Number Ten

08/09/2022

Our bartender Steve Campetti died this past Sunday. You'll find this sign on our door. We're all shocked, saddened, and we know beyond any doubt that we already miss him.

06/15/2022

Father's Day is This Sunday—Prime Rib Special
Reservations Going Fast!

Yes, this Sunday, June 19, is Father's Day, and we cannot think of a nicer way of saying "Thank You" to dad for all he's done then taking him out for dinner.

To make the day even a bit more special we're doing our famous Prime Rib dinner. Cooked low and slow all afternoon it's melt-in-your-mouth tender. We serve with our fluffy mashed potatoes and vegetables.

You will definitely want to make a reservation as spots are going fast. And if you want the Prime Rib we'll need to know by 2PM on Sunday!

So call now for a table: 413-528-5244

06/15/2022

TalkTails, Monday, June 20: Better Drinks with Bitters… and a Series of Cocktails to Prove the Point

Bitters are mysterious—or maybe just confusing—since “bitters” can refer to those little dashes from, say, the Angostura Bitters bottle, but also to drinking Italian Amaro “digestif” bitters, or, for that matter, Campari or Cochhi Americano or Bigallet China China Amer Bitter Liqueur or… well, even I get confused at this point. The two main categories are cocktail bitters and the digestifs, except that there are also…. well, you get the picture.

But bitters are worth figuring out, and the best way to do this is to enjoy cocktails that highlight the use of different types of bitters, and we’ll start with the tale of two cites, by which I mean a Manhattan without bitters and a Manhattan with bitters, so that you’ll see for yourself whether bitters (Angostura Bitters in this case) are essential. And then we’ll explore other bitters and combinations by drinking the following cocktails:

• Sazerac, a classic (or old-fashioned) cocktail style, introducing Peychauds Bitters, the quintessential New Orleans flavor note also found in Vieux Carre and De La Louisianne and other cocktails from the old quarter (image above from my bartender.com);
• Toronto, a Manhattan variant using Fernet-Branca, with (probably) one or two choices for participants to request of other Manhattan variants that use other Italian digestifs as bitters;
• Bamboo, a cocktail that goes back to the nineteenth century and contains two types of bitters, along with dry vermouth, itself a bitters-like fortified aromatized wine.

I’ll also have on hand a wider selection of bitters that can be sampled in club soda, following a long tradition of such consumption, whether to aid a tummy ache or simply for refreshment.

Sign up and come in and share. This is going to be fun.

ABOUT TALKTAILS:
Number Ten TalkTails is an informal gathering of American whiskey fans and the classic cocktail curious, led by David Guenette, Bar Manager at Number Ten (10 Castle Street, Great Barrington, MA 01230). We meet each Monday for an hour or so, starting at 6:00. Typically, three or four topic-focused tasting-sized drinks will be served, and the cost is $22. The group is small—maximum 8—so sign-up is required. To reserve your spot, call Number Ten (413-528-5244), or email [email protected].

06/02/2022

TalkTails, Monday, June 6: Corn Whiskey, Tasting the Full Range from White Dog to, Well… Pretty Damn Good

Sure, bourbon has to be 51% or corn in the mashbill, but there are plenty of corn whiskeys that aren’t bourbon. The major difference is in the barreling, with some corn whiskey—called “White Dog”—being unaged (or aged so briefly as to not conform to the bourbon requirements), or otherwise aged in new uncharred barrels or in used barrels, while bourbon requires aging in new (or “virgin”) charred American Oak barrels.

The variety found in corn whiskey will come as a surprise to many, and this TalkTails explores that variety by tasting the following corn whiskeys (listed from youngest to oldest aged):

1. Hudson New York Corn Whiskey (White)
2. Hirsch Selection Special Reserve Kentucky Straight Corn Whiskey
3. Mellow Corn BiB Straight Corn Whiskey
4. Balcones Baby Blue Corn Whisky
5. Kinsey American Whiskey

There are some real surprises here, including a bottled-in-bond corn whiskey, a corn whiskey made from Texas blue corn, and a 10 Year Old corn whiskey. We’ll also explore a “Sazerac-style” cocktail using the youngest of the featured corn whiskeys, to put to the test the applicability of such in mixed drinks.

Sign up and come in and share. This is going to be fun.

