Jefferson's Bourbon

Some enterprising whiskey maker has tried to cash in on Jefferson's name, if not his legacy. From most accounts, Thomas Jefferson was a wine drinker, not a whiskey drinker. He had a particular fondness for Madiera. Fortified wine traveled better than typical fermented wine. He also liked Sherry and Italian sparkling wines like Nebbiolo. The good folks of Monticello took the time to compile a list of his journey entries on the subject.

So, why bourbon? The first distillery was recorded in Virginia in 1783, although home batches were probably being distilled long before. This was before Kentucky statehood in 1792, as these sour mash whiskeys have long been associated with Kentucky and Tennessee. I suppose one could argue that Jefferson probably had a taste of this quintessential American drink, but apparently never recorded his impressions.

Whiskey was indeed popular throughout the country, which is why Hamilton's tax on distilled spirits wasn't very well received, resulting in the Whiskey Rebellion of 1794. The rebellion was quelled, but ongoing battles between distillers and revenuers have persisted throughout the decades and have become the stuff of legend.

Bourbons have matured over the years, and have become the favorites of presidents. Old Crow was apparently the favorite drink of U.S. Grant. Lincoln purportedly sent him and his staff a barrel after a key victory in the Civil War. Bill Clinton was partial to Maker's Mark. But, it is small batch bourbons like Jefferson's Bourbon that is really making a mark these days. It has garnered rave reviews, although its Presidential Select 21 year will set you back $120.

Comments

Dylan in America

Whoever it was in 1969 who named the very first Bob Dylan bootleg album “Great White Wonder” may have had a mischievous streak. There are any number of ways you can interpret the title — most boringly, the cover was blank, like the Beatles’ “White Album” — but I like to see a sly allusion to “Moby-Dick.” In the seven years since the release of his first commercial record, Dylan had become the white whale of 20th-century popular song, a wild, unconquerable and often baffling force of musical nature who drove fans and critics Ahab-mad in their efforts to spear him, lash him to the hull and render him merely comprehensible. --- Bruce Handy, NYTimes ____________________________________________ I figured we can start fresh with Bob Dylan. Couldn't resist this photo of him striking a Woody Guthrie pose. Looks like only yesterday. Here is a link to the comments building up to this reading group.

The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire

Welcome to this month's reading group selection. David Von Drehle mentions The Melting Pot , a play by Israel Zangwill, that premiered on Broadway in 1908. At that time theater was accessible to a broad section of the public, not the exclusive domain it has become over the decades. Zangwill carried a hopeful message that America was a place where old hatreds and prejudices were pointless, and that in this new country immigrants would find a more open society. I suppose the reference was more an ironic one for Von Drehle, as he notes the racial and ethnic hatreds were on display everywhere, and at best Zangwill's play helped persons forget for a moment how deep these divides ran. Nevertheless, "the melting pot" made its way into the American lexicon, even if New York could best be describing as a boiling cauldron in the early twentieth century. Triangle: The Fire That Changed America takes a broad view of events that led up the notorious fire, noting the gro

Team of Rivals Reading Group

''Team of Rivals" is also an America ''coming-of-age" saga. Lincoln, Seward, Chase et al. are sketched as being part of a ''restless generation," born when Founding Fathers occupied the White House and the Louisiana Purchase netted nearly 530 million new acres to be explored. The Western Expansion motto of this burgeoning generation, in fact, was cleverly captured in two lines of Stephen Vincent Benet's verse: ''The stream uncrossed, the promise still untried / The metal sleeping in the mountainside." None of the protagonists in ''Team of Rivals" hailed from the Deep South or Great Plains. _______________________________ From a review by Douglas Brinkley, 2005

Dispatches from Vilnius

Search This Blog