Memphis Old Dominick Distiller’s Dinner at 189 by Dominique Ansel

(Photo:Ruksana Hussain)

Every once in a while a visiting business hosts a fun media dinner to introduce members of the community to their products. One such event was a distiller’s dinner with Old Dominick Head Distiller Alex Castle at 189 by Dominique Ansel in The Grove. To launch product availability in California, dinner guests were guided through a tasting menu with Old Dominick pairings and Castle shared a little about their line of offerings. 

(Photo:Ruksana Hussain)

The private event included a lovely seated dinner overlooking the water fountains and under a ceiling of green (see pictures!). The staff at the restaurant had prepared a menu of cocktails to flow through for the evening as they brought out nibbles to enjoy family style. My favorite drink had to be the one with the toddy called the Delta Bird made with Memphis toddy, pineapple and lime. Castle also shared the story of how they discovered a bottle and had to recreate the recipe, as it was from before prohibition and there were no records of the process or ingredients. Now that would be such a fun scientific experiment!

(Photo:Ruksana Hussain)

The welcome cocktail was made with Honeybell Vodka, soda and orange twist. Another take on the drink was the Honeybell75, also made with the same vodka but this time with lemon and cava. Other options included the Memphis Mule with vodka, lime and ginger and Alex’s Favorite, which featured Huling Station bourbon whiskey, simple syrup and angostura. 

The halibut was a splendid addition to the dinner especially with the broth sauce (Photo:Ruksana Hussain)

​If you’ve been to the Ansel spot at The Grove then you know it is located just right by the fountains. Most folks stop at the bakery downstairs but if you head on up to the restaurant, it’s a great experience there as well. Especially if you can score one of the seats by the window overlooking the fountains then it makes for gorgeous nighttime background.

Dessert was a work of art all its own (Photo:Ruksana Hussain)

​Some of the amazing bites included mussels and meatballs in a beautiful sauce, halibut with onion, cabbage and burrata, potatoes and then steak but the highlight had to be the chocolate caramel dessert that arrived in the end with powder to be dusted over it and some glaze as well to pour on top. All in all, a great evening of learning more about Old Dominick and enjoying their products. And that, my friends, is how you end February in high spirits.