Don’t Drink The {Local} Whiskey
My friend Jacqueline, web editor for a local tv station just tweeted this to me:
Ouch. Waiting for @MakeItWorkMolly‘s rebuttal on this one: Don’t drink local whiskey –> http://t.co/eHxLWJLpeg
— Jacqueline (@mrsrocknevious) March 13, 2014
Um…. really? Ok. So of course I head on over to Esquire Magazine to see what this article could possibly be about- but not before issuing them a warning:
@mrsrocknevious lawd let me look… @Esquiremag y’all don’t make me & @13thColony come over #local #whiskey #bringit hell @MaconBeer too
— Molly M. Wilkins (@MakeItWorkMolly) March 13, 2014
Hear my knuckles cracking yet?
So I delve in to the article. I think the article was meant more as a compliment to the Jefferson’s Ocean II whiskey (side note: is it bourbon or whiskey? I’ve been told by some Kentucky natives that it can only be bourbon if it’s made in that state, but other sources say otherwise), however the title and the body of work also slam “local distilleries” as a whole, stating:
It’s tempting… to fall into the trap of drinking local. There are more than four hundred craft distilleries in the United States today, and given the big players’ brute efficiency in turning out largely excellent products, one of the main ways in which the little guys distinguish themselves is by appealing to our locavore instincts, marketing the romance of drinking something bottled in the neighborhood.
Trey Zoeller, founder of Kentucky-based boutique bourbon brand Jefferson’s, is as eager as the next guy to release mature whiskeys onto a ravenous market, but hasn’t resorted to any of the experimental (and defiantly unromantic) tactics being used by young distilleries to accelerate the aging process: using tiny casks and agitating them with thumping music or ultrasonic waves, or employing pressure to force the interaction between the spirit and the wood.
So wait- ALL local distilleries are using “experimental” tactics to “accelerate” the aging process? Except this one though, as author Elizabeth Gunnison Dunn seems to imply.
Of course, I thought I might also do a little background check on Ms. Dunn, thank you Al Gore for inventing the Internet.
Ms. Dunn is an Art History major from Yale, I can’t say anything I’m a History/Political Science major myself. And not from Yale, from Mercer- although I personally would argue they could be compared however I digress. Ms. Dunn also was an assistant to Tom Collichio- ok I’ll bite, I like him and she most likely learned a lot from him. She currently lives in New York City as a freelance writer. (Got all of this from her bio on Huffington Post.)
What might be a lovely review of a great product is ruined for me by the over-simplification of “everything other than Jefferson’s Ocean II”. I would have appreciated additional info about these other distilleries but we have nothing other than her word to go on. Sorry I’m not sorry but that’s not good enough for me- as a fellow writer, fellow occasional food reviewer, and resident of a state with some damn good distilleries.
Ms. Dunn- I would challenge you to go to some other distilleries that are “local” and see what processes they use and then perform a taste test. We have our own 13th Colony down “heah” (Southern offended accent for “here”- what? like I’m the only one who doesn’t sound distinctly more Southern when I’m pissed) so I’d challenge you to come on down for a taste test. And if you are feeling really brave- go on up to Milledgeville and check out Georgia Distilling Company there and the ‘Shine (Moonshine, that is) they are creating. It may not be whiskey per se but I sampled some of it at Historic Macon’s Design, Wine and Dine and this particular palate was more than impressed. Of course, they do have whiskey, too.
So come on down here, we’ll leave the light on for you- and a mint julep at your bedside table.
Love to all Y’ALL-
Molly
