Meals on Wheels hosts successful bourbon-tasting fundraiser

0
400

GREENFIELD — The steady strum of an acoustic guitar reverberated off the walls of the Hancock County 4-H Fairgrounds exhibit hall, and a blend of smoky and spicy aromas filled the air.

Visitors drifted through the room, browsing tables stacked high with food and drink served by local distilleries and restaurants. With the lines of rum, smoked sausage, cheeses, vodka and of course, bourbon, some said they didn’t know where to start.

Hundreds of thirsty patrons shuffled in to sample dozens of liquor brands Saturday for Boots and Bourbon, a tasting event and fundraiser hosted by Meals on Wheels of Hancock County, a nonprofit organization that delivers about 20,000 meals to Hancock County seniors yearly.

[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]Click here to purchase photos from this gallery

About $10,000 was raised through the event, which featured live music from local country artist Joe Hess and dozens of varieties of whisky and other products, said Kathleen Vahle, Meals on Wheels executive director.

Nearly 20 distributors had tables set up, with more than 65 different samples were available for tasting, Vahle said, each taking advantage of the opportunity to push their brand and get their name out, encouraging people to shop and drink local.

A live auction was also held in the afternoon, selling a number of hot-ticket items, including a football signed by Andrew Luck, custom-made bourbon barrels and James Taylor tickets.

Bourbon tastings in Indianapolis are quite popular, and the idea came to the board of directors to hold an event of their own, said Julie Lucas, Meals on Wheels board member. The other members were eager to start, agreeing it would be a fresh way to reach out to the community and encourage people to help their cause, Lucas said.

Matt Powell, a Greenfield man and self-described whiskey enthusiast, made his way through the tables sampling the various flavors Hancock County’s distilleries had to offer.

It’s always great to bring local vendors in versus national brands for hometown events like this, which target consumers close to home and encourages them to try drinks they might not have a chance to sip on elsewhere, Powell said.

“I’m really happy to see them keeping things in Hancock County,” Powell said.

Boots and Bourbon was a hugely beneficial opportunity for the vendors as well, said Blake Jones, Co-founder and president of West Fork Whiskey Co., an Indianapolis-based business.

Jones’s company is all about staying local; they buy their grain, make their whisky and age it, all in Indiana, Jones said. With a business model that aimed to serve Hoosiers, it seemed fitting to take part in an event that shared a similar goal, he said.

Events like Boots and Bourbon are the perfect way to get the word out and put the money in the community, all the while benefiting an organization that serves people right here at home, Jones said.

“It’s about getting the word out and connecting with people,” Jones said. “Sometimes when you think whiskey, people think Kentucky and Tennessee … but you want to get people expanding their horizons a little bit, and this is the perfect way to do that.”

Everyone who attended the event was giving back to their nonprofit in a direct way, Vahle said.

They were thrilled to see people attend, eager to peruse different types of whisky and bourbon while benefiting home-bound seniors and disabled in our community, Vahle said. Last year, they were able to serve more than 23,000 meals, and this year they hope they have the resources to do even more.

It’s wonderful to see everyone pitching in to help out elderly folks — often the most overlooked citizens — in need of a healthy meal, Vahle said.

It certainly helps that they got to try out some of the best-tasting whisky in the Hoosier state along the way, she said with a smile.

This year’s success indicates that another event could very well be in their near future, Lucas added.

“I think next year it’s really going to boom,” she said. “People just seemed to love the food and the atmosphere all day.”