Special events: JJ’s, Surly Brewing and Blanton’s Single Barrel Bourbon release

July 18, 2018

This paid piece is sponsored by JJ’s Wine, Spirits & Cigars.

Some of the first events to be held at the new JJ’s Wine, Spirits & Cigars are big ones – a visit Thursday by Surly Brewing Co.’s founder plus the debut Friday of a single barrel of one of the hottest whiskies on the planet.

The new location on West 57th Street west of Western Avenue opened in June, and owner Tom Slattery said things couldn’t be going better.

“We have far surpassed any expectations we had for increased foot traffic and along with that increased sales,” Slattery said. “Our retail platform hasn’t changed much from our old location. But because of the high volume of foot traffic, we have had to change a few things to keep the wheels moving. Those are things like taking in larger loads and adding staff – all good things for a growing retailer.”

Next up at JJ’s: Cocktail lounge, boozy bakery and special events

The expanded space also allows for all kinds of on-site events, from private bookings to events hosted by JJ’s like the ones this week.

Featuring special guest Omar Ansari, founder of Surly Brewing, the Thursday event will give Surly fans a chance to catch up with the man whose brews have built a big following.

“We had Omar here when Surly launched in South Dakota a couple of years ago,” Slattery said. “We drew a pretty sizable crowd, and Thursday we’ll also be tapping a couple of special barrel-aged kegs too.”

JJ’s will offer a special deal on a Surly four-pack — $6.99 for Furious – and $3 Surly Cans on the patio. Grab a glass of 2016 barrel-aged Darkness or barrel-aged Pentagram during the free event, which runs from 5 to 7 p.m. on the patio at the JJ’s 3.0 Cocktail Bar.

And that’s not all.

The next day, “we have a pretty special single-barrel bourbon coming out,” Slattery said.

Slattery, his wife, Jean, and some friends got to choose their own barrel of Blanton’s Single Barrel Bourbon in Kentucky in March.

‘We were bourbon before bourbon was cool’

“We have been to Buffalo Trace Distillery a few times to select barrels. This was the first time we, or anybody from South Dakota, got to select a Blanton’s barrel. They also selected a barrel of Buffalo Trace Bourbon, which will be released this week as well,” Slattery said.

Want to get your hands on a bottle? Come Friday, but it’s only a guaranteed purchase for those who buy a ticket to the event JJ’s is holding in its new event tent, weather permitting. Tickets are $100 each, but that guarantees one bottle plus the right to purchase more before they go on sale to the public.

“This is going to be fun,” Slattery said. “We have this really cool event tent we will put up in our parking lot. But we didn’t want to put it up until our parking lot was 100 percent complete. We will be sampling all our current single-barrel bourbon offers, plus a few other whiskies. Matt from Uncle Ed’s is bringing out some food, we will have bean bags going and JazzFest in the background.”

Buy a ticket at JJ’s or by clicking here. 

 

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Special events: JJ’s, Surly Brewing and Blanton’s Single Barrel Bourbon release

Some of the first events to be held at the new JJ’s Wine, Spirits & Cigars are big ones – a visit Thursday by Surly Brewing Co.’s founder plus the debut Friday of a single barrel of one of the hottest whiskies on the planet.

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