Drinking or Thinking
Newman Miller blew in the door on a high-octane turbo charge. We put a couple of Becerra tacos and a Topo Chico in front of him and both were nearly untouched for the next hour as he entertained us with an improv set of menu musings and food and beverage tales from corporate test kitchens to dive joints.
The chef known as @bourbonandham was born in Lexington and grew up on a Washington County farm. These days he lives in the county next door, where he and his wife Rachel and his brother Harrison own and operate Bardstown’s Mr. Tubs, a neighborhood bar named for the laundromat it once was.
Mr. Tubs is their toast to cocktail culture, especially of the variety found in Chicago circa 2007-10, which Newman describes as the best bar scene in America at the time. And a time when he might have been snubbed by certain fellow chefs for his corporate work, but always found a warm welcome at the bar.
Paul McGee of Three Dots and a Dash would have a tiki night on Mondays and he would read a book and then try to make the drink and charge $8. And he’d do eight of them every Monday. And I’d walk home eight drinks later every Monday.
After such extensive study, Newman returned to Kentucky to open the Harrison Smith House with Rachel and Harrison in 2014. A partnership with Rob Samuels and Makers Mark led to Star Hill Provisions, where Newman advanced his mastery of craft cocktails and dishes inspired by Kentucky’s rich culinary tradition.
Now that he and Rachel have two sons, 11-year-old Porter and 9-year-old Oliver, Newman’s settling down just a bit, building up the experiences at Mr. Tubs and exploring opportunities closer to home. All the better to practice his mantra of Drinking or Thinking, living life both high and low, enjoying the sublime and the not-so-sublime with equal gusto.
There isn’t much good to be found in the ‘middle’ of anything so drink the cheap stuff and think about the great stuff when you get some of it!
Indeed.
Related Content
Aunt Margaret Highball
One of Chef Newman's favorite cocktails from Mr. Tubs, the Bardstown bar he owns and operates with his wife and brother, is named for his Aunt Margaret. Stir up a couple of these highballs and settle in for a long summer spell.
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