For the past nine years, the first Saturday of August has filled Franklin with good whiskey and even better conversation. The Southern Whiskey Society’s (SWS) Southern Food & Whiskey Experience returns to The Factory this year on August 8th. But before we get into this year’s event, let’s pour one out for how it all began.
Joseph Dulaney has lived in Bellevue since 1998. By day, he works in educational tech, but his other job centers around his after-hours hobby. Dulaney fatefully met Tiny Irwin while gathered with fellow whiskey buffs in a Brentwood liquor store.
"Whiskey is the great equalizer," Irwin says. "There would be a half dozen to a dozen of us just talking in the liquor store. Nobody knew what anybody did, nobody cared."
A group of people who liked good whiskey kept showing up in the same place, and kept the conversation flowing as much as the spirits. Irwin grew up in the beer business, ran national sales teams, and eventually became president and COO of a 90-year-old regional distributor. Irwin moved to Franklin from the West Coast in 2020 and will tell you that one of his family's core values is creating community wherever they land.
A few years ago, an Instagram post crossed his feed: Southern Whiskey Society was looking for new ownership. He showed it to his wife. She said, "Why wouldn't you do it?"
He bought it and formed a board. Dulaney, who'd been drawn into the bourbon world years earlier, was invited to the board as a result of those liquor store sessions. He’s the unofficial “crazy ideas guy,” helping the event become something truly not to be missed.
“The vision is to help battle the epidemic of isolation and loneliness,” Irwin says. “We do that through changing the social landscape, creating spaces, and curating intentional communities.”
The event brings more than 40 craft distillers into a room, mostly founders, master distillers, or master blenders who are experts in their craft. The goal is to have the person who made the thing talking about why they made it.
But it doesn’t stop at whiskey; intentional tastings are key. A collection of Middle Tennessee chefs round out the room, each producing 1,000 small bites of a single dish built to either pair with a particular pour or incorporate a specific distillery's spirit.
"You see a lot of 'aha' moments with bourbon whiskey connoisseurs," Dulaney says. "It opens up a whole new world for them."
The food has become popular enough to warrant its own ticket tier: a Designated Driver option that includes unlimited bites and non-alcoholic drinks.
This year, 10 tequila distillers join the lineup, as well as a charity barrel with bottles signed by a visiting master distiller. Proceeds go to OneGenAway, with whom SWS has worked for several years. (For those who don't know, OneGenAway rescues high-quality, surplus food from grocery stores, restaurants, farms, and caterers and redistributes that food to individuals and families experiencing food insecurity.)
Surprise and delight show up in different ways each year, and while this year’s secrets will remain corked, previous moments include an air-conditioned cigar lounge and a hidden speakeasy.
Irwin’s background in the alcohol industry brought him to many tradeshows and events, so he had a pretty good idea of what would make one stand out. SWS pays special attention to things like drinkware (crystal Riedel glasses over plastic sippers), capacity (tickets are capped, so there's plenty of room to engage in conversation), and inclusion (last year, Dulaney personally introduced every out-of-state attendee to someone, so they immediately felt part of the community).
Tickets are available at four tiers: the Designated Driver ticket ($99) covers unlimited food and non-alcoholic beverages; General Admission ($199) adds full access to the whiskey and tequila tastings; VIP ($299) includes early entry and additional perks; and for those who want the full experience, the Early Entry Cigar Lounge VIP ($399) gets you in ahead of the crowd with access to the cigar lounge.
Tickets and additional information at SouthernWhiskeySociety.com.
"Whiskey is the great equalizer."
"You see a lot of 'aha' moments with bourbon whiskey connoisseurs."