Bourbon: American Whiskey's Royal Offspring
It's our special contribution to the art of drinking well
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“If I cannot drink Bourbon and smoke cigars in Heaven then I shall not go.”
Mark Twain
The American Bourbon Association says that bourbon can only be created under strict requirements. For instance, regular whiskey can be aged in used barrels but bourbon requires new charred oak barrels for that. The storage of these barrels is specific as well. They must be placed on their side in racks so that air can flow through them. Moreover, the aging process must last for at least two years and the product must be made from mash containing 51 percent corn. Plus, for bourbon, to be bourbon, it can never be altered with additives or coloring.
These and other methods weren’t obtained by revelation through an oracle but rather by trial and error and continual refinement. They have resulted in a uniquely American product which today is enjoyed worldwide.
(NOTE: In the email heads up for this edition I mistakenly stated that bourbon has to be from Kentucky. No. Bourbon can be from anyplace as long as it’s in America but most bourbons today are, in fact, bottled in Kentucky. So shame on me).
Today’s bourbon got its name from Kentucky’s Bourbon County, which was named after the French House of Bourbon in honor of the French Royalty for their role in supporting the colonists in the American Revolution. Another Kentucky county, Fayette, is named in honor of Marquis de Lafayette, the young French general who served on Washington’s personal staff.
Nevertheless, the idea of calling this whiskey “bourbon” was to distinguish the predominantly corn-based spirit from the rye-based whiskey made in the eastern United States.
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Bourbon Comes of Age Through Time
All this started In 1764, when our brilliant and esteemed British overlords imposed a heavy tax on molasses imports from French and Spanish plantations in the Caribbean. This new law, which you and I had long since forgotten from ninth grade, was named the “Sugar Act” and it meant you couldn’t afford to make rum anymore. It also deeeply incensed American rum drinkers, rum being the favored hard liquor of the time. It was just another poke in the eye to people here and it contributed to the manufacture of corn-based whiskey to replace sugar cane-derived rum. It also contributed to the start of the Revolutionary War.
That war cost a lot of money and when it was over the new United States government was deep in debt. Treasury Secretary, Alexander Hamilton, decided to tax American whiskey makers as a quick means of paying it off. Inevitably, distillers … a fiercely independent bunch … saw this as yet another poke in the eye by yet another government. Their reponse was armed defiance which became the Whiskey Rebellion of 1791. President George Washington personally led army troops into the mountains of western Pennsylvania to put the rebellion down in 1794.
On March 10, 1864, President Lincoln made General Ulysses S. Grant Commanding General of the entire U.S. Army. This met with disfavor among some members of Lincoln’s cabinet who told the President that Grant was a drunkard. Lincoln is perported to have responded: “go find out what whiskey Grant drinks. I will send a barrel of it to each of my generals if it can inspire them to fight as well as he does.” This story might not be true but it ought to be.
That whiskey was Old Crow and it’s still popular today, although no longer made from the original recipe. That was the one favored by General Grant and it was also the favorite of William Faulkner and Mark Twain.
In 1987 the Jim Beam Distillery bought the Old Crow brand and changed its recipe to the same one as that for Jim Beam and also changed the aging time from six years to three. This also changed the taste.
“Here, Carrie, hold my drink.”
By the time of 20th Century, it was obvious to a certain subset of American women that too many people, especially men, most especially the men who were their husbands, were spending too much time drinking whiskey in taverns and enjoying themselves. Their response was to badger Congress to such an extent that the timid senators and representatives caved in to their demands in 1919 and passed the Volstead Act, making the manufacture, sale and consumption of ALL alcohol illegal. It became known as Prohibition.
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That experiment came to an end on December 5, 1933, when the 21st Amendment to the Constitution was ratified. It repealed the 18th Amendment, making alcohol once again legal. This was the first and only time in U.S. history that an Amendment has been repealed.
Today, bourbon remains a steadfast and reliable American tradition with roots in the birth of our nation. Using it to become intoxicated is counter-productive and dangerous but enjoyed in moderation it can be a wonderful way to feel the warm glow of contentment and well-being. Those who really appreciate a good bourbon generally like it too much to abuse the privilege.
“Bourbon is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy”
Benjamin Franklin
Your recipe for this edition is the traditional and classic mint julep using good old Kentucky bourbon. It’s the signature drink of the annual Kentucky Derby and it’s yours on the other side of the paywall. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to help keep me writing this every week.
Heartfelt thanks,
Bob.
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