“Paint. Drink. Have fun.” We did all of that last week at Pinot’s Palette, a new paint-and-sip studio in St. Matthews. While Pinot’s and other similar studios ply amateur artists with wine for inspiration, Pinot’s has added a twist: Bourbon Night. We sampled Woodford Reserve and Woodford Double Oaked while creating our masterpieces.
When I saw the sample of the picture we’d be copying (a bottle of Woodford and a glass sitting on a bourbon barrel, below), I admit, I was intimidated.
But the staff made the process really easy, and yes, fun. Everything was waiting for us: the canvas, paper-plate palettes loaded with the colors we’d need, two brushes – one big, one small – and a cup of water for rinsing, and they talked us through the picture step by step. (I thought the biggest danger would be accidentally rinsing my brush in my bourbon glass, but it turned out to be almost drinking from the paint-rinsing cup. Thankfully, neither occurred.)
Samples of the real thing served as inspiration. At a couple of points during the evening as we waited for our paintings to dry, brand representative Adam Hayes educated us about Woodford and Woodford Double Oaked and answered questions. (Disclosure: Adam covered the $45-per-person cost for my husband and me at this very first Bourbon Night, which Pinot’s Palette began at his suggestion.)
Three hours after we started, everyone had a painting to take home. The variations on the theme were fun to see. (You’ll see below that I chose to have my Woodford neat, rather than paint the mint julep, for example.) We had a great time and would definitely do it again. Pinot’s Palette plans to offer one Bourbon Night per month, featuring different Brown-Forman products and painting subjects. Check Pinot’s Palette’s Facebook page for details.
