61: Peggy Noe Stevens

In honor of International Women's Day and Women's History Month, we sat down with a very influential woman in the Kentucky Bourbon world.  Peggy Noe Stevens has played a huge role in crafting Kentucky's bourbon-ism culture and creating bourbon-centric experiences for many thousands of guests in her career.  Even if you didn't know her name before today, you definitely know her work if you've ever traveled on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail.  Peggy Noe Stevens has written a new book to share her knowledge of hosting parties, entertaining, and pairing bourbons with meals in her latest book, "Which Fork Do I Use with My Bourbon?", releasing in April 2020. Stevens, the first female master bourbon taster in the world, was recently inducted into the 2019 Bourbon Hall of Fame and the 2020 American Whisky Magazine Hall of Fame.  In the Mid-1990s, Stevens spearheaded opening the Woodford Reserve Homeplace and co-created the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, which now attracts more than 1 million visitors a year. She founded the Bourbon Women Association to provide an opportunity for women to network and learn. With her company Peggy Noe Stevens & Associates, she also builds distilleries around the country creating unique consumer experiences in food, beverage and tourism.   About the book: "Which Fork Do I Use with My Bourbon?" places America's native spirit at the center of entertaining. Whether elegant or casual, for the holidays or just to celebrate an evening with friends, this book will give you all the tools for planning your bourbon gathering. Conduct a bourbon tasting like a pro, make bourbon the focus of your cocktail party, or plan a delicious, intriguing dinner party that pairs specific bourbons with certain dishes. Plus, some of Kentucky's legendary distilleries share their tips for hosting the ultimate bourbon and dinner event. Along with co-author Susan Reigler, these two Kentucky natives and bourbon industry leaders walk you through all stages of planning and hosting with party tips and tricks, along with recipes for bourbon-centric cocktails and dishes.    LINKS:  Order "Which Fork Do I Use with My Bourbon?" 2019 Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame Induction 2020 Icons of Whisky - Hall of Fame Induction Peggy on Instagram Peggy Noe Stevens & Associates Forbes Feature: Women Running the Liquor World Bourbon Women Association     We would appreciate you giving us a 5 star rating on your podcast app and please leave us a written review. This will help others discover our podcast and will help us expand our reach. Also, be sure to follow us @BourbonLens on Instagram, Facebook, & Twitter. If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions, please email us at [email protected]. - Scott, Jake, and Michael The Bourbon Lens