The Cult Of Bourbon

(Editors Note: This edition of the Mos Eisley Adventures is written entirely by The Colonel who would like to talk to you about his favorite alcohol, Bourbon. Enjoy!)

INTRODUCTION
Hi folks! I'm the Colonel, the white dressed suit wearer, lover of Ottoman Empire history, and patron of the Mos Eisley Cantina. My friend Keith has been gracious enough to give me the space to write on his blog about the cult of bourbon. I hope you enjoy this post or you might hate this post. Either way I don't really care.

Before I talk about bourbon let me give you a bit of background on myself. I originally grew up in California but for college I attended the Virginia Law School in Charlotesville, Virginia for three years from 2004-2007 after receiving my bachelor's degree in history from the University of California, Berkeley. 

While living in Virginia and being a student of history I immersed myself into the history and culture of Virginia and the south. Specifically I immersed myself at the local bars drinking an uniquely American drink called Bourbon.

WHAT THE HELL IS BOURBON?
Bourbon is America's foremost spirit, a whiskey that is distilled from at least 51 percent corn and aged in in charred oak barrels. By law, bourbon must be between 80 and 160 proof and aged at least two years. Besides corn a bourbon may contain barley malt and rye or wheat. The highest quality bourbons are single-barrel bourbon, bottled from one barrel at a time, or small-batch bourbon, blended from selected barrels. Only whiskey distilled in the United States can be called Bourbon.

HOW DO YOU DRINK BOURBON?
I prefer my bourbon mixed into an Old Fashioned but there are other ways to drink bourbon. You can have it straight or on the rocks. You can also mix bourbon to make other cocktails besides Old Fashions including the classic Mint Julep or highball. I prefer to drink bourbon with a pork dish and red velvet cake.


WHEN DID I START DRINKING BOURBON? 
I personally started drinking bourbon while at college in Virginia. My friends took me to a place called Millers Downtown and told me to order an Old Fashioned. First taste of that Old Fashioned and it was love at first sight or should I say first drink. My favorite part of that night besides getting drunk with friends was this guy drinking bourbon straight and listening to Ruby Tuesday on the jukebox on repeat because his girlfriend had just broken up with him.



IS THEIR A CULT OF BOURBON?
In my experience in the south there certainly is a cult of bourbon. Does this mean every person in the south drinks bourbon? Of course not, but once again in my experience bourbon was the drink of choice by the majority of people I noticed in the bars I would visit. Former Philadelphia Phillies pitcher and Kentucky senator Jim Bunning sponsored a resolution in the senate declaring September 2007 "National Bourbon Heritage Month"*. So I would certainly agree that there is definitely a cult of bourbon.

*Maybe we shouldn't complain about congress wasting time questioning sports leagues about concussions and steroids when they're already wasting time passing resolutions making certain months "National Bourbon Heritage Month. But what do I know?

AM I IN THE CULT OF BOURBON?
Well you have to ask yourself, if you walk into a bar what is the most likely drink you're going to order? The crowd of people I hung out with in Virginia and the majority of the bar patrons would always most likely order bourbon as soon as they set foot into a bar. These people wouldn't even bother drinking any other type of alcohol. It's bourbon all the time. That's what I could call the cult of bourbon.

IS THE CULT OF BOURBON A GROUP I WANT TO BE A PART OF? 
Yes. Hell Yes. Now you see my friend Keith prefers Canadian Whiskey like Crown Royal. A good whiskey, but why support an imported alcohol? Why not support American based products? Besides Bourbon is a far superior option when compared to to anything that Canada makes. You'll never hear Keith say this, but he likes bourbon more than Canadian whiskey. He just likes to appear like he's refined or stuck up.

WHAT KIND OF BOURBON SHOULD I BUY TO JOIN THE CULT? 
Depends on your price range. If you're just looking for something reasonably priced then I would just go with either Jim Beam or Maker's Mark. A lot of people like Wild Turkey but I only drink it when I'm desperate. My favorite high end Bourbons include Black Maple Hill, Woodford, and Buffalo Trace.

CONCLUSION 
Bourbon is the best type of alcohol to consume and the cult of bourbon is exactly the kind of cult you want to be a part of. For first time users I would try different styles of drinking bourbon. You might like bourbon straight. You might like bourbon mixed. Either way you're going to enjoy bourbon.

Thanks for reading, The Colonel