Bourbon: The Most American Thing You Can Drink 🇺🇸

TOP SHELF

Baseball, Apple Pie, and Bourbon: Why This Spirit Runs Through America's Veins

Your buddy just turned down a $300 bottle of scotch for a $40 pour of Evan Williams.

His reason? "It's American, man."He's not wrong.

He's not wrong.

🥃 Congress Made It Official (But We Already Knew)

In 1964, Congress declared bourbon a "distinctive product of the United States." Basically, they slapped a legal "Made in the USA" sticker on the whole category.

But bourbon didn't need Congress to tell it what it already was.

This spirit was born American — cobbled together by Scots-Irish settlers in the late 1700s who looked at the frontier and said, "Screw barley, we've got corn for days."

They mixed Old World distilling knowledge with New World abundance: corn instead of grain, charred oak barrels, and limestone water that filtered through Kentucky like it had somewhere important to be.

The result? A spirit that tastes like manifest destiny in a glass.

Quick history hit: While European aristocrats were sipping scotch from crystal decanters, Americans were perfecting bourbon in log cabins. That's the origin story that slaps.

The Bourbon Rulebook: Patriotic Red Tape That Actually Works

Federal law says bourbon must:

• Be made in the U.S. (obviously)

• Contain at least 51% corn

• Age in new, charred oak barrels

• Hit specific proof requirements (160 max distilled, 125 max barreled, 80 min bottled)

These aren't just bureaucratic hoops—they're what make bourbon bourbon.

That corn requirement? Pure America. We grow more corn than sense, and it gives bourbon that sweet, approachable kick that separates it from the smokier, sharper profiles of scotch or Irish whiskey.

The charred barrel rule? That's where the magic happens. New American oak + fire = caramel, vanilla, and those deep color notes that make your bottle look expensive even when it's not.

Whiskey for the People, Not the Country Club

Here's what sets bourbon apart from its uptight European cousins:

Scotch was for aristocrats. Cognac was for French nobles who needed something to do between revolutions.

Bourbon? Bourbon was for farmers, factory workers, and frontier families who needed something stronger than their work ethic.

It was affordable, accessible, and damn good — the trifecta of American consumerism before that was even a thing.

The Kentucky Connection: By the 1800s, Kentucky distillers had figured out that aging whiskey in charred barrels created something special. Not just drinkable — desirable. They turned a practical storage solution into an art form, and the rest is history.

Prohibition Almost Killed It (But America Don't Quit)

The 1920s nearly murdered the bourbon industry. Distilleries shut down, barrels were dumped, and the bourbon culture went underground.

But here's the plot twist: A few distilleries survived by producing "medicinal whiskey."

That's right! Your doctor could literally prescribe you bourbon during Prohibition. The most American loophole in history.

After Prohibition ended, bourbon came roaring back. During WWII, distilleries pivoted to producing industrial alcohol for the war effort, linking bourbon forever to American resilience.

The New York Times covered bourbon's comeback in 1933 like it was VE Day. Because it basically was.

Today: America's Liquid Export Domination

Bourbon isn't just America's drink anymore — it's America's gift to the world.

The global bourbon market has exploded. We're shipping millions of gallons overseas annually, and brands like Jim Beam, Maker's Mark, and Buffalo Trace are doing more for American soft power than most ambassadors.

Walk into a bar in Tokyo, London, or Sydney, and you'll find bourbon on the top shelf (right where it belongs).

Cocktail culture boost: The Old Fashioned and Mint Julep aren't just drinks — they're bourbon delivery systems that have become as iconic as the spirit itself. Even craft cocktail snobs can't escape bourbon's gravitational pull.

🥃 Rick's Final Thought

Bourbon is America in a bottle: born from scrappy innovation, built by working-class hands, nearly destroyed by government overreach, and came back stronger than ever.

It's sweet but sharp. Approachable but complex. Humble but premium.

Next time you pour a glass, recognize you're drinking 250 years of American grit, ingenuity, and a middle finger to anyone who said we couldn't make world-class spirits.

Now that's worth a toast. 🇺🇸