If there’s one thing that can get Nashvillians out on a chilly night, it’s bourbon. So, when Bourbon+ hosted a VIP event celebrating rare and collectible spirits this winter, guests were ready and waiting to raise a glass. On December 12, a collective of the magazine’s VIP readers and friends gathered to indulge in some hard-to-find libations, not to mention an open bar with signature cocktails by the evening’s resident mixologist, Di’Angelo Groves, live music from Jenny Teator, hand-rolled cigars from Tim “Quema” Burns, and hors d’oeuvres by Mama Blanche. 

The night’s most exciting moments were delivered courtesy of Seth Weinberg, vintage whiskey, liquor, and cocktail consultant. Weinberg broke out his own secret stash to share with guests ahead of the opening of his own shop, the Vintage Whiskey Vault. 

The shop will be the first of its kind with a focus on rare and vintage liquors, in addition to hard-to-find advertising pieces with which to decorate a home bar.

“We’ll have a lot of really cool, authentic advertising pieces and promo items from the ’80s and ’90s all the way back to before Prohibition,” Weinberg says. “The idea of this is to promote Tennessee whiskeys, Kentucky bourbons, and their history. We’re really honoring one of our favorite things that the state produces—its whiskey.”

For the event, Weinberg shared a selection of “rare, vintage, dusty, discontinued whiskeys that you can no longer buy on the shelf today. Brands that are gone, but we say, ‘not forgotten.’”

To kick off the night, Weinberg poured Old Whiskey River, produced by Heaven Hill in partnership with country superstar Willie Nelson. Named after Nelson’s 1973 hit “Whiskey River,” it’s what Weinberg calls a “classic bourbon that Willie Nelson—or anybody—could appreciate. Six years old, 86 Proof, but long discontinued, no longer available.” Originally sold with a brass Willie Nelson guitar pic neck hangar and promo CD, the vintage whiskey was a hit with guests. 

In between historic pours, guests sipped on cozy cocktails crafted by Groves, who was on hand to ensure glasses remained full and attendees of the indoor/outdoor soiree stayed warm. His signature cocktails, Co Malt & Mistletoe, The Holiday Standard, and Dasher, Dancer…Leiper did the trick and had guests raving. (See recipes on page 30 .)

And while they sipped, guests stopped by Burns’ station to watch him roll cigars onsite. Burns says that cigars and whiskey have always been a perfect pair, thanks to the sweet notes shared by the liquor and the tobacco. 

After some mixing and mingling to the soulful musical stylings of Jenny Teator, including songs from her debut album Breaking the Mold, which dropped last year, guests gathered around for some very special toasts. 

Guests were welcomed to “something you can’t experience every day” before introducing Weinberg— “Seth knows how to get it for you, why, what’s important about it, and then he has all the accoutrements to go with it; the signs, the t-shirts, the placards, the hats, the shot glasses. He has it all.”

Then it was time for Weinberg to wow the crowd. He introduced the evening’s next extremely rare pour, a 1976 Jim Beam, released for the nation’s bicentennial. Released in 1975, the six limited-edition bottles were decorated with Norman Rockwell paintings depicting key moments in American history. Because whiskey wasn’t as popular at the time, buyers sought the decanters as keepsakes, which, as Weinberg pointed out, is why there’s whiskey left in them to drink today. 

“I went and found these at an estate sale, and now we’re all lucky enough to drink it today,” he said. 

Next up was a spirit bottled in Memphis for the Cooks, a prominent cotton farming family. “They had enough money to buy barrels of whiskey before it was cool, and this was a private label scotch whiskey that they produced called Cook’s Body Scotch.” 

The Cooks kept their stash in a family-owned home in West Palm Beach, Florida, where Weinberg works with a private club that offered him a trade for some of his own secret stash—including a couple of bottles of Pappy Van Winkle. 

“This isn’t bourbon, it’s bourbon plus,” Weinberg said by way of a toast. “And I thought I would share the plus with you tonight.”

“This is the journey of how these bottles are found and sold and traded, but what’s more important is that we’re drinking these together and creating a memory, and I hope that’s what tonight ends up being for you.”