Once outlawed, always American with a tinge of sweetness! No single sip started our pursuit. The adventure began on a couch. Streamed, not sipped---Neat, the Story of Bourbon. Novice noses already used to experiencing rich nuanced flavors of coffee, wine and beer. As the saying goes, ‘If life’s not a great olfactory experience, then it’s nothing at all.’
Sonic slushy sweet it isn’t. I once grew corn in my
backyard. Fresh corn isn’t like grocery store corn. Flavorful but still corn. Bourbon
isn’t only corn, it’s 80 proof, maybe 100. There’s a burn, a bite that bursts
in the mouth and coalesces in the gullet. Corn is the key to bourbon, but
whiskey is a wider road.
The wife’s becoming connoisseur of the Old Fashioned. I’m
finding I lean toward a rye. Friends, waiters and whiskey flights are good
exposure. So came my introduction to Skrewball’s peanut butter whiskey! As a
man addicted to all things peanut this had to be in the arsenal. Water or no
water? Cocktail? Or neat; pure and at room temperature.
What about that whole Christian and alcohol thing? Say ‘speakeasy.’
I’ve fallen off both sides of the horse. Christ followers walk in this tension.
Legalism is a list of rules and regs, do this and don’t do that’s. Liberty is
an emphasis on freedom in everything. Grace is the over arching principle that
we are all screw ups and Christ alone has covered our sins.
Upon dedication of the temple Hezekiah called for
whole-burnt-offerings and lavish libations (2 Chron 29). One author aptly
states that Israel celebrated with whiskey and barbeque. Paraphrasing the Poet
Preacher, “Enjoy bourbon! This is your reward in life and in your toil.” Enjoying
the piquancy of whiskey adds accent and highlight to this life. For mood or
season, straight or on rocks it flavors life. For the rest of life’s course,
always grace, always ‘neat.’
