“It is unsettling to know that one out of every twenty people you meet one will be dead this time next year…Some people can accept this, and some can’t. That is why God made whiskey, and also why Wild Turkey comes in $300 shaped canisters during most of the Christmas season”
The quote above is by one America’s most cherished 20th century authors, Hunter S. Thompson. Although he is more associated with the drug and hippie culture of our parent’s generation, he was also an avid drinker who had a strong taste for Wild Turkey Bourbon. He spent his whole career challenging our minds, morals, and government through his style of ‘gonzo’ journalism.
Dr. Thompson was one of the true embodiments of the spirit of Bourbon in the USA. He was patriotic, political, provocative, progressive, and an overall pain-in-the-ass for the establishment.
American Patriots
Thompson, like Bourbon were born in the American South, Kentucky to be precise. There is no doubt that the southern states have a culture of their own… we’re talkin about the heart of ‘Murica here.
Like Bourbon, which can’t be made anywhere but the USA, Thompson’s works were always tied to the roots of American society. Remember from now on that whether you’re reading The Rum Diaries or your pouring yourself a glass of Maker’s Mark, you’re partaking in a piece of American history.
Politics
There is no doubting Thompson’s affect on the way Americans viewed politics following his monumental Rolling Stone articles following the campaigns of Presidents and other not-so-important events. However, not as many people know how much the nation’s history is covered in stains of Bourbon.
What made Thompson’s ‘Gonzo’ style of writing so novel was that it was written from an perspective that claimed no objectivity. Hunter Thompson was a very public pacifist, and remained mostly neutral politically in his works. People across the nation could appreciate his unbiased perspectives and this really helped spread his message.
When the Civil War broke out in 1861, Kentucky, the birthplace of bourbon remained fairly neutral.By remaining in between a union state and a slave trading state Kentucky’s neutrality spread the appreciation of their whiskies across the nation. Although the drink today is so closely tied to the south, it has been said that both American and Union soldiers would stroll through to drink Bourbon in between batles.
Provocateurs
Thompson’s writing style not only changed the landscape of journalism forever, it also inspired the works of many other artists and creatives in different fields. Similarly, Bourbon had an atomic change on the art culture of the south.
As Bourbon grew in popularity, Europeans began to notice. The main port for exporting the drink was in New Orleans. European boozehounds loved the sweet finish of the corn based liquor and the time spent shipping the product in charred wooden barrels proved to add a whole new level of vanilla and spiced flavours.
All along the rivers and routes the distillers would travel to ship their products, people would fall in love with Bourbon Whiskey, developing cultures of their own surrounding the drink. The large volumes of liquors passing through the city of New Orleans created a large underground economy based on drinking, gambling, and prostitution of which music was a necessity.
Out of this culture, Blues began to rise in the delta rivers of Mississippi, and Jazz began to form in New Orleans. History shows a strong relationship between the rise of Bourbon Whiskey and the origins of the first truly American musical forms, but one event propelled this relationship into infamy. Prohibition and the earliest days of musical recordings happened to fall around the same time (the 1920s). With this we saw Bourbon Whiskey mentioned on much of the early Blues and Jazz recordings, a tradition that still persists.
Progressive
There are a few rules an American Whiskey must follow in order to legally use the name ‘Bourbon’ on the label. The main thing you need to know is that all Bourbons must be made with at least 51% corn as the base grain. Unlike in the old world (Scotland and Ireland) where whiskies are usually made with a majority of grains like barely, wheat, and rye, American Bourbon Whiskey’s (Spelt with an ‘e’, don’t ask why) corn base adds a distinctly sweeter taste.
Side Note: Americans used corn because the natives showed them that it grows in more abundance than the traditional cooler-climate grains of Europe.
Like Thompson, who took journalism and flipped it on its head, American Bourbon did the same for the art of Whiskey/Whisky production.
A Pain-In-The-Ass
Yes, today Hunter Thompson is widely read and respected, however that wasn’t always the case. Thompson’s game changing writing style and public substance abuse stemmed a strong opposition from various groups of people. Bourbon’s story is much the same.
While today Bourbon may be the quintessential American drink, during the early 20th century America underwent an explosive political reform called prohibition, and Bourbon was in danger of becoming a distant memory. The Bourbon producers had to take their business elsewhere or conduct in black market sales. This really hampered the market, but people’s thirsts would not be unmet. ‘Bourbon County’, the most famous Bourbon producing region in Kentucky actually remained free of distilleries from 1919 up until 2014. Like Thompson, Bourbon’s distilleries would be forced to challenge the establishment of the time by conducting their business on the fringes of society.
It may be out of this struggle to survive that we saw the true quality of Bourbon shine. To be producing Bourbon in these times required balls and creativity. This is probably why we still see so many high quality independent distilleries that live on to this day.
So, you wanna live like Hunter S. Thompson eh? You wan’t to be a rebel? You wan’t to change the world?
Well, add a lil’ Bourbon to your life, it might just be the starting point you were looking for
Cheers,
Anthony