My friend Elijah

I’m a beer geek and it is definitely my drink of choice, but of the hard liquors, bourbon is my faraway favorite. I don’t drink Scotch at all, not even the good stuff, and clear liquors are fine but uninteresting to me.

Almost every year at Christmas, my buddy Bill gives me a bottle of Blanton’s, an excellent single-barrel Kentucky bourbon that is just terrific for sipping. I have to admit, though, that I prefer a bourbon that is half the price — Elijah Craig.

In Virginia, Elijah often can be found for less than the price of Jack Daniel’s, even though it’s aged 12 years and is 90 proof (to Jack’s seven years and 80 proof). It can be hard to find elsewhere — technically, it is a “small batch” bourbon — but if you do find it and you like your whiskey neat, or perhaps with a splash of water, I think you’ll be surprised.

First, it’s really complex. You can taste and smell the vanilla edge in it right away, along with molasses and that little oak edge that a lot of good bourbons have. It just begs to be sipped by itself. It’s far more complex to me than Blanton’s, which is a model of smoothness — but Elijah has a green little raw burn on the end that Blanton’s never has (and that’s why Blanton’s costs so much money). Still, for under $20 for 750ml, it’s the best bargain in bourbon today.

By the way, the namesake of Elijah Craig bourbon was a Baptist minister. Read the story.

Justice!

I’m gonna miss the kid, just for his ability to defy gravity, taste and good sense on The Show. You wanted him on that line! You needed him on that line! You saw him there, pre-execution, standing next to a woman who has more singing talent in her left pinky than he has in his whole body, and you kind of wanted him to get through anyway and trigger a period of national mourning — but no!

He’s out, he’s going home, he actually should be proud of his accomplishments. You’re still around, though, Ichabod Crane. America needs to gun for you next week.

Circuses

You’re already getting over the Virginia Tech shooting, aren’t you? Heck, after Oklahoma City and Columbine and the thing in Minnesota and that bit of work at the Amish school, I’ll bet you’re getting a little numb to all of this, aren’t you? After all, cable TV and the Internet and talk radio and every other yak outlet on the planet have already worn this story down to a nub, right? Isn’t it time to move on to the next shiny thing that attracts your eyes?

Stop. Take a breath. Count to 10. Ask yourself if you’re becoming a little too accustomed to horror.