Gamecock Bourbon Society’s Weekly Rant
May 23rd
GBS family, after months of preparation, I am officially a resident of Columbia SC! While our house will take some time for renovations, once it is all ready to go expect an in-house bourbon tasting party in what will soon be our “Bourbon Library” (yes, we are converting a full scale home library into a beautiful place for my books, bourbon, and hosting friends). In the meantime, be on the lookout for random impromptu events, gatherings, and happy hours from the local GBS crew. My goal over the summer is to meet and hangout with as many of you as possible. This community only functions if we are active and engaging together, so let’s meet up and have drinks any time!
We have a lot of plans for cool things this summer, but one of the ones we are especially excited about is our Bourbon & Burgers At the Bay event down in Tampa Florida. Being able to hit the road and go see some genuinely incredible folks down that way is my idea of a GREAT time. If you or someone you know want to attend, send us a quick email and we will get you set up with ticket information and anything else you may need to know! Or you can find out event info on our EventBrite page.
From there we will be having events in Charleston, Greenville, Columbia, Rockhill and Aiken, so if you are near any of those areas, give us a shout! We are always looking for partners to help put on those events, so let’s talk!
Make sure you don’t forget the Woodford Reserve Barrel pick that will be coming soon. I’d say we are around a month away from the official release, so I sincerely hope you are as excited as we are. One cool thing I plan on doing is rewarding 3 lucky buyers of the Woodford pick a chance to come out and help us select our next custom barrel pick. So, if you have ever wanted to be on a tasting committee, this could be your chance!
Lastly, I want to give a couple congratulations and shout outs. Congrats to Dr. Ramey, Dr. Hlebak, and Dr. Gardner on your medical school graduation. You three ladies are going to be amazing physicians and I’m so thankful to be a part of each of your lives. Congrats also to my fellow doctor’s husbands, Nic and Allen. You guys deserve a pat on the back as well for the years of love, support, and sacrifice that has gone into this.
Cheers,
G.C. Ramey
Tweet of the Week
This week’s Tweet of the Week comes from two of my favorite humans, @tarheelfamily and @gamecockgreek84 who repped their GBS gear on the golf course!
Glad to have you guys as family! Hope you enjoyed the links! 🥃
Member of the Week
This week’s Member of the Week is our dear friend @sbdrumz (