Bourbon is hot right now. The corn distillate has experienced a resurgence during the pandemic as alcohol taxes were relieved in some states when folks stayed home. Once relegated to good old boys running liquor across southern states, bourbon is experiencing a trendy uptick in demand. Folks who normally like their liquor clear and drink wine spritzers are partaking in the libation.
Bourbon whiskey’s increased demand has made it hard for distillers to stock the beverage in many states. Liquor stores frequently run out of popular brands. This has led to a secondary market of resellers pricing regular drinkers out of solid brands and insiders boosting bourbon for their own private stocks. The Virginian, Rob Adams, was infamously listing hard-to-find bottles on his Facebook page. Virginia ABC eventually caught up with him and his ABC insider prosecuting them for running their own Bourbon Black Market.
Finding good bourbon, Hell finding your favorite bourbon, is an ordeal sometimes. Your favorite dispensaries may have empty shelves forcing you to drink swill. Savvy drinkers forged relationships with store owners getting a tip when new supplies are in. theSync’s El Jefe builds relationships with the distillers themselves receiving text messages when a new cask is tapped.
Oregon Trail
The latest scam of insiders locking the public out of good bourbon involves Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission executives hoarding Buffalo Trace’s Pappy Van Winkle for their own collections. Executive Director, Steve Marks, and other insiders paid list price for the bottles which can run thousands of dollars. The public, however, didn’t have a chance to buy these bottles of Pappy Van Winkle. Oregon’s new governor, Tina Kotek, asked for resignations all around and will be choosing her own board.
The Uniquely American Spirit
Bourbon is uniquely American. The spirit has a fascinating history dating back to colonial America and our history of slavery running well into the advent muscle cars and NASCAR. Legend has it that NASCAR’s founding was born out of bourbon runners hopping up their cars in a bid to OutRun police. Bourbon’s American-ness makes it a favorite for porch drinking and telling tall tales.
It’s storied history is shrouded in mythology supposedly originating with Elijah Craig’s baptist ministry to the storied history of Nearest Green’s emancipation and bringing black ingenuity to Jack Daniel’s formula and the black woman owned and master blended luxury brand Uncle Nearest, to scrappy upstarts like West Virginia’s Devil’s Due Distillery.
The Oregon officials were robbing the public of Pappy Van Winkle. Old Pap is a rare bourbon with a cult following that can fetch $5,000 a bottle. Pappy Van Winkle inspired the Netflix documentary Heist, and the more cerebral and spiritual journey into the history of bourbon, Neat: The Story of Bourbon.
Bourbon Is Meant to Be Shared
Watch the documentary, Neat. When you listen to Freddie Johnson; Buffalo Trace’s third generation distiller, speak emotionally about a toast shared with his father; Jimmy Johnson Jr., it’s easy to understand why folks embark on a life of crime. They will do anything to share a toast with those who matter most drinking a delicious spirit crafted with passion and aged to perfection. Bourbon takes care. It also takes time to get it right.
Freddie’s father, Jimmy, was a second generation distiller after his father before him. The Johnsons were craftsmen who enjoyed sharing bourbon. They didn’t take pride in hoarding bottles for their own collections or keeping it away from the public. They wanted bourbon to be enjoyed. Those who don’t have the Johnsons’ insight may feel desperation as the best bottles have aged more than 12 years. For true lovers who want to partake and share, I can paraphrase Jimmy Johnson Jr. from Neat: The Story of Bourbon, “there will always be another bottle. It’s always best to share bourbon with those you love.”
-MJ