Let’s just say the invitation for a “whisky cooking party” got half my attention. When I stepped out of the small elevator onto the seventh floor, I was immediately impressed by the large, open cooking space in the back of the Flatiron location of My Cooking Party. After enjoying a whisky cocktail or two, the group was ushered to the bright kitchen where I immediately recognized how out of my league I was when I saw the Norman Bates-sized knife waiting for me at my cooking station. After dutifully signing a waiver, I looked around at everyone else during the knife lesson and felt a bit like a tee baller at MLB tryouts.

We were briefed on the menu and sent back to chip in with dinner. My part was helping to prepare the polenta fries. After doing my Dexter Morgan-best to slice the prepared polenta into fry-shaped pieces, I was still the proud owner of ten distal phalanges. Having accomplished something, I slipped to the back of the room and found my place at the bar among the like-minded defectors who were also enjoying the cooking show over a drink (rather than participating in the work any longer).

As dinner was being plated, we grabbed seats around a long table and started the whisky tasting, which included George Dickel’s new un-aged white corn whisky No. 1, (the guest of honor and reason for the event). Tasting it solo, it was hard to believe the strong whisky, at 91 proof, was in the tasty cocktails I had been drinking earlier. Dinner was served between tastings, and the best part of the meal was dessert: a pecan pie tartlet with lemon zest crème fraiche. As it turns out, my eating skills are much more impressive than my cooking skills.

To try your hand at the cocktail:

No. 1 Cooler
1.5 oz. George Dickel No. 1
.75 oz. Lime Juice
.75 oz. Simple Syrup
3 Slices of Cucumbers
6 Mint Leave
Pinch of Salt

For more information on My Cooking Party: http://www.mycookingparty.com/.