{"id":45541,"date":"2018-04-02T08:00:13","date_gmt":"2018-04-02T14:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/?p=45541"},"modified":"2018-03-29T11:04:40","modified_gmt":"2018-03-29T17:04:40","slug":"chef-john-currence-and-move-on-up-mississippi-present-oxford-bourbon-festival-auction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/chef-john-currence-and-move-on-up-mississippi-present-oxford-bourbon-festival-auction\/","title":{"rendered":"Chef John Currence and Move On Up Mississippi Present Oxford Bourbon Festival & Auction"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Chef John Currence<\/strong> has built a fleet of restaurants in Oxford <\/strong>that garner attention on a national scale for showcasing regional cuisine. Now he is bringing the world of bourbon to Oxford with the Oxford Bourbon Festival & Auction<\/strong> May 18\u201320. The festival and auction will act as a fundraiser for Move On Up Mississippi<\/strong>, Currence\u2019s charity foundation that works to improve the quality of life for Mississippians with a focus on helping children.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to create an event that was another opportunity to put Oxford on the map and draw people here when there wasn\u2019t a lot going on,\u201d said Currence.<\/span><\/p>\n

A fan of bourbon culture, Currence had the idea to put his connections to use.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt struck me\u2014As somebody who drinks bourbon, is connected to a lot of people who make bourbon, and recognizes the insane current fascination with bourbon\u2014that nobody had done a rare bourbon bottle auction here.\u201d<\/span>The planning for the festival began in earnest in October.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to make sure everything, every detail, was just right. Because of that it took us about six weeks longer to get everything done,\u201d said Currence. \u201cIt didn\u2019t help matters that I\u2019ve been in the process of opening two more Big Bad Breakfasts out of town . . . but our team that\u2019s led by Meg [Scott Anderson] has really done an incredible job of making decisions about what needs to be done.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
John Currence<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Much of the bottles up for auction were donated from Currence\u2019s friends and connections he\u2019s gathered through years in the restaurant industry.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cTheir collections are as much about helping people through philanthropic efforts as it is about sitting down to have a drink,\u201d said Currence. \u201cMy business partner in Birmingham, Nick Pihakis, has a collection of about 400 bottles in his office. He\u2019ll pick a bottle off the wall and tell you history on it then pour all night long, he\u2019s not a hoarder.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Sean Brock<\/strong>, executive chef and owner of Husk<\/strong> in Charleston<\/strong>, South Carolina<\/strong>, has contributed to the auction as well.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe and Bill Murray did a barrel of Willett bourbon,\u201d said Currence. \u201cThrough Sean, Bill has become a huge bourbon lover so they did this bottle together.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Also available at the auction will be a trip for either an individual or group to be Maker\u2019s Mark\u2019s<\/strong> master distiller for the day and take home your own bottle. The Van Winkles<\/strong>, who Currence cites as some of his oldest friends in the beverage industry, contributed the last bottle of the Stitzel-Weller Van Winkle Rye <\/strong>recipe bottled in 2007.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThat [bottle of bourbon] just doesn\u2019t exist,\u201d said Currence.<\/span><\/p>\n

In addition to the bourbon and food, Currence wanted to incorporate live music into the weekend. The War & Treaty<\/strong>\u2014whose sound blends roots, bluegrass, gospel, and soul\u2014will perform at The Lyric Theater Friday, May 18.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
The War & Treaty<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWe had a such a successful time with St. Paul and the Broken Bones a couple years ago,\u201d said Currence. \u201cWe started searching for a talent again to do a music component and found a band that is arguably even less known that St. Paul was at the time.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Thacker Mountain Radio Hour<\/strong> is involved as a partner and will kick the festival off with their Thursday show.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll do a Thacker radio show at Graduate Thursday before the festival, War & Treaty will come on and perform at the show, and one of our chefs who has a cookbook out is going to come in early and do a book signing,\u201d said Currence. \u201cWith [Thacker Mountain Radio\u2019s] history as a program that has championed unknown talent and given them a stage to play, we hope the festival becomes a place to find undiscovered gems.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The weekend also features seven meals, each prepared by a chef nominated for a James Beard<\/strong> award. The dinners will seat 30\u201340 people and will be paired with select bourbons.<\/span><\/p>\n

Tickets for Oxford Bourbon Festival & Auction are available at moveonupms.org\/bourbon-fest.<\/span>\u00a0\"The<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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