Liquor commission pairs wines and bourbon with eats and fall fun
The New Hampshire Liquor Commission will launch a new program with pumpkins and horse-drawn carriage rides.
“On Oct. 1 we launched our new Seasons of Savings campaign,” said Mark Roy, of the State Liquor Commission. He explained that several times each year the Liquor Commission will partner with different spirit and wine suppliers and manufacturers to sponsor special events and bargains for the upcoming season. And each season will begin with an event. The first one will be a tasting dinner at Charmingfare Farm in Candia on Thursday, Oct. 29.
“It will be a catered dinner pairing,” Roy said, “with select pours, which will be matched with the different courses of the meal that evening as well. There will be some horse-drawn carriage rides, and anybody that’s been to the farm knows they’ve got some animals, and we’ll have some lawn games out there and different things for you to partake in, so it’ll just be a fun evening. It will be a little more intimate setting to [let guests] see some of the brand ambassadors and talk to some of the people from the distillery or the winery, [and] to have the experience of pairing it with food. Some people don’t realize or may not understand that both wines and spirits pair beautifully with different meals and spice levels and things like that. It’s going to be a great evening fun event.”
For this first Season of Savings season, Roy said, “we have Woodford Bourbon signed on as our spirit sponsor and we also have Ruffino wines from Tuscany sponsoring the wine side of things. This fall event [will be] a guiding tasting tour through the Woodford portfolio and the Ruffino Tuscan wine portfolio.” On its website the Liquor Commission described the menu. “Dinner is a self-serve BBQ buffet catered by KC’s Rib Shack. The menu features North Carolina-style pulled pork with BBQ sauce, smoked bone in chicken breast, and hickory smoked sweet Italian sausage. Sides include cole slaw, baked beans, macaroni salad, dirty rice, and corn bread, along with a tossed salad with croutons and your choice of ranch or Italian dressing.”
The Liquor Commission has ambitious plans for future seasonal events, Roy said.
“This is a feature event for this first season and then we’re actually in the process of selecting our next spirit and wine to represent us as we go into 2027. We’ll have some great giveaways to continue, and we’re putting together some ideas for what our event will be for the upcoming season as well. There’ll be some e-coupons floating around out there, so some special values … and sweepstakes too, that they can enter.” As an example, “there will be a Woodford’s [Bourbon] Kentucky Derby Experience. [A] grand prize winner and a guest will [go] to the Kentucky Derby on May 1. Rufino is doing a grand prize of a home entertaining package with kitchen equipment, glassware, Italian specialty goods and a $500 grocery card so you can go buy some of the food that you’re going to sample, hopefully.”
Charmingfare Farm Fall Tasting Event
When: Thursday, Oct. 29, from 4:30 to 8 p.m.
Where: Charmingfare Farm, 774 High St, Candia, 483-5623, visitthefarm.com
More: Tickets are $81.88. Visit seasonsofsavings.liquorandwineoutlets.com.
Featured photo: Horse-drawn ride at Charmingfare Farm. Courtesy photo.