- $25 for a designated driver ticket. Not allowed to taste anything (including the food). I still bought me one. Good way to promote responsible drinking...NOT!
- $45 for VIP tickets. If you look on the website now, they reduced them to $35 for advanced tickets that sold out. Seriously, lower the price and penalize the people who bought tickets early?
- They touted a bacon tasting session for VIP members - once we get there - NO ONE knows anything about the bacon tasting. We were unable to find bacon anywhere. We look on the website afterwards, and there is no mention of the bacon tasting. It had been removed since we ordered the tickets.
- "Free" BBQ tasting - 1 pig for hundreds of people while we were there. Wezul only got two slivers of the stuff the pit master wouldn't portion out.
- You were able to buy BBQ. Wezul bought a very TASTY Brisket Sandwich from Big Al's. However, his sandwich was $10 with a small bag of chips.
- Soda and water were $2 a piece. Yes, I did pay $2 for a 12 oz can of Mt. Dew.
- Beer vendor selection was nothing more than what you find in the grocery store.
- Chaos! No one knew jack about what was going on who were working the event.
However, there were a few aspects that Wezul and I thoroughly enjoyed.
- Lusty Monk Mustard - a new favorite of Wezul's
- After a second attempt of standing in a long line, Wezul got to sample a 24 year old scotch or bourbon. He has no idea what it was, but he said it tasted pretty good!
- The bourbon vendor selection was pretty good.
- Live bluegrass music.
In a nutshell, we will not pay to do this again unless it changes and becomes better organized.
It was fun; especially if you go with a group of friends. However, being the Beer, Bourbon, & BBQ aficionado that Wezul is, it is about the sampling that matters. It truly fell short for him.
