex flavor of this spirit and make some truly unique cocktails that people could enjoy,” Taffer said in a statement.

Interested parties can enter by posting a photo or video of their cocktail with Taffer’s Browned Butter Bourbon as an ingredient on Facebook or Instagram and tagging it @Taffer’sBrownedButterBourbon with the hashtag #taffersbestof2024.

According to the release, the entries will be judged on both taste and presentation. The cocktails will be grouped into two divisions: simple serves with one or two ingredients and craft cocktail recipes.

Entrants can fall into three categories: Fall/Winter cocktails, Spring/Summer cocktails and yearlong.

Those who place first in those three categories will be considered for the Best of 2024. The lucky winners’ recipes will be posted on Taffer’s Browned Butter Bourbon website, and receive a signed, painted and numbered baseball cap created by the Las Vegas artist, Michael Godard.  Winners will also receive Taffer’s Browned Butter Bourbon merchandise and a cash prize of $500.

Jon Taffer (right) poses with the artist Michael Godard (left.) Goddard custom-painted a set of baseball caps which will be given out as prizes to lucky winners.

From Culinary Kitchens to Cocktail Glasses – the Origin Story Behind Jon Taffer’s Flavored Bourbon

For a culinary-inspired brand like Taffer’s Browned Butter Bourbon, a cocktail competition makes perfect sense.

During an exclusive interview with Whiskey Raiders in May, Jon Taffer shared the origins of Taffer’s Browned Butter Bourbon and divulged that the initial recipe involved using a sous vide bag, Canadian rye whiskey and butter.

Unlike a lot of spirits brands, this whiskey’s beginnings took place in a kitchen.

“It was very culinary the way we went about it; it was all chefs who were sous vide cooking and made the butter,” Taffer said. “It was created by a team of chefs in a kitchen. It was a unique experience. Whiskeys are not made in culinary teams, typically. But this one was.”

As the whiskey brand grew and Diageo took notice, Taffer’s Browned Butter Whiskey had to evolve and shift out of its humble beginnings.

Taffer claimed he tried multiple recipes and eventually chose to go with a blend of two bourbons, one with a high-rye mashbill and another with a low-rye mashbill, coupled with the browned butter flavoring for the final product.

Those interested in trying the bourbon can pick up a bottle in locations throughout Nevada and Massachusetts. The bourbon hosts a suggested retail price of $34.99.

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