IT WAS A WIN >>>

You've heard the murmuring, the dissension in the ranks, the Negative Nelly's with their crappy attitudes, the broken record of wrist-slitting rhetoric ...

"Gas Prices are high". Boo! "All the fun stuff is in Seattle". Hiss! "There's a cover charge? But it's Tacoma!" Whine! "Someone should do something ..."

One Tacoma resident has, at least in the "fun stuff" department. Taking matters into his own hands is Todd Buckley.

"I got tired of always going to Seattle for great alcohol tasting events," he tells me.

So Buckley put his thinking cap on (or more likely pulled out an iPad) and created the Tacoma Alcohol Consortium (TAC). Buckley shares that he's always had a strong desire to create things. "I really wanted to do something unique. When Washington State changed the laws to allow distilleries I knew that was my opportunity," he says.  

Buckley has plans for starting a distillery of his own. To that end, the creation of TAC serves several purposes. "I wanted to create camaraderie between all the local alcohol producers, such as The Harmon, Wingman Brewery, Ponte 21, and other future alcohol manufacturers," he says. Through TAC Buckley will host alcohol tastings around Tacoma, where leading and local producers of wine, beer and spirits will impart product knowledge, history and most importantly, let people try the stuff for themselves.

The TAC kick-off event was held Tuesday, June 21 in the swanky, cellar-like private dining room at Pacific Grill. Guests were greeted with individual packets of tasting cards, nosing definitions, drink recipes, and (my favorite, straight out of Whisky Magazine) "The Pentlands Wheel," which states women have some of the best noses in the whisky trade. Hear, hear!

The afternoon event began with a brief oratory on the history of whiskey and bourbon led by Cody Rossen from Maker's Mark. The first four of eight whiskies sampled came in at 100 proof or less. The first three were fairly standard: Maker's Mark, Basil Hayden, Knob Creek. The fourth, Maker's Mark White Dog, is not available in stores and was a real treat for the industry folks - not to mention the flat-out whisky fans at the event.

My close-at-hand tablemates were Tacoma resident Gregory Gulley, Asado manager Chris Lei, STINK owner Kris Blondin, blogger and tasty things aficionado Ann Meersman and husband a friend, Jaime Kay Jones (owner of Top of Tacoma and soon-to-open restaurant Marrow), and Swing bartender Bradford Knutson of Olympia. At other ends of the room were craft cocktail maker extraordinaire Chris Keil of 1022 South, not to mention Tacoma's own Sexiest Bartender of 2011, Emily Larberg Cook, who sat with staff of Jazzbones and Masa and other attendees.

Pacific Grill staff swooped in with plates of tasty victuals to keep tasters from being too tipsy for the second round of tiny cups of high proof liquor. Delicious barbequed wings, chilled pork, stuffed puff pastry, charcuterie, olives, cheeses, meat candy- all were selected to compliment the liquid libations.

Round two of tasting was power packed with higher caliber whiskies. Starting with 94 proof Maker's 46, 86 proof Jim Beam Devils Cut, 120 proof Knob Creek Single Barrel and climbing to Booker's at 127 proof - suddenly the room was warmer and the table chatter increased.

A smiling Gregory Gulley shares that he's been thinking of opening his own place, be it restaurant or bar, and attended the event at the recommendation of friend Chris Lei of Asado. Of the first TAC event, Gulley says, "I gained a lot of knowledge and enjoyment. I don't go to too many tasting events. This one was good".

The next Tacoma Alcohol Consortium event is Sunday, July 17 7 p.m. at 1022 South. It will serve as the send off party for Tales of the Cocktail festival in New Orleans and has a very special guest- author of Left Coast Libations Ted Munat.  

Details on the Tacoma Alcohol Consortium can be found here.