🟢 Bloomfield Gets 250 Whiskeys in One Room

Good Morning Hartford County,

It’s wild, but it’s the first weekend of September 2026 (gosh I’m getting old).

Did you know that September is Bourbon Heritage Month? We will talk more about it below, but if you ever needed an excuse to appreciate an American-made spirit, this would be the month.

Be sure to enjoy the last few “warm” weeks we have as things slowly trickle into fall.

In today’s edition of The Hartford Pour, we’ll get into:

— Chris M.
Local Whiskey Nerd, Husband, Dad, Entrepreneur (Fun Tip: American Single Malts are VERY underrated)

I’m thinking of doing meetups in the future as we continue to grow.

This can include bar-crawls, restaurant meetups, wine/liquor tastings, cocktail drink classes, etc…

Hopefully this isn’t prying… but it would be really helpful to know your relationship status as we prepare for the fun in the future.

(#notsponsored, yet)

Ninety-nine bucks gets you in a room with 250 whiskeys.

I ran the numbers so you don't have to. It checks out.

The 13th Annual WeHa Whiskey & Spirits Festival is Saturday, September 26 at Tumble Brook Country Club, 376 Simsbury Road in Bloomfield. That's my town, so I'm hype!

Quick history. Maximum Beverage in West Hartford has run this since 2014, back when "WeHa" meant the party was actually in West Hartford. The owner, Brian Whitney, started it as a fundraiser and it stuck.

So here is what you get:

Doors are 6:30 to 9:30 PM. VIP gets you in at 5:30, which is the smart play if you want a pour of something allocated before everyone shows up.

Aside from all the fun, here is the guilt-free part of the evening.

The proceeds go to Maximum Charities and Friends of Feeney, which is a West Hartford nonprofit that helps local families after a tragedy. Over the years, these festivals have raised tens of thousands.

Cool, right?

So technically this is charity work, thank me later.

Picture “bourbon” in 1920 as the guy who was about to lose everything.

Farmers in the midwest had a problem. They had too much corn and no good way to move it. So, what do they do? Make alcohol, of course.

And since many American farmers were of Scottish descent, they brought whiskey-making knowledge from their forefathers in Scotland.

But it wasn’t “great” whiskey. It was rough and cheap. Not what you served company when they stopped by.

Then Prohibition arrived, effectively destroying most distilleries in its wake.

But thirteen years later bourbon crawled out and found a way to survive.

In 1964, Congress passed a resolution naming bourbon "America's Native Spirit." Protecting it the way “Champagne” belongs to France.

After making bourbon for so long and mastering it, it started to taste better and better. The corn liquor nobody wanted at the table was now, by act of government, the national drink.

BUT, it even came with a rulebook.

To be bourbon, it has to be at least 51% corn, aged in a brand-new charred oak barrel, and bottled with nothing added but water.

Contrary to popular belief, it DOES NOT have to come from Kentucky (even though about 95% of it does).

Then in 2007, a Kentucky senator introduced a resolution making September National Bourbon Heritage Month. It passed by unanimous consent. As in not one senator voted against bourbon being America’s drink.

The throwaway drink because some farmers had too much corn, now has its own month on the federal calendar.

Pour something good this September.

(AMERICA!)

Distilled by: Westward Whiskey
Mashbill: 100% Malted Barley (single malt, duhh)
Age: Non-Age Stated, but reported to be approx 4 to 6 years old
Proof: 125
Findability: 5 out of 10
MSRP: $100

Nosing/Tasting Notes

Nose: I was expecting, with the 125 proof point, that I would get hit in the nose with alcohol. I was wrong. The nose is straight chocolate malt balls (like whoppers) surrounded by roasted/toasted almonds. It’s very inviting and I can smell it all day!

Palate: I get dried herbal notes on this one. Black tea, baking spices, a little grainy with the malted barley because you can definitely tell it’s a single malt, but the finish really rounds everything out.

Finish: The finish is intense! At 125, it sticks around a while, but not in a bad way. It’s nice and long, very viscous, sticking to your teeth and making it crazy good. You even get a Kentucky Hug right there in your chest.

Final Thoughts:

I get it. I'm talking about an American single malt when it's Bourbon Heritage Month.

So, sue me.

But, this one I recently found at a Maximum Bev store, and it was so good I had to write about it.

This American Single Malt is near perfection. Definitely one of the top whiskies I’ve had all year.

Other than the taste, the main issue I have with this bottle is being able to find it. If you are hoping to stumble across it at a liquor store in Hartford County somewhere? You're probably not going to run into it.

However, if you order online or from your local liquor store, you will have a much better time at finding it and know you won’t be wasting your money.

If you see this, buy it and don’t hesitate.

(First September Weekend fun)

The list for Friday is looooooong! But I’ve curated a few things to do.

Start your Friday back at the Talcott Mountain Collective, 140 Nod Rd in Simsbury, where Shakedown Citi runs a full-tilt Grateful Dead set from 7 to 10 PM ($15 in) while the mountain goes dark behind the stage.

Afterwards, head down Rt 44 back to Hartford.

Twenty minutes later you're at Black-eyed Sally's, 350 Asylum St, enjoying The Blues Machine's going until 11pm. “Rum” it up with a Hurricane Sally in hand from the Black-eyed Sally’s bar.

This one may be a weird one, but stick with me.

Barktoberfest takes over Connecticut Valley Brewing at 765 Sullivan Ave, South Windsor, from noon to 10, and somewhere in the middle of it a beagle in tiny lederhosen is going to outshine every dog there… Make peace with that now.

CT Valley’s Oktoberfest will be on tap, so it’s an easy choice for what to drink once you are there.

Next (for my island folks), head back (3x this weekend) to Talcott Mountain Collective, 140 Nod Rd in Simsbury, where Block Island Soul runs reggae and R&B covers until 9:30

The dog will be hopped up from the excitement, he will sleep for two days and you get a break.

Fair trade.

It’s not lunch, it’s not breakfast, it’s brunch… and it’s on a farm.

Brunch on the Farm sets up at Flamig Farm, 7 Shingle Mill Rd in West Simsbury, at noon: real food, a live band, cornhole, and farm animals wandering close enough to judge your plate (seriously).

On your way back out of Simsbury, pull into Rosedale Farms & Vineyards, 25 East Weatogue St, for a glass of their Farmington River Red. They're open till 5, so there's no rush.

Finally, the 4 o'clock show is why you keep moving because the Silk City Jazz Band plays big-band swing at Cheney Hall, 177 Hartford Rd in Manchester.

Tickets start at $12, a genuinely stupid-good price for a live horn section.

Do you know of an AWESOME restaurant or bar? Or something not included in this email you’d like to see?

REPLY to this email and let me know!