This week's guest on Spirits of Whisk(e)y is Rob Arnold, Master Distiller at Firestone & Robertson Distilling Co., in Fort Worth, Texas, makers of TX Whiskey. Fort Worth, aka Cowtown, was at one time home to the world's largest horse and mule market. Now, however, thanks to the pioneering work of this third-generation whiskey professional and bona fide Renaissance man, it's a center of whiskey innovation. Listen and learn how the author of Shots of Knowledge: The Science of Whiskey (2016) and The Terroir of Whiskey: A Distiller's Journey into the Flavor of Place (2021) left his native Louisville to blaze his own whiskey trail, in the process earning a PhD in plant breeding and genetics at Texas A&M University. Then whet your appetite with Chef Louise Leonard's suggestions for pairing TX Pedro Ximénez sherry cask-finished Straight Bourbon with an exquisite Spanish flan, featuring flambéed apricots, cherries, and plums. This decadent dessert, which picks up the bourbon's caramel and candied nut notes, makes for a perfect after-dinner treat.
