You could call Jon Taffer the guru of bars. After a 40-year career in the hospitality industry, Taffer shares his knowledge through his popular reality show, Bar Rescue, where he helps others achieve their goals of running a successful bar and restaurant. Recently, Taffer released his own unique spirit, Taffer’s Browned Butter Bourbon, and launched it in his adopted hometown of Las Vegas. The entrepreneur, who has many projects planned, spoke with Las Vegas Magazine’s Kiko Miyasato about the new bourbon and what’s on tap for the rest of 2023.

How did Taffer’s Browned Butter Bourbon come to be?

When I created the product, we created it in one of my restaurants. I was cooking with browned butter one day and I got the idea to pour it in a plastic sous vide cooking bag with whiskey. Then I cooked it in boiling water for a few minutes, took it out, put it in a walk-in refrigerator and the butter coagulated on top. I skimmed the top, poured it through a coffee filter and brown butter bourbon was born. Then we put it into a cocktail, and we started to sell over a thousand a month—it was called the Campfire. It was crazy; it was so successful. And we were like, “We have to bring this to market.”

Why was it important for you to launch this brand in Las Vegas?

I live here. I know this city really, really well. I love this town. I believe in this town. I believe if you can succeed in this city, you can succeed anywhere. Las Vegas is a showplace for the world and the amount of people that could try my product here is really powerful.

What are people going to experience when they drink the bourbon?

The vanilla really hits you. The best way to drink it: Put the glass on your chin and let the aroma come up to your nose; that’s an incredible way to taste it. You’ll smell coffee, caramel, butter, with notes of vanilla.

Are you a bourbon drinker?

I am a bourbon drinker. I love bourbon because it’s the spirit of America. I’m a pretty patriotic kind of person. In the late 1800s, by an actual act of Congress, bourbon was made the official spirit of the United States. It’s as American as American can be. Whenever we export bourbon to other countries, we export America as well. I love bourbon as a flavor and as a product; I love its history.

You mentioned that this bourbon is not just for drinking but also for cooking.

My friend Michael Mina told me recently that he’s marinating steaks with it. I just tasted a browned butter (bourbon) cookie that’s out of this world. We’ve tasted a browned butter bourbon risotto that was to die for! Man, was it delicious. We’re finding that the browned butter flavor is very culinary. I say with a smile but it’s true—this is probably the only bourbon in the world that was actually invented in a kitchen, so it has a real culinary connection.

Aside from the release of your new bourbon, what’s on tap for you for the rest of the year?

I start Bar Rescue season nine in August. I’m really excited about that. We’re shooting a bunch of episodes here in Vegas. It’s always fun for me to shoot in my hometown, of course. Then Taffer’s Tavern—we’re close to making an announcement here in Vegas. I don’t want to jinx it (laughs). We’re opening Taffer’s Taverns right now in Alabama, in Atlanta we’re opening our third and we’re also looking to open in other markets as we speak. It’s been a good year and we’re keeping busy.

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