Scottie Pippen Brings His Bourbon to Milwaukee for a special dinner on Mar 18

Chicago Bulls great Scottie Pippen will visit Milwaukee on Monday, March 18, for a special dinner at Merriment Social featuring his new bourbon, Digits. The event will offer a rare opportunity to enjoy a curated menu paired with Pippen’s whiskey and meet the six-time NBA champion in person.

Digits is a collaboration between Pippen and acclaimed Napa Valley winemaker Dave Phinney of Savage & Cooke Distillery. The five-year-aged bourbon features a mash bill of 75% corn, 21% rye, and 4% malted barley. Described as “lush, velvety and a pleasure to drink with no hard edges,” Digits boasts flavors of vanilla, caramel, buttered toast and maple.

The evening begins with a reception at 6:30 p.m. featuring:

• Uphoff smoked ham sliders with bourbon maraschino glaze, Grand Cru Gruyère and black truffle butter on Hawaiian rolls
• Pimento cheese deviled eggs
• Gold Medal Greenpoint cocktail with Savage & Cooke Rye, Yellow Chartreuse, Carpano Antica, Angostura & Orange Bitters

Dinner follows at 7:00 p.m. with three expertly paired courses:

First Course

• Ora King Salmon crudo with salsa macha, crispy rice, marinated cucumber, shaved red onion, sesame
• Pairing: Digits Bourbon Yuzu Black Tea French 95

Second Course

• Braised beef short rib with sweet potato gratin, roasted kale, bourbon-pepita gastrique, haystack onions
• Pairing: Digits Bourbon Black Walnut Apple Butter Old Fashioned

Third Course

• Sticky toffee gooey butter cake with pecans and bourbon whipped cream
• Pairing: Digits Bourbon (neat pour)

Tickets are available at two levels: $115 per person for the dinner and pairings, or $175 including a signed bottle of Digits. Additional autographed bottles can be purchased for $75.

While Pippen’s bourbon is generating buzz, there are several other excellent Black-owned whiskey brands worth seeking out:

Brough Brothers – Kentucky’s first Black-owned distillery, founded by three brothers to make bourbon more accessible.

Uncle Nearest Honours Nathan “Nearest” Green, the first known African American master distiller, known for award-winning Tennessee whiskey.

Du Nord Spirits – Produces bourbon and other spirits in Minneapolis. Committed to social advocacy and community engagement.

Frisky Whiskey – A Black woman-owned flavored whiskey brand focused on quality, natural ingredients.

Whether you score a ticket to the Digits dinner or pick up a bottle of one of these trailblazing brands, there’s never been a better time to support Black-owned businesses in the whiskey world.