Next up on my Old Fashioned AF review tour is St. Louis, Missouri. Here, I encountered a nice visit with Dusty Panhorst, Assistant Program Director of Country outlet KSD. Dusty has been a long-distance whiskey friend of mine over the last few years.  We share pictures of nice bottles we’ve scored, information and I’m certain I sent him a bottle or two over this period.

So, I put Dusty on the clock.  Find a unique Old Fashioned at a place where we could also grab a nice meal.  I think Dusty may have been feeling the heat about a week out but he ended up with a great suggestion…The Rack House in nearby Cottleville, MO. 

We started the evening at Dusty’s home bar, where we sampled a few things as he wrapped up some work, then we headed out for a short drive to The Rack House, just a few miles away.  We decided on a pour before our Old Fashioned choice.  I went with a Redbreast 12 Year Irish Whiskey.  Dusty went with the Elijah Craig 18 year. Then afterwards, we ordered up our meal along with our crafted cocktail. We both decided on the Crusted Black Angus Strip Steak, served with house roasted potatoes. 

The Old Fashioned choice was both obvious and appealing: the Cherry Bomb Smoked Cherry Old Fashioned. This was crafted with Knob Creek Smoked Maple Bourbon + Orange Slice + Amarena Cherry + Orange Bitters + Brown Sugar + Cinnamon + Rosemary + Cherry Wood Smoke. It was so nice, we did it twice.

The restaurant was very good.  The food was delicious and there were plenty of whiskey choices.  In fact, Whiskey Advocate Magazine voted The Rack House in St. Louis one of their Top Whiskey Bars in 2022. They also sport numerous local awards & recognition.

I haven’t been to St. Louis in a while. It was nice to catch up with Dusty and spend a couple of hours talking about radio, records & whiskey. I look forward to going back.

If you can’t get to The Rack House in St. Louis, you should try crafting the Cherry Bomb Smoked Cherry Old Fashioned at home. The ingredients are listed above. If you don’t have a smoker, this is the one I use. I will share a video using it to make this Old Fashioned soon. If you decide to make one, let me know if you enjoyed it as much as I did!