William World News William F. Yurasko's blog v.14 – Nats, Penn State, Redskins, greater DC , travel, more

Not that long ago, my father mentioned in passing that one of the best whiskeys he had ever tasted was corn whiskey out of a jug. His recollection was that he had it during an epic cross-country road trip (the top was up for less than one hour over the course of a month) many [...]

A great post from Chuck Chowdery’s blog — How Maker’s Mark Was Made. Maker’s was one of, if not, the first premium bourbons. They started small and mostly stayed that way for a few decades. A clever advertising campaign “Maker’s tastes expensive…and it is” helped it along, but mostly a Wall Street Journal article in [...]

Last Call for Lynchburg (Pop. 361) as Jack Daniel’s Rejiggers Its Label – Wall Street Journal
I drink Jack Daniel’s about twice a year, usually if I am flying somewhere and bourbon is unavailable. It is okay, but I find Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey to be more flavorful and enjoyable than filtered Tennessee sipping whiskey. [...]

FAIRFAX, Va. — The Ombudsman recently moved to Northern Virginia from the Boston area to be closer to WWN operations.* His arrival is good on several fronts, including the bourbon one. On Saturday, before meeting up with my dad for some chili dogs at The Vienna Inn, we visited his new apartment in order [...]

Tomorrow is the 137th Kentucky Derby and as usual my family is having a party. A big part of the party is making mint juleps, the combination of bourbon, simple syrup, mint and ice that Henry Clay introduced to Washington and by extension the country/world when he was a senator from Kentucky. After the drinks [...]

This is the kind of game you love. I’m going to go home and get in trouble with a good stiff bourbon. Then I’m going to take a nap and get out some Ohio State tapes.
– Joe Paterno, October 20, 2001
The origin of the tradition of post-game bourbon toasts to celebrate Penn State wins is [...]

Washington’s whiskey hits the barrel after 200 year hiatus – USA TodayI have been hearing about plans to distill whiskey according to George Washington’s recipe for several years.
In April, the Mount Vernon distillery and adjacent gristmill will open to the public for the season. And for the first time in nearly 200 years, liquor fans [...]

I finally found an appropriate occasion to break open this bottle of Maker’s Mark that I got in summer 2007. You may recall that I went to a special event in Northwest D.C. that featured bottles of Maker’s Mark being dipped in blue wax and signing by Washington Senators legend Frank Howard. Ah the symbolism [...]

Driven to Drink in Kentucky – The PostI really need to do this someday. Like I said, Sideways II. Come on Ombudsman, you’ve even got the convertible.
Bourbon Trail, Kentucky
©MMX William F. Yurasko

Bourbon producers see amber-colored future – AP/MSNBCLionel Hutz must be pleased to know that the “brownest of the brown liquors” is so popular at home and abroad. Bourbon distilleries Wild Turkey, Maker’s Mark, Jim Beam and others are all expanding to meet increasing demand. Sales are robust enough for the distilleries that they won’t [...]