Whiskey + Doughnuts co-founder Patrick Culligan believes that a drunk man’s words are a sober man’s thoughts. “It’s really funny, because none of us while sober, thinking as adults, will say that this is a good pairing of things,” he says, building to an inevitable however. “If you attend the event, you will be convinced otherwise. You’ll believe the combination of the two is amazing. I’m told that every single time, by many people, whenever we do this. That may be because they’re a little intoxicated. But it’s probably because there’s some truth to it. I think.”
Whiskey + Doughnuts is exactly what it sounds like. It’s an opportunity to sample a variety of regional whiskeys and to taste sweet, doughy creations by the Memphis area’s finest doughnut-makers. “It’s really cool because it’s very focused,” Culligan says. “There’s not any wine or any beer. There are no cupcakes. It’s just as simple as that. Doughnuts. Whiskey.”
Culligan says it all began as a joke. He and his friends were making fun of food festival trends. “Bacon had jumped the shark,” he says. “We love whiskey, and we love doughnuts, and even though we know these things don’t go together, we were going to put them together anyway.”
The original Whiskey + Doughnuts crew expected 50 to 75 people at their first event. More than 300 showed up. “It was crazy,” Culligan says. “I had to run out and get more doughnuts at the last second.”
Details are still shaking out, but Whiskey + Doughnuts promises between 15 to 25 whiskeys to sample. And just a whole bunch of doughnuts. “That’s really it,” Culligan says, summing it all up. “Simple.”
Also, the first 15 Elvises to show up in full Elvis costumes get in free. So, there’s that.