A donation to a leading restaurant industry assistance charity will get you access to some very special one-of-a-kind private label whiskies and agave spirits.
If you want one of these special and highly limited private label single cask bottles of Maker's Mark, you will have to be feeling charitable.is a not for profit restaurant industry group launched by Chef Cris Shepherd, who was named one of the 10 Best New Chefs In America byand then won the ultra-prestigious James Beard Award for Best Chef Southwest.
He has written multiple cookbooks and has a TV show called Eat Like a Local in Houston, where he is based. He left Underbelly, the restaurant he made famous, and now runs the non-profit full-time. In 2015 his friend and former sommelier was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, and Shepherd launched the organization to raise money for the MS Society. After Hurricane Harvey in 2017 he shifted the focus to aiding food and beverage industry workers affected by the disaster, and of course, then came the COVID-19 pandemic. To date his group has raised more than $13 million to help financially distressed restaurant industry employees. In 2024 the Foundation added a membership club for highly allocated one-of-a-kind ultra-premium spirits, but until now you could only get them in Houston. They just started shipping, to 38 states. For years the main fundraiser has been the annual Southern Smoke Festival, a Houston gathering of a Who’s Who of barbecue greats, joined by dozens of “regular” chefs from fine dining restaurants across the country. The 2026 version will be held on October 3 and. The 2025 event featured talent including Charleston chef Jeremiah Bacon, Stephen Barber of Napa’s Farmstead, Joaquin Rodas of New Orlean’s Bacchanal, Bob Bennett of Zingerman’s Roadhouse in Ann Arbor, MI, Leonard Botello of Houston’s acclaimed Truth BBQ, Aaron Franklin of Austin’s renowned Franklin BBQ, Pat Martin of Nashville’s Martin BBQ, Rodney Scott of Charleston’s Rodney Scott BBQ, and about 70 others. James Beard award-winning chef Chris Shepherd and colleagues with the very first offering from the charity bottle club, a private cask Eljiah Craig, “Where every sip supports a cause and every bottle tells a story.” is a subscription limited to just 125 members, which releases at least four one-of-a-kind bottles annually, accessible exclusively to members to purchase, plus invitations for exclusive parties and events. Memebrship is obtained through a minimum of a $1500 donation to the Foundation, which grants allocations of private label single barrel bottlings, mostly whiskies but also agave spirits, through an online portal. Shepherd explained to me that “Southern Smoke Foundation Bottle Club gives members access to one-of-a-kind bottles that aren’t available anywhere else. This is not large production. It’s so unique and special. We have so many amazing friends in this industry—Ann and Scott from High Wire and Jill and Steve Matthiasson, for example—and we want to support them while also providing our members with this really cool opportunity to taste cool things while supporting the food and beverage industry. It’s such a win/win!”The newest is a just released single barrel of Jimmy Red Bourbon by High Wire Distilling in Charleston, which uses a local Carolina heirloom corn called Jimmy Red virtually unheard of in other bourbons. This special bottling is a collaboration between High Wire and Matthiasson Wines, and while Jimmy Red is already coveted by whiskey lovers, this special one-off was aged in Matthiasson Napa Valley Red Wine barrels for four years. Some of their last bottling of Maker’s Mark Private Select are also still available.
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