09-24-2009, 01:14 PM
I attended a cigar dinner many years ago that was sponsored by Jim Beam to highlight their small batch brands
(Basil Hayden, Bakers, Bookers, Knob Creek, etc ...) and one of the things they taught us was the proper way
to enjoy their product.
I had always been an "rocks" kind of guy with whiskey/ bourbon/ scotch etc ... but the way they promoted it
was to mix 1 part of the spirit with anywhere from 3 to 5 parts "branch water" and they even brought
their own from their special source. It made for a very light sipping - not harsh at all.
On the other hand many many years ago I was returning from Florida after helping a friend move there. His brother
who I was traveling with was a huge Jack Daniels fan so we had to make a stop in Lynchburg. We arrived at 6:00 a.m.
on a Monday morning after driving all night. The distillery didn't open for a few hours so we crashed in the back
of the empty cargo van we were driving.
The folks at the distillery were very surprised to have visitors first thing Monday but they obliged us with a tour
that was given to us by one of the old distiller himself. We kept kidding him about samples - knowing that
it was a dry county and that there were none. We kept asking so when we got to the part of the tour where they
showed the charcoal filtering. The had an oak vat about two stories tall that had a big pipe feeding the fresh hot steaming whiskey
into the filtering vats. This one was set up with a thick plexiglass lid so visitors could see the whiskey filtering in.
The old guy say "OK boys - here's your free sample" He told us to lean over it and he pulled back the plexiglass
and we both got a face full of whiskey steam that went right to the brain. A major head rush that we laughed about
all the way back home. No whiskey in the hospitality room though - just lemonade and cookies.
(Basil Hayden, Bakers, Bookers, Knob Creek, etc ...) and one of the things they taught us was the proper way
to enjoy their product.
I had always been an "rocks" kind of guy with whiskey/ bourbon/ scotch etc ... but the way they promoted it
was to mix 1 part of the spirit with anywhere from 3 to 5 parts "branch water" and they even brought
their own from their special source. It made for a very light sipping - not harsh at all.
On the other hand many many years ago I was returning from Florida after helping a friend move there. His brother
who I was traveling with was a huge Jack Daniels fan so we had to make a stop in Lynchburg. We arrived at 6:00 a.m.
on a Monday morning after driving all night. The distillery didn't open for a few hours so we crashed in the back
of the empty cargo van we were driving.
The folks at the distillery were very surprised to have visitors first thing Monday but they obliged us with a tour
that was given to us by one of the old distiller himself. We kept kidding him about samples - knowing that
it was a dry county and that there were none. We kept asking so when we got to the part of the tour where they
showed the charcoal filtering. The had an oak vat about two stories tall that had a big pipe feeding the fresh hot steaming whiskey
into the filtering vats. This one was set up with a thick plexiglass lid so visitors could see the whiskey filtering in.
The old guy say "OK boys - here's your free sample" He told us to lean over it and he pulled back the plexiglass
and we both got a face full of whiskey steam that went right to the brain. A major head rush that we laughed about
all the way back home. No whiskey in the hospitality room though - just lemonade and cookies.