Episode 6 - Widow Jane bottlekill

Welcome to the Backyard Bourbon Broadcast! In this episode, Jerimy discusses Widow Jane bourbon and makin’ nice with ya’ NAY-BAHS. This is episode 6 of season 2 of the Backyard Bourbon Broadcast!

Hey there, Backyardigans, it’s Jerimy with the latest episode of da Backyahd Bourbon Broadcast. Holy cow have I been on hiatus, huh? I am sooooo busy as of late… in addition to my full-time job, and going to school for my master’s degree, I’m still playing in two bands, and boy have we been playing a lot. A lot of dates in September and one just a week or so ago here already in November. And that doesn’t include a couple we were scheduled for that got dropped! So there’s wayyyyy too much to cover going on in the news, although I could take a whole episode to cover the Myles Garrett hitting Mason Rudolph with his own helmet thing. AHHHH JEEEEEEZ. I mean did you see that??? Holy Christmas Crap that could’ve been a jail sentence. Still might be!

OK I got way too much I need to cover so we’re gonna go right to the bourbon. 

You know, it’s been over a year since I first found out about Widow Jane 10-year bourbon and reviewed it. And I have to tell you, in full disclosure, that this is one of my favorite distilleries. I love their bottle design, their marketing, the super-chill way they just off and sent me, a regular know-nothing nobody, a full sample… I also have to disclose that I won a photo contest through Widow Jane, and the “compensation” helped save my relationship with a neighbor, and that’s a story I’ll get to in a second. But above all, I love the taste. This is great bourbon, in my very humble opinion, and I am sorry to have to put it to bed.  It is 10-year-old bourbon, so that may add to the reason it’s so delicious… it’s well-aged. This is bourbon is officially from Red Hook, Brooklyn, but as their website indicates, Widow Jane 10 Year is actually proofed there. They combine full-strength barrels from Kentucky, Tennessee and Indiana. Then they use limestone-filtered water from Rosendale, NY, to “cut” or lower the proof of the bourbon and send it your way. Interestingly, this is the same limestone holding up the Brooklyn Bridge and the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty!

It is incredible bourbon. It’s not available anywhere near where I live, and they were kind enough, more than a year ago, to send me this full size bottle of deliciousness. It’s a home-grown company, so the customer service is through the roof and all that. I don’t know what else to say, just a quality product all the way around and if you have the means and the wherewithal, I say get it and you won’t regret it. 

OK, so on to my personal story of Widow Jane… Back a year or so ago, Liam’s still alive. I don’t remember if I ever told you guys on this podcast or not, but Liam started hating all loud noises. It started in a different house here in Stilly, around that time when we’d have lots of earthquakes that would shake holy hell out of the place. Scared him to death. Same with thunderstorms. We finally move into the house we’re in now, it’s a much nicer home, much more stable, all brick, and you can’t feel the earthquakes, and the thunderstorms aren’t rattling the hell out of us and Liam finally starts to calm down. Now, he’d still get scared of thunderstorms, and I’d end up spending the night holding him in the closet, but for the most part he was ok and doing much better. 

Then one day, some jack-hole starts thumping his bass up and down the street, and you can hear him coming for blocks away. Liam would freak out and end up in the closet again for hours on end. This goes on for weeks, maybe even months. Meanwhile, I win this Instagram photo contest for Widow Jane. They let me know a gift is on its way soon, but didn’t tell me what it was. 

About the same time I win the contest, the neighbor pulls his daily stunt, blowing by at about 7mph and rockin’ about 4 trillion decibels. Liam goes bolting for the closet and I bolt for the door, completely pissed off. Now in my defense, this about the 35th time this has happened, and I felt something needed to be said. But about 10 feet outside the house, I’m starting to rethink things and going back into the house. But my oldest daughter is playing with sidewalk chalk with her friend and I’m like “Well, no stopping me now!” So down the street I go stompin’.

I get to his house and just start the shoutin’. “HEY WHAT’S THE BIG IDEA” and all that. And in my head I’m thinking I’m all cool, right, like I’m in an Ocean’s 11 movie. In reality, I’m all awkward and gangly like that vulture on Bugs Bunny, remember him? Beaky? “NOPE NOPE NOPE, NOT GONNA DO IT.” That’s how I rolled down the street and that’s how I looked hollerin’ at the neighbor. At any rate, words were said, requests were requested, and accusations about each other’s mothers were made. I go back on home figuring nothing’s going to change. 

But after that day, the THUMP THUMP had stopped. In fact, I had forgot it was even an ordeal. About that time, I get the package from the good folks out in Red Hook, Brooklyn, and there’s a tumbler with their logo, still my favorite, even though I put it through the dishwasher and the logo washed off, and there’s a flask, and a t-shirt which is one of my favorites and which I wore during one of my favorite performances in Poland, and some stickers and a 375 of their fine bourbon. I decide I should walks myself down the street with this little peace offering for my neighbor. I take the bottle over and find him in the garage and tell him I’d like to bury the hatchet, all that crap, thank him for turning down the volume etc. etc. etc. Turns out, he just had a baby and the wife was on him pretty hard about waking up the baby with his damned bass. 

So I hand him the bottle, and it’s then he tells me he’s “more of a tequila guy, but thanks, I guess.” WAA WAA WAAAAAAAA. Then give me back my bourbon and I’ll go spend $12 on a bottle of Jose for ya, ya pendejo!

Alright, kids, that’ll about do us for this episode. We’re back! We never left! We might be back again! Huge thanks, one more time, to the fine folks at Widow Jane, incredible bourbon and company. Thanks again for everything!  If you’ve had it, I’d love to hear your thoughts on it. Again, if you have any comments on our program or the pictures and videos we provide, please drop us a line at backyardbourbonbroadcast@gmail.com or find us on the interwebs or social media - we’re on Instagram @backyardbourbonbroadcast and on Twitter @bourbonandstory. And you can always visit our webpage backyardbourbon.wixsite.com (I know, we’re cheap, but we’re not paid, either, and all of our content is free, so take that!) Once again, thank you for listening, and we’ll talk to you next time on the next episode of the Backyard Bourbon Broadcast! Love ya, Liam!