Food Briefs: Herman Marshall, Wine Spectator Magazine, Wine for the People, Slaughter's Hall and National Tequila Day

Whiskey rebellion

South Africa is invading Oklahoma by way of Texas.

Marshall Louis, co-owner of whiskey distillery Herman Marshall, came to Dallas, Texas, 30 years ago from Cape Town, South Africa. After growing and selling a small business, he was bored. That was when he met Herman Beckley and decided to go into business making whiskey.

Six years later, Herman Marshall is making a push into Oklahoma restaurants and liquor stores.

“I’ve always had a soft spot for Oklahoma,” Louis said. “When we started expanding, I wanted to get in and get going here.”

A University of Oklahoma (OU) fan, Louis said he told his son, who played football for the University of Texas, that he loved him, but he was still rooting for OU.

The small-batch distillery makes four different whiskeys: a rye, a bourbon, a single-malt and Temptress, which is liquor made from Temptress Imperial Milk Stout from Lakewood Brewing Co.

Louis said the offerings have done well in competition against better-known brands including Makers Mark and Woodford Reserve and brought home a gold medal for Best Small Batch Bourbon at the International Whisky Competition. In addition to liquor stores in Oklahoma City and Texas, Herman Marshall products are available at Whiskey Cake Kitchen & Bar, 1845 Northwest Expressway; Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar & Grill, 310 Johnny Bench Drive; and Scratch Kitchen + Cocktails, 132 W. Main St., in Norman.

Wine winners

Some Oklahoma City fine dining establishments are recognized in the latest issue of Wine Spectator Magazine for their exemplary selection of bottles.

The list came out in the July 19 issue, the magazine’s annual Restaurant Awards. Boulevard Steakhouse & Martini Lounge, 505 S. Boulevard, in Edmond and Opus Prime Steakhouse, 800 W. Memorial Road, are Best of Award of Excellence honorees.

Museum Cafe inside Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive, was once again named an Award of Excellence winner.

Boulevard moved up in the rankings this year thanks to a fruitful trip to Napa Valley, said general manager Britton Stewart.

“It was almost like a steakhouse summit,” he said. “We tried over 150 wines, and that helped us dig deep into Napa Valley wines.”

He said it’s also getting easier to get wines into Oklahoma.

“Talking to people in Paso Robles, they said Oklahoma was becoming a much bigger market for California wines,” he said.

Boulevard offers about 675 wines by the bottle and 20 or so by the glass, Stewart said.

Road to Rio

With the Olympics on the way, Thirst Wine Merchants and V2 at Vast are teaming up for another Wine for the People event 5:30 p.m. Thursday.

Themed Road to Rio, the event features wines from gold medal countries around the globe, including Argentina, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the good old USA. Paired with the international consortium of wine is fare from the Vast/V2 culinary team.

V2 is on the 50th floor of Devon Tower, 333 W. Sheridan Ave. Tickets are $30 in advance or $35 at the door and include tax and gratuity. Advance tickets are available at eventbrite.com.

Movie munchies

Those visiting Slaughter’s Hall might have trouble staying awake for the OETA Movie Club if they order B.J. Wexler’s sandwich.

Emmy Award-winner Wexler has long been a local celebrity, but now he’s joining the ranks of those honored by Slaughter’s, 221 N. Central Ave., with his own sandwich.

Viewers might know him best with a bucket of popcorn, so the sandwich created for him by head chef Jonathan Groth includes popcorn chicken tossed in Buffalo sauce in honor of Wexler’s hometown, Buffalo, New York.

The sandwich is available through July. One dollar of each sale goes to The OETA Foundation, a nonprofit organization supporting OETA with the development of private, corporate, charitable and other non-state funds.

OETA Movie Club runs 9 p.m. Saturdays with encore presentations 11:30 p.m. most Fridays.

Top tequila

Using the hashtag #AdultBreak2K16, Topgolf hosts National Tequila Day at its facilities across the country, including the Oklahoma City location, 13313 Pawnee Drive.

It’s the first year for National Tequila Day for this Topgolf location, said marketing manager Ashley Harkness, and it promises to be a good time for adults.

“We’ll be featuring three signature drinks and also doing giveaways of Casamigos [Tequila] prizes,” she said. “Plus we’ll have a DJ and all that good stuff.”

Featured cocktails include Bloody Maria, a watermelon margarita, and Wingman, a version of a classic sidecar using tequila.

The event runs noon to 4 p.m., giving everybody a few hours before work on Monday.

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