Bourbon Breeze

So, I'll just start this off by saying I know next to nothing about bourbon. My affinity for it is a very recent development and I'm not entirely sure how it happened. I'll give you a little backstory.

The very first time I got good & drunk was at one of my sister's parties. She was pouring me very modest Jack & Cokes, w/ about half a shot of Jack per drink. After several of these, I wanted another and she cut me off. Granted, I was 17, but still. I went behind her back and asked her friend to pour me a drink. He dumped about half the bottle of Jack in a glass and topped it off with a splash of Coke. I chugged that one like I'd chugged all the rest and was promptly sick. And terribly hung over the next day. And for yeeeeears, I couldn't stand even the smell of Jack Daniels and the one time I accidentally drank Coke after that, my mom said my face turned green.

So I had this idea that Whiskey + Sarah = Bad Times. But then somehow I started drinking whiskey sours? And I noticed that I liked some better than others. And then I realized I liked whiskey sours made with Jim Beam better than with Jack Daniels. And that made me realize that the difference was that Jack Daniels is a Tennessee whiskey and Jim Beam is a Kentucky Bourbon whiskey. And last summer, the ex-boyfriend & I got fancy with cocktails and I started making whiskey sours from scratch. And then one time on a layover, I'd had a hard day so I wandered into a liquor store in a strip mall across from my hotel. I bought two mini bottles of Jim Beam Black. I was going to buy a soda to mix it with, but I was feeling ballsy so I decided to just sip it over ice. And I liked it.

Fast forward to a discussion with a passenger in first class. We had started carrying Woodford Reserve bourbon on the plane and I'd had a LOT of passengers get very excited about this. So I was talking to this passenger about how I don't really know anything about bourbon or what makes a good bourbon. And he told me, Woodford Reserve makes a good bourbon. So, the next time I managed to pass ride in first class, I ordered a Woodford Reserve on the rocks. And it was love at first sip.

It is ridiculously smooth. I like to let it sit on my tongue for a moment or two after I sip it and let the vanilla aroma fill my mouth. I've since dispensed with the ice because it eventually waters it down. And Woodford Reserve is really the only reason I ever hope for a first class seat anymore. I've even been known to order it on a 7am flight because, really? Why not? At the liquor store, it costs about $30 a bottle and I always blanch at the cost, even though I know I will savor and enjoy it. It's on the list of things I definitely need to purchase when I get my holiday pay in February.

The title today comes from an abomination we're supposedly promoting on our flights this month, in which we're supposed to ruin the amazing deliciousness of Woodford Reserve w/ cran-apple & orange juice. I gag just thinking about it. And the only person I've had who ordered it took about two sips and asked me to take it away. Who comes up with these things?