Whiskey

First, I’ll explain the “Whiskey” aspect of The Whiskey Gentry…

I started drinking bourbon in college. Jim Beam and Coca-Cola is the unofficial, official drink of University of Georgia football game days. Those days, I begrudgingly swilled the overly-sweetened drink with one goal in mind… getting drunk enough to pack into a stadium with 80,000 other drunkards to watch the Georgia Bulldogs dominate the competition.*

By the time I started in on the bourbon drinks – usually after a 12er of Keystone Light (Bud Light if I was feeling particularly flush) – I was numb enough to stomach it. As is normally the case, the more I drank, the easier it got… By sophomore year, I was an old pro. I could stumble from the frat house lawn to the stadium, swinging my overflowing cup in rhythm with the chants, “What’s that coming down the tracks? It’s a mean machine in Red and Black…,” dodging the occasional passed out sorority girl land mine, and arrive at the stadium gates, cup drained, and my bright, white Lacoste shirt still perfectly clean. Of course I had a double zip-locked bag of bourbon belted into my pants for mixing on the sly once inside – On a side note, I shared this trick with a private-university friend of mine at his alma mater’s lacrosse game… He couldn’t believe we got four shots of Lagavulin 16 into a college event… Oh, how naïve the “smart kids” are.

From Jim, I graduated to Jack (I know, not technically a bourbon), and eventually, on the rare occasion, Maker's Mark – a $5 drink in college is a big deal. But all these drinks shared one thing in common – Coke. At the time I didn’t mind it… I didn’t know how to drink bourbon any other way. But I eventually tired of the super-sweet mixer, and graduated to ginger ale mixed with the Canadian’s answer to bourbon… Crown Royal. Soon, Crown and ginger was too sweet for my slowly-evolving palette, and I graduated to the drink that shaped my manhood…

I don’t remember the first time I drank bourbon on the rocks, but I remember the reason… I had started spending a lot of time in New York, and I figured I’d get the most bang for my buck with a Maker's on the rocks. I was right. For $8 I got a double rocks glass, two cubes, and Maker's to the brim. You drink them slower, but to the same effect.

I’ve never looked back since then – barring a two-year hiatus to test the Scottish waters. The only variety in my (drinking) life now is the type of brown liquor in my glass. And I’ve tried most of them – Maker’s Mark, Bulleit Bourbon, Hudson Baby Bourbon, Jim Beam, Black Maple Hill, Wild Turkey, Woodford Reserve, Knob Creek, Balnton’s, etc…

But at a recent work retreat to the Eastern shore of Maryland – at the hotel where they filmed the Christopher Walken wedding in Wedding Crashers – I tried the best bourbon in the world. I had heard tell of this mythical bottle before this point, but I had never been able to buy it. It wasn't a price thing... You just can't find the stuff. But thanks to the office “Mom,” my dreams were realized. She had four bottles delivered to the event – two to my room, two to the bar to share with co-workers. Needless to say, I didn’t drink anything else for the three days I was there.

It was delicious. I'll give you the name, and photos of what’s next, next time.

* Georgia did not always dominate the competition, though it did most of the time.