Episode 37 - Belle Meade

Hey there, Backyardigans, how y’all are! I’m finally getting to the samples the good folks at Nelson’s Greenbrier. They sent us some mini-samples of their Belle Meade bourbon and the Belle Meade cask strength, so I’m excited to get to that because I haven’t been able to find that in local stores around here. If you’re on Instagram and follow a few of the contributors in the whiskey community, the Belle Meade is making a strong showing on the ol’ interwebs, and that just makes it so much more intriguing when you can’t find it in your home state. I’m working on getting a distiller’s podcast going with these guys, but so far, our collective schedules have been crazy so getting together on the same podcast has been a challenge. Look for that coming up next month though. I’m also trying to work in a distiller’s podcast with the folks at Cali distillery. So we’ve got plenty of material for future episodes! Also, I don’t know how many of you listeners are from right here in Stillwater, OK, but this coming Thursday, September 27, the band I play is playing a benefit concert in the Little Theater at the Student Union. You should come check us out! And two days later, we’ll be playing the vaunted Eskimo Joe’s on Saturday, September 29. Drop by and say hello if you’re at a show!

OK, before we get to the bourbon, I wanted to say something about Hurricane Florence and specifically, the news media coverage around it. First of all, hopefully everyone is OK. We can sometimes get a mini-hurricane here in Oklahoma, and it’s intense! But it only lasts for an hour or two at most. I can’t imagine the flooding, the damage, the overwhelming devastation that it causes. If there is anything we can do, please reach out to us. Now, the media coverage is another story altogether, and I have no sympathy for this. Perhaps you saw the video on Twitter of the Weather Channel broadcaster struggling against the wind, the hurricane, the rain… and then two guys in the background walk past with no problems. Meanwhile, the broadcaster is still acting like he’s struggling against the elements. C’mon, Weather Channel. Their official reasoning was that the broadcaster was on grass, while the people in the background were on pavement. WELL THEN STEP OFF TO THE PAVEMENT, FOOL! This has happened before with a broadcaster doing a newscast from a canoe, and someone steps by in what was only ankle-deep water. This is the credibility gap between the public and the news.

This is why people don’t trust the news! And I think this is where it starts. Now this is my own personal opinion, but I know for a fact the newscasters are constantly pushed to look for creative ways to tell a story. And I get it! You can only do so many 100th birthday celebrations and new Dollar Store openings at WTFF’s News on 5 in Padukah, Kentucky before you stick a gun barrel right in your mouth and fiddle with the trigger! But if you’re not careful, “being creative” can easily morph into outright fabrication. And your brain is not going to tell you “this is a lie.” This is especially true if the event is a re-creation. “Well, this did happen, just not right now, or right here.” Ohhh that’s a slippery slope. And that’s only part of what has happened here - Trying to get creative, trying to tell the story in a fresh way. The other part, and probably the instigator in these fabrications, is that the news channel, or in this case the Weather Channel, is pushing the story. And when it’s a big event, a hurricane in this instance, the Weather Channel is happier than a tornado in a trailer park. And we’ve all seen this, from our local weather stooges screaming about the snow storm that’s not coming, then all the bread and milk disappears, to the Weather Channel screaming about Florence or whatever other stupid name they can come up with. And 2 days after it’s over, where are they? Now that the devastation is real and people’s lives are actually upside down, it’s “Adios! We got a flight to catch!” Then they’re back in New York, “OH THE THINGS WE SAW. AND RIVERS ARE FLOODED, LAKES FLOODED, STREAMS FLOODED.” Ya think? Half the ocean showed up right outside North Carolina. Where do you think the water was gonna go? They’re talking about a hurricane for nine straight days and then don’t expect anyone to get wet.

OK, last time we talked about the “Neat” documentary, so it got me thinking a bit more about movies I consistently watch. “Bull Durham,” for instance. A story about “fear and ignorance” - it’s the story of Crash Davis. The fear of getting older, training people who will eventually replace you, who will get better than you, who will get more accolades than you… The world is passing you by and you have no control over it. Ever have one of those days?? I love that movie. I could watch the Bull’s mascot getting beaned in the head over and over and over again. Plus, Crash drinks bourbon. Do you find yourself pouring a drink when you’re watching a movie that even remotely references bourbon? I do. Do you find yourself automatically liking people based on their love of bourbon? I do. I mean, there’s something with bourbon drinkers that we all share. I imagine it’s the same with all spirits, I guess.

OK, now the bourbon. The most important part! Belle Meade is an incredible product. Very smooth bourbon, neat or on the rocks, you’re going to love it. There’s a reason so many people on social media are posting about it, and it’s not just because of the label. Well, the label is part of it, sure. OK, so there’s more than one reason it’s so popular. Very cool design, very tasty bourbon, very storied history. Belle Meade is, or first of all, was, a very popular bourbon back in the day, going all the way back to the 1860s. It was a very successful distillery until Prohibition shut it down. Now, descendants of the the original distiller, Mr. Nelson, are putting their product back on the market. It is very good juice, and if we can ever find it here in Oklahoma, I want to try a bottle of it!