Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/746412
november 2016 / the tasting panel / 7 In the City of Angels, Silamith Weir, Luxury Specialist for Beam Suntory, joined Kristin Dees and Mercedes Curran of Designer Camp to teach about fashion and how its philosophies can be applied behind the bar. Dees taught the students how to drape, a way to play and test out fabrics in order to create new designs. These lessons in form and textures, as well as the lecture in color theory by Curran, allowed bartenders to up their visual game when building their own cocktails. To perfect the taste component of their concoctions, Weir walked guests through an extensive tasting of the whiskey, noting: "By honoring the tradition of earlier bourbon, Basil Hayden's hits balance between spice and sweet. The lower proof also makes it approachable. When I first started drinking bourbon, I gravitated towards it." Once the classes were complete, the pupils had a final exam of draping for the Kentucky Derby—the only accessory missing from the winning look was a Basil Hayden's cocktail. —Emily Coleman Back row: Michelle Lainez, Beam Suntory Luxury Specialist Silamith Weir, Natalie Soward, Violet Fresquez, Marsha Meyer, Jennifer Richmond, Ahna Christina Tillmanns, Amy Arrow and Nebraska Chung. Front row: Allie Smith, Susan-Kate Heaney, Leslie O'Guinn, Kathy Delgado, Shauna Der, Denise Wesch, Kayla Klein, Mara Marski, Geri Courtney-Austein, Kelsey Kenner and Amy Mullally. Beam Suntory Luxury Specialist Silamith Weir (right), joined Kristin Dees (left) and Mercedes Curran (middle) of Designer Camp, a hands-on summer design day camp for teens, for our Fashion and Basil Hayden's event in Los Angeles. The winners of the Draping for Derby competition at our Fashion and Basil Hayden's event. Guests of our L.A. event sipped on The BBC (Blackberry Collins), which featured Basil Hayden's Bourbon. PHOTO: KELLY BALCH PHOTO: KELLY BALCH PHOTO: KELLY BALCH From Runway TO GLASS See all featured cocktails at www.facebook.com/TastingPanelMagazine/. Basil Hayden's ® Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, 40% Alc./Vol. ©2016 Kentucky Springs Distilling Co., Clermont, KY.