The Evan Williams Bourbon Experience (EWBE) has launched a new visitor tasting experience, celebrating the legacy of Tom Bullock, the first African American to write and publish his own cocktail book, The Ideal Bartender.  

The tasting experience – called The Ideal Bartender Experience – brings Bullock’s story to life, with EWBE team member George Harrison playing his character. The Ideal Bartender Experience and the Unfiltered Truth Collection, the series of Louisville Tourism exhibits and stories of which it is part, officially open in March 2021. However, the EWBE is currently hosting a soft opening.

The Ideal Bartender Experience will take place on Thursdays and Fridays, featuring a tasting of three Heaven Hill products: Evan Williams Single Barrel, Evan Williams Red Label, and Pikesville Rye, along with an Old Fashion Cocktail demonstration, with George Harrison performing as Tom Bullock. 

“Looking at what was going on here in the U.S. with the Black Lives Matter movement, people are starting to look at and focus in on what African Americans have contributed to the U.S.,” George said. “Tom Bullock was one of those people in Louisville.” 

While much isn’t known about Bullock’s life, the EWBE team — including George, Andy Embry and Karla Green – worked together to gather as much information as possible to help build the experience.

They learned that Bullock was born in Louisville in 1872 and worked as a porter for a period of time before establishing himself as a premier bartender at the Pendennis Club. He then moved to St. Louis, where he led the bar at the St. Louis Country Club Bullock’s time in Louisville led him to be closely tied to the Old Fashion Cocktail, for which he is credited with being the first bartender to use Bourbon in the cocktail. 

George, EWBE Bourbon Host, is excited to play the character of Bullock for the new experience.

“Andy and I had talked a lot about creating an experience celebrating a black individual in the distilled spirits industry,” said George. “When we talked to people about Tom Bullock, pretty much no one had ever heard of him, which was interesting. It seemed to us if we were going to come up with a new experience at the EWBE, then this might be the way to go, because it fits in perfectly with who we are and the current events.” 

Due to the lack of written history about Bullock, the EWBE was able to take some creative liberties in the telling of his story. According to George, the experience takes place in the speakeasy where the story is set in Louisville in 1932, at the end of Prohibition.  

“It’s exciting for me because no one has ever done this before, and it’s a new experience for us at Evan Williams,” said George. “I’m proud that we’re getting this information out there to people who might have never heard of him.”  

George said It’s been fun for him to flesh out the character. “I was able to look at the small amount of information we have and the timeframe he lived in to develop the character further,” he said. “For example, in his book, The Ideal Bartender, there is a really wonderful foreword by George H. Walker who happens to be the great grandfather of George W. Bush and grandfather of George H. W. Bush. That really showed how well-respected Tom was.”  

Tom didn’t really write anything about himself in the book, George said, but he assembled a collection of cocktails and punches that people had been asking him about for years.  

“He thought it would be wise to compile this information for people to have at home, and he had to write it and publish it all himself,” George said. “All of these details helped me put some meat on the bones of the character and really bring him to life.” 

According to George, this experience is an important step for Heaven Hill because it allows us to tell the stories of African Americans within the distilled spirits community, specifically the hospitality industry, and the importance of that to the growth and development of Louisville as a city.  

“I think this is just another example of the company’s commitment to the African American community,” said George. “Devoting the time, effort and resources toward having this experience at our location in Downtown Louisville is going to help attract more African Americans to Louisville and specifically to our experience to see what we are doing in that area.”

The Ideal Bartender Experience is part of a larger effort hosted by Louisville Tourism called The Unfiltered Truth Collection, featuring stories of many of the African American individuals who built the Louisville experience as we know it today. The collection includes exhibits and experiences hosted by the Frazier History Museum, Kentucky Center for African American Heritage, Kentucky Derby Museum, Locust Grove, Louisville Slugger Museum and Roots 101 African American Museum. Click here to learn more about the Unfiltered Truth Collection.

“I’m very proud that we’re part of the first group involved in this effort,” said George. “Part of the problem is the lack of written information about what black folks did within the industry. One of the people who is probably the most fleshed out in that regard is Nearest Green who taught Jack Daniel how to distill, but we’re fairly certain that there are more people like that who are not recognized and that there is no record of.”  

The most important thing, George said, is to continue recognizing the people we do know about and spending time learning about the stories of those we don’t know. “This education needs to be more frequent, and it needs to happen year-round, not just in February for Black History Month so that these stories are woven into the fabric of our U.S. history,” he said. 

“Andy and I are thrilled and excited by the response thus far,” said George. “We just want to keep this rolling and have it become one of those premier experiences like our regular speakeasy tour. We want it to be incredibly accessible and enjoyable for folks so that they share with friends and family. We’ve gotten great feedback from the first folks who have been through this, and I’m really proud of that.” 

You can learn more about the Ideal Bartender experience on the Louisville Tourism website here and read more about the experience in the Garden and Gun magazine feature below.