Episode 36 - Ragged Branch

Welcome to the Backyard Bourbon Broadcast. In this episode, Jerimy talks about teaching your kids how to drive, the “Neat” documentary, and reviews a very tasty rye from Ragged Branch distillery in Charlottesville, Virginia. This is Episode 36 of the Backyard Bourbon Broadcast!

Hey there, friends, Romans, countrymen… and most importantly, my fellow Backyardigans! How y’all are! I know, I know, it’s been a LONG time since my last podcast… probably 3 weeks? Or MORE??? Sorry about that (not that anyone noticed). My real job is at a university, and I am also going to school part-time, and if you’ve ever gone to school… ever… you know that the beginning of the academic year is BRUTALLY BUSY. I’ve been working harder than an ugly stripper, folks. It’s absolutely crazy how it seems every year we forget how to do things. Like “oh wait, we have to go back and do this again?” At any rate, working full time, and going to school part time, in addition to being a husband and father AND TEACHING MY 15 YEAR OLD HOW TO DRIVE… all of these things are really cutting into my bourbon drinking and podcasting time! And speaking of teaching your kids how to drive, anyone else gone through this? I don’t know if your situation is similar to mine, but here’s how it’s worked at our house: My wife is normally the patient person in our relationship. I’m impatient, hot tempered, bad mannered, poorly raised, etc. etc. etc. I mean the list goes on and on. But when it comes to teaching our girls how to drive, I’m the more patient one. Totally out of character for both of us. But here’s what it is: my wife is a perfectionist. How she ever ended up with me? Well, let’s just say she saw in me a lifetime project that would constantly keep her busy. The problem is, when you’re teaching someone to do something for the first time, you can’t be a perfectionist. In fact, you have to endure endless imperfections and mistakes, and then celebrate the smallest milestones. There’s no way to expect perfection when you’re teaching your kids how to drive. How can ya? They’ve never done it before. So in our house, we let mom stay home, relax, maybe have a beverage, whilst dad takes his girls out in the van for a drive around the neighborhood. It’s working great, and my oldest is really building her confidence. She’s getting better every day, and that’s what it’s all about, folks. Now, if someone could just teach the other 50,000 drivers in this town how to get out into the intersection when they’re attempting a left turn… jeepers creepers, folks, it’s not that scary. Get out there so this town doesn’t grind to a halt!!

I finally saw the “Neat” documentary on Netflix (or Hulu?). Some of the things I picked out watching it for the second time: white oak barrels: a white oak tree will grow for 70-100 years. Its roots absorb tastes, flavors, minerals and whatever grows next to that tree. Then when it’s made into barrels, it is combined with other staves to make the barrel, and they all combine to add to the taste of the bourbon. Now this is common knowledge for bourbon enthusiasts, but isn’t it impressive that no other place on the planet discovered this method of distillation? I mean, we’re talking about the true American spirit of bourbon that really could’ve been invented anywhere, but it happened here, less than 300 years ago. Other places have white oak trees. Other countries have distillation methods and spirits. But the good Lord waited for the good ol’ US of A to come along before He allowed the discovery of that “brownest of brown liquors” to come to fruition. Praise be. Also - the documentary noted that 50-70% of the taste of the bourbon comes from the barrel. At least half! That’s amazing. You know what’s also amazing? One barrel weighs 550 lbs. when full of whiskey. Also, and this is really getting in the weeds… is anyone a fan of Dan Tyminski? He’s a Nashville recording artist, just came out with “Southern Gothic,” his new album THAT IS GREAT, by the way. He played guitar for Alison Kraus, I believe he still does, actually, and sang the theme song to “Oh Brother Where Art Tho” (Man of Constant Sorrow). If you ever see his Facebook or Twitter page, he often does an update in front of a bar. That same bar is in the documentary… the kid that has his own speakeasy in the basement in his house. It’s that speakeasy! OK, so I need to get out more, but hey, I noticed that!! So now I’d like to know why. Anyone? Any answers there?

Alright, let’s get to some whiskey. Today we’re reviewing Ragged Branch’s Rye. Now, I’ve admitted before I’m a newcomer to ryes, so my rye opinions are probably worth even less than my straight bourbon opinions, but I’m doing my homework! I really like ryes, and the good folks at Ragged Branch sent me a sample months ago, and I’m finally getting to it. So here’s what I’ve decided to do. I’m going to compare this sample to what many folks say is one of the best ryes out there. It’s the Rittenhouse Rye Bottled-In-Bond. Probably not a very fair challenge right out of the gate for Ragged Branch, to be honest. But I think they’ll stack up! I’ve snuck a couple of sips from this sample, and it’s probably gone do just fine! So about Ragged Branch. They’re relatively new, founded in 2010 and located outside Charlottesville, Virginia. At this point, they only have two products, a wheated bourbon and this rye-based bourbon. It is very smooth, right out of the sample bottle here. Delicious notes of vanilla right off the bat, subtle finish that doesn’t bite you. This is pretty good! And again, I’m gonna compare it to Rittenhouse, which isn’t fair at all. I mean, the Rittenhouse is 100 proof, bottled-in-bond. It’s made by Heaven Hill, it won an “Excellent/Highly Recommended” award in the Ultimate Spirits Competition in 2014, and the same year a “Double Gold” in the WSWA Tasting Competition. I’ve never had the Rittenhouse, so this was a good excuse to buy it, for research purposes of course. This is like an unknown college playing Alabama or Texas A&M or something, a real David vs. Goliath here. But this is why we play the games, folks! Actually, we’re just trying to see how the Ragged Branch stands up to a well-known. So how is the Rittenhouse? Let’s give it a sip and find out.

Well, that’ll about do it for today’s show! Hey I hope you enjoyed this episode! A very special thanks goes out to the good folks at Ragged Branch in Charlottesville, Virginia and their Rye. That was another great rye for this show. As always, I’d also like to thank the Jingle Punks for the music we use a our intro. You can find their FREE music on the YouTube Audio Library. Don’t forget to follow us on Instagram and Twitter, I put a lot of beautiful pictures I take for each podcast on there, and I’ve done so with the both the Rittenhouse and the Ragged Branch rye, and I think you’ll enjoy them. Well that’s it, God bless, and drive safe out there, people. We got a whole new batch of new drivers coming out every day.

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