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Here's the "scoop" on Manny & Merle

by Robin Garr » Thu Nov 08, 2012 10:15 am

Here’s the “scoop” on Manny & Merle, the honkytonk eatery and watering hole that Tony Palombino (boss of the Boombozz operation) is opening in the booming downtown strip around the historic Whiskey Row. The forum has been discussing it here:
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=20127
… but I regret being late in posting the formal news release. Tony distributed this to media last week but I missed my copy in the rush.

NEW BOURBON AND TEQUILA CONCEPT OPENING
ON WHISKEY ROW IN DOWNTOWN LOUISVILLE

Tony Palombino, known for his award-winning restaurants is pleased to announce his newest concept, Manny & Merle. The tavern will be located on Main Street near the KFC Yum! Center in the former Zena’s Cafe, and will feature Modern Mexican street fare, a large selection of
tequila and bourbons, a sophisticated cocktail list and live music.

Palombino chose the name Manny & Merle because it symbolizes the connection of the food with the musical influences of the “Bakersfield Sound” made popular by Merle Haggard, Buck Owens, and Johnny Cash,“Manny represents the Mexican immigrant street food served in the old Honky Tonks in Bakersfield, California, and Merle represents the Bakersfield musical history,” said Palombino.

Manny & Merle isn't going to be all country. It will explore the sounds of classic rock and blues and will feature live musical acts of upcoming artists. The interior design is a cross between a rural honky tonk and an urban industrial space. The semi-open air vintage doors in the front of the building will make passersby feel like they’re a part of the ambience. The historic bar, built in the 1920’s, will dominate one wall with beautifully lit bottles of tequila and bourbons. He tapped local creative visionary Mark Palmer to develop the branding and digital marketing.
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Re: Here's the "scoop" on Manny & Merle

by Shane Campbell » Fri Jan 18, 2013 9:30 pm

Stopped in at Manny and Merl with a couple of friends for lunch today. They had West 6th IPA on tap as well as one local from NABC (Black and Bluegrass) and BBC (Bourbon Barrel Stout). PBR and Shiner Bock rounded out the tap list. They had a bunch of bottles as well. The restaurant is a cool space across from Doc Crows featuring the ubiquitous exposed brick walls. Our bar tender, Amy, was a blast and we talked bourbon, music, and other restaurants for a couple of hours. They had a nice selection of bourbon and one complete bullshit bourbon supposedly aged in “beer barrels.” Right.

This place has a very short menu featuring their take on Mexican street food. We had the triple Guac sampler which was fantastic and the special of the day was three tacos of any kind. I had the carnitas, crispy fish, and wild mushroom tacos. They were as good as the tacos from Taco Punk and Guaca Mole which in my opinion means they were terrific. Amy pointed out that there are no freezer's in the place so everything is fresh. It tasted fresh to me and I enjoyed the food and the ambiance. They were playing classic country ala the Silver Dollar and the place was doing a brisk business for lunch. I enjoyed it and recommend it without hesitation.
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Last edited by Shane Campbell on Sun Jan 20, 2013 9:55 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Here's the "scoop" on Manny & Merle

by Gary Z » Sat Jan 19, 2013 12:17 am

Not gonna lie, I didn't like the name when I first heard it. Now that I've heard the explanation behind it I might like it even less. Not that that matters. Everything I've heard about the place so far has been positive.
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Jeremy Markle

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Re: Here's the "scoop" on Manny & Merle

by Jeremy Markle » Mon Jan 21, 2013 1:33 pm

one complete bullshit bourbon supposedly aged in “beer barrels.”


It seems like various bourbons are being finished in a variety of used barrels these days. Are you also opposed to Woodford's finishing experiments and/or Angel's Envy?

Full disclosure, I got a bottle of New Holland's Beer Barrel Bourbon for the holidays; the taste isn't too bad, but it does have a slightly unappealing haze to it.

Again, I am not gainsaying you. I am truly curious about how people feel about these products. It seems to be a gray area between traditional straight bourbon and things like flavor additives, liquers, etc.
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Re: Here's the "scoop" on Manny & Merle

by Shane Campbell » Mon Jan 21, 2013 1:50 pm

Jeremy Markle wrote:
one complete bullshit bourbon supposedly aged in “beer barrels.”


It seems like various bourbons are being finished in a variety of used barrels these days. Are you also opposed to Woodford's finishing experiments and/or Angel's Envy?

Full disclosure, I got a bottle of New Holland's Beer Barrel Bourbon for the holidays; the taste isn't too bad, but it does have a slightly unappealing haze to it.

Again, I am not gainsaying you. I am truly curious about how people feel about these products. It seems to be a gray area between traditional straight bourbon and things like flavor additives, liquers, etc.


I have my own dwindling bottle of Angel's Envy so no I'm not opposed to things just because they are not traditional. I am one of the few people I know who never seemed to develop a taste for beer aged in bourbon barrels though. My two friends tried the Beer Barrel bourbon and neither were impressed.

Later, we all had some Jefferson Presidential Select (18yr) and well if this bourbon weren't $100 a bottle I'd go buy two. I enjoy complexity of tastes in many things but I'm not a proponent of complexity for it's own sake.

The "bullshit" comment is just me being myself to my own detriment. Okay, so beer is not typically aged in wood barrels. I'm not saying it's an uncommon practice to finish some beer in a barrel previously used to age a spirit, like sherry, port, bourbon, etc but for the most part, beer is not typically aged for long periods of time so even the term beer barrel seems suspect to me.

If you read the New Holland bulletin or the link below that talks about this beer, the barrels used were first used for bourbon then beer then bourbon. What's next? Put beer back in? Cheers!

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-12-02/features/sc-food-1130-drink-beer-bourbon-20121202_1_new-holland-hatter-royale-hopquila-dragon-s-milk
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Re: Here's the "scoop" on Manny & Merle

by Doug Davis » Mon Jan 21, 2013 1:53 pm

Doesnt Congressional law dictate bourbon must be aged in new oak barrels?
In order to be called bourbon?
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Re: Here's the "scoop" on Manny & Merle

by Shane Campbell » Mon Jan 21, 2013 1:55 pm

Doug Davis wrote:Doesnt Congressional law dictate bourbon must be aged in new oak barrels?
In order to be called bourbon?


Yeah, but it was initially aged as bourbon before they put it in port wine (Angels Envy) or beer barrels (Beer Barrel Bourbon) so - it's still bourbon.
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