Carla Carlton – Bourbon & Banter Member Spotlight

Patrick "Pops" Garrett -

If you’re a diehard bourbon fan odds are you’re already familiar with this month’s featured Bourbon &Banter member – Carla Carlton aka “The Bourbon Babe”.

During the day, Carla is the director of development communications for a private university in Louisville, Ky. In her free time, she’s a board member of the Bourbon Women Association and an award-winning freelance writer whose work has appeared in The Bourbon Review, Food & Dining Magazine, The Courier-Journal and The Tennessean, among other publications. She writes about all things Bourbon in her blog, The Bourbon Babe, which has been featured on NPR’s “All Things Considered.” And she really gets a kick out of that double-take she often prompts when she orders Bourbon straight up.

For those of you joining us on the 2012 Bourbon & Banter Pilgrimage you’ll get a chance to have dinner with Carla at Bourbon’s Bistro on Friday night.  I’m looking very forward to raising a glass with The Bourbon Babe and enjoying some great evening banter.

Name –  Carla Carlton, aka “The Bourbon Babe”

Current Location – Louisville, KY

Favorite Bourbons
Rock Hill Farms, Booker’s, Woodford Reserve, Blanton’s & Four Roses Single Barrel

Least Favorite Bourbons
I won’t name names, but most of the flavored ones.

How I Drink My Bourbon
Neat or rocks – but I won’t turn down a well-made Manhattan.

What is it about Bourbon that you enjoy the most?
I love the flavor profile and the versatility of the spirit.

How did you come to be a Bourbon fan?
Although I grew up in Kentucky, the center of the Bourbon universe, and my grandmother worked on the bottling line of a Louisville distiller in the 1930s, I didn’t come to Bourbon until college, when my drink of choice was Maker’s and Coke. (Don’t tell Bill Samuels!) As I’ve matured, so has my palate, and I’ve come to appreciate the complexities and nuances of fine Bourbon all on its own.

What you enjoy most about the Bourbon & Banter community?
The opportunity to meet other Bourbon fans and learn from them.

If you’d like to connect with Carla, you can do so on Twitter: @carlacarlton.

THIS IS A PORTION OF CARLA’S COLLECTION DISPLAYED ON HER DECK BAR, WHICH HER FATHER-IN-LAW BUILT FROM RECLAIMED ANDERSON COUNTY, KY., BARN WOOD (YES, HER HUSBAND, CHAD, GREW UP IN THE BIRTHPLACE OF WILD TURKEY AND FOUR ROSES) AND UNFINISHED BARRELHEADS FROM WOODFORD RESERVE.