Amongst other qualifications, bourbon is a spirit, distilled from grain – a whiskey – made in America and aged in new, charred, white oak barrels. Its mash contains at least 51% corn. It cannot have entered the barrel at greater than 62.5% alcohol and cannot enter the bottle at less than 80 proof. But that’s not why we drink it.
Bourbon is a spirit with an accidental origin. A minister named Elijah, from Bourbon County, rid his wooden barrel from the smell of its prior contents – fish – by burning the wood from the inside. He then filled that barrel with his corn-based whiskey and put in on a ship. When it was finally opened in New Orleans, people clamored for that brown liquor from Bourbon County. At least that’s one version of the origin story. But that’s not why we drink it.
Bourbon found me as it does many – in a dorm room at the age of 18. Many collegiate, hard-hitting journalism stories quickly turned into creative writing projects once a plastic pint, some Coca Cola and $11 got involved on a Thursday night. Some of the best Friday morning grades followed those nights as if I were a real Ernest Hemingway. Those McAlister’s cups filled only halfway with ice and Coke are remembered fondly. What ensued between the hours of ten and two in those formative years, I’d like to describe as vivid memories, but I prefer not to lie. At the genesis of my experience, bourbon was, at the very least, alongside for some juvenile fun, but that’s not why I continue to drink it. The truth is bourbon is much more than a spirit. It’s much more than a means of altering your mental state to escape life for a while. In fact, that is not at all related to what the true essence of bourbon is to those that look upon it fondly. Bourbon is history. It is a story. Bourbon is not the experience. Bourbon partners with the experience itself.
Bourbon starts in the ground. The corn, the rye, the wheat, the barley. The wood, the dirt, the water. Imagine how many hands and lives contribute to what ends up in a glass. These raw materials are all created, crafted, harvested or maintained by countless farmers, the lifeblood of America. Bourbon is art.
To be called Straight Bourbon, bourbon must have spent a minimum of 2 years inside the barrel. To be labeled “Bottled-in-Bond,” among other legal requirements, it must have been inside that barrel for a minimum of 4 years. Sometimes what ends up in the glass and consumed in less than an hour has spent 10-, 12-, 15-, 23-years inside a barrel, maturing for you. When you drink bourbon, you’re drinking something that potentially started in a previous generation. Bourbon is history.
Bourbon is rich in characters. Mr. Elijah Craig stumbled upon sending whiskey in an old fish barrel. At one point, when someone purchased a bourbon, there was no guarantee of quality. Maybe that bottle contained aged and meticulously-cared for bourbon. Maybe it was vodka with tobacco spit in it. Who knew? Certainly not you. But in 1897, Colonel Edmund Taylor pioneered the passing of the Bottled in Bond Act, assuring that if you saw this stamp on a bottle, you knew you had the real deal. Beyond that, if you know bourbon, you know the names Elmer, Blanton, Stagg, Van Winkle, Bulleit, Williams, Basil and Forester. These are names that grace many bottles on the shelves of collectors and connoisseurs. But originally, they are names that helped shape the history of bourbon.
The history, the creation, the fundamental requirements of bourbon – they’re all incredibly important. But what really makes bourbon special are the personal stories and memories that surround a glass of good bourbon. If you’re reading this, and have made it this far, it’s extremely likely that you enjoy the taste of bourbon. You probably have a specific one in mind, or even in hand, while reading this. So, you know… Cheers. But what makes bourbon taste its best is surrounding it with great people. Out of the hundreds of bottles that I have owned, opened and drank, a handful specifically standout. Maybe it is the highly sought after bottle that everyone wants, but it’s not because we drank the highly sought after bottle that everyone wants. It’s because the bottle was opened to celebrate the purchase of a new house, a holiday or the birth of a child. Good bourbon is meant to be shared with good friends and family, not collected to sit on a shelf.
The Van Winkle line of bourbons, the Old Rip Van Winkle 10 Year, or the 12-year “Lot B”, and the “Pappy” lines – which I do not need to list – are considered some of the most rare and sought after bottles of bourbon known to the world. And on one occasion, my grandfather visited me and my family in our hometown. Now, this is of great significance because we had always – and I mean always – traveled to see him and my grandmother. But this time they surprised my dad for his birthday, and it was a lovely occasion. When he arrived, we opened a bottle of Van Winkle 12 year, the “Lot B.” Between my dad, my brother-in-law, my grandfather and me, we finished the whole bottle in a night. Inquiring minds wanted to know what that bottle went for. At the time we drank it, the price on the secondary market for this bottle was around $1,400. And those inquiring minds didn’t quite understand why we’d drink such a bottle. Normally I’d understand that skepticism. It was May and my granddad had cancer. By July, he had passed. That occasion was the last time we would spend time together as a family. And that is why we’d drink such a bottle. Now, that empty bottle sits on a shelf in my office, not 10 feet from me during the writing of this story.
The best bourbon with the highest age statement doesn’t have the same allure when it’s consumed after a hard day void of good company. And sometimes, when surrounded by family, friends and a comfortable chair, the cheapest bottle tastes like $1,000. You see, bourbon is rich in history. It is rich in characters. It is a tasty spirit that people enjoy, and sometimes some people enjoy it a little too much. But at its core, bourbon is a facilitator of good times and good memories with great people. And that is why we drink it.
The Whisky Gentleman 