ABOUT TALKTAILS:
Number Ten TalkTails is an informal gathering of American whiskey fans and the classic cocktail curious, led by David Guenette, Bar Manager at Number Ten (10 Castle Street, Great Barrington, MA 01230). We meet each Monday for an hour or so, starting at 6:00. Typically, three or four topic-focused tasting-sized drinks will be served, and the cost is $22. The group is small—maximum 8—so sign-up is required. To reserve your spot, call Number Ten (413-528-5244), or email [email protected], or, if you are already on the TalkTails email list, simply by using the reply function.

05/19/2022

Since Number Ten restarted TalkTails in April and going weekly on Mondays, I've been playing catch up with my TalkTails blog, This TalkTails referenced below was tasting and talking about some of the new Rye whiskey added to The Number Ten American Whiskey List, an, no surprise, E.H.Taylor, Jr, Straight Rye Whiskey, is astoundingly wonderful, although the K**b Creek Cask Strength Straight Rye was no slouch. The local entry--Berkshire Mountain Distillers' Race Brook Rye--was far tastier than I had expected, and as a local product this makes an excellent gift that carries a personal touch. There is another TalkTails for this coming Monday (May 23) that looks at three old-time cocktails that I think deserve inclusion in contemporary cocktail menus, but already we're fully subscribed. If you are interested, send me a message to be added to the email list for TalkTails announcements to be among the first to know what's coming up.

The Number Ten Whiskey List has been expanded, and early in May we sampled some of the new rye arrivals, and talked about why they were selected and how these selections taste. These selections includ

05/18/2022

It is fun to try different cocktails. Honest.

Here's a new post from TalkTails. Try it, you'll like it.

I'll admit that I like titles with "Part One" in them, if for no other reason than these clearly suggest that the subject will be revisited, added on, and bring something new to the sub

05/16/2022

I'm back at writing my blog TalkTails on whiskey, cocktails, and the bar experience. In the main, I'm writing up the TalkTails sessions, and here's the post on the first such session since renewing the program.

Speaking of which, there's still room in today's (May 16) session at 6:00 p.m., when we will be tasting and talking about Berkshire Mountain Distillery's new whiskey expressions using micro-breweries' beer as distillation fodder.

If you want to participate, FB Message me.

Note: TalkTails, the actual real-world gathering of whiskey fans and cocktail curious alike, has finally resumed at Number Ten (Great Barrington, MA), where I'm bar manager. During the shutdown a

05/14/2022

BE THE FIRST TO TASTE! THIS MONDAY!

TalkTails, Monday, May 16, 6:00 pm: Meet Local Whiskey Distilleries—Berkshire Mountain Distillery and Samples from BMD's The Craft Brewers Whiskey Project

Berkshire Mountain Distillery (BMD) is our most local of local distilleries, and we are taking a deep dive into The Craft Brewers Whiskey Project, where the distiller is using various micro-breweries’ beer as the starting point for the whiskey distillation process. The guest is Michael Kowlaski, who will be bringing us up to date with fascinating bottlings of various whiskeys from BMD, not to mention fielding Q&A.

TalkTails will be providing tastings for the following BMD Craft Brewers Whiskey Project expressions only just now becoming available:

• Spencer Trappist Ale American Whiskey
• Smuttynose Really Old Brown Dog Ale American Whiskey
• Captain Lawrence Liquid Gold Ale American Whiskey
• Long Trail Unearthed Barrel Aged Stout Ale American Whiskey

ABOUT TALKTAILS:
Number Ten TalkTails is an informal gathering of American whiskey fans and the classic cocktail curious, led by David Guenette, Bar Manager at Number Ten (10 Castle Street, Great Barrington, MA 01230). We meet each Monday for an hour or so, starting at 6:00. Typically, three or four topic-focused tasting-sized drinks will be served, and the cost is $22. The group is small—maximum 8—so sign-up is required. To reserve your spot, call Number Ten (413-528-5244), or email [email protected].

05/13/2022

Well, my five seconds of fame, thanks to Rural Intelligence, one of my favorite local online publications, mainly, I'll confess, because this site let's me crash area parties and soirees digitally, after the fact.

https://ruralintelligence.com/community/the-rural-we-david-guenette

What is fun, if not famous, is Number Ten TalkTails, which is an informal gathering of American whiskey fans and the classic cocktail curious, led by me (David Guenette, Bar Manager) at Number Ten, 10 Castle Street, Great Barrington, MA 01230. We meet each Monday for an hour or so, starting at 6:00. Typically, three or four topic-focused tasting-sized drinks will be served, and the cost is $22. Sign-up is required, as the group maxes out at 8 participants per session. To reserve your spot, call Number Ten (413-528-5244), or email [email protected], or, since I'm posting this on Facebook, through the dreaded Facebook Messenger.

Behind the curtain of barman David Guenette's excellent mustache is a a refined palate and a story to tell.

05/10/2022

TalkTails, Monday, May 16: Meet Local Whiskey Distilleries—Berkshire Mountain Distillery and The Craft Brewers Whiskey Project…and Tasting Samples!

This TalkTails is the first of what I expect will become a series of featured local (New England) distilleries and a guest who will talk about his or her distillery. And, of course, tasting selections of various of the distiller’s expressions.

First up is Berkshire Mountain Distillery (BMD), our most local of local distilleries, and we are taking a deep dive into the The Craft Brewers Whiskey Project, where the distiller is using various micro-breweries’ beer as the starting point for the distillation process. The guest is Michael Kowlaski, who will be bringing us up to date with fascinating bottlings of various whiskeys from BMD, not to mention fielding Q&A.

TalkTails will be providing tastings for the following BMD Craft Brewers Whiskey Project expressions only very recently available in our area:
• Spencer Trappist Ale American Whiskey
• Smuttynose Really Old Brown Dog Ale American Whiskey
• Captain Lawrence Liquid Gold Ale American Whiskey
• Long Trail Unearthed Barrel Aged Stout Ale American Whiskey

ABOUT TALKTAILS:
Number Ten TalkTails is an informal gathering of American whiskey fans and the classic cocktail curious, led by David Guenette, Bar Manager at Number Ten (10 Castle Street, Great Barrington, MA 01230). We meet each Monday for an hour or so, starting at 6:00. Typically, three or four topic-focused tasting-sized drinks will be served, and the cost is $22. The group is small—maximum 8—so sign-up is required. To reserve your spot, call Number Ten (413-528-5244), or email [email protected].

05/04/2022

Monday, May 9: Meet the New Whiskeys, Part 3 (Ryes)

Some spaces still available!

The Number Ten Whiskey List has been expanded, and we’ll be sampling some of the new arrivals, and talk about why they were selected and how these selections taste. This session looks at some of the new ryes. The selections are all very interesting ones, and include:

BMD Race Brook Rye: BMD produces a rye that very pleasantly surprised me, and part of the success of this expression comes down to age, since rye whiskey benefits from more time in the barrel to lose the grassiness of the grain and gain the spice. We’ll taste to see how Racebrook Rye fits that timeline.

E.H. Taylor, Jr., Straight Rye 100 Proof (BiB): As a bottled-in-bond rye, E. H. Taylor Jr. needs to be at least four years in the barrel, but the word on this expensive rye expression is that it is reputed to be closer to nine years. Is this rye worth the price?

K**b Creek Cask Strength Straight Rye: K**b Creek has been on fire, and it’s new 12-Year Bourbon release is one example of a great new expression. This distillery’s cask strength straight rye clocks in at almost 120 proof, and we’ll see if flavor holds its own against the alcohol (hint: splash of water makes a lot of sense!).

Ragtime Rye Straight Whiskey: Ragtime Rye is a New York-based distillery, but more than that, all the grain in the mashbill is New York local, too. We’ll discover if home is where the taste is.

04/28/2022

Monday, May 2, Monday, May 2: Barware History, Culture, and Good Drinks

This week’s TalkTails has special guest Robert Lloyd of Great Barrington’s Robert Lloyd Vintage Barware talking about the history of barware and about his wares, while I’ll be leading hands-on cocktail service of Martinis (including the Nick and Nora Martini by Dale DeGroff), Manhattan, or other selections using glassware and barware from my own collection. Find out what Nick and Nora knew about enjoying a drink!

We’ve gone weekly, starting at 6:00 p.m. on Mondays, barring holidays. I’m keeping the group small (maximum eight) and if there are enough excess signup requests, I’ll repeat the session the following night for those who didn’t sign up in time to get into the first session. Please remember that sign-up is required, as the group maxes out at 8 participants per session, at the charge of $22 per participant. To reserve your spot, call Number Ten (413-528-5244), or email [email protected].