Omnivore - Hellbender Bourbon launch party tonight at Kimball House

Want to be a part of history? Decatur’s Kimball House (303 E. Howard Ave., 404-378-3502. www.kimball-house.com) is hosting the launch party for the first bourbon to be distilled inside the perimeter since Prohibition tonight, Tues., Nov. 10.
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? It’s called Hellbender Bourbon and it’s made by Independent Distilling Company, a distiller that handcrafts small batch spirits out of a small warehouse in Decatur. Owner/distiller Michael Anderson, who is a fundraiser for Zoo Atlanta by day, launched IDC in July of 2014 with entrepreneur/business partner Tommy Williams. Tonight at Kimball House, Bar Director/Partner Miles Macquarrie will be mixing up $10 cocktails made with the local whiskey.
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? Hellbender, is named after an endangered Georgia salamander, which, like an aged whiskey, is slow-growing and long-lived. Using traditional copper stills, Georgia corn is mashed, fermented, and distilled in house. It is then aged 15 months in small barrels.
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? “Being aged only 15 months,” Macquarrie says, “it can trick you a bit as the color is as dark as something aged for 8 years. They age it in small charred barrels so it sees a lot of contact with the wood in the time it’s laid down. The wood and corn characteristic will make this local bourbon whiskey great for cocktails.”
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???? Macquarrie and crew will be serving Independent Bourbon and Independent Rum cocktails for $10 each at tonight’s launch party from 6 to 9 p.m. (The restaurant will be open for its normal weeknight operating hours, 5 p.m.- midnight.)
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? “It’s important for us to show support to the craftsmanship in our surrounding neighborhoods in regards to spirits,” Macquarrie says. “The guys in charge of this distillery still have day jobs and are truly doing this out of the love of making whiskey and rum.” 
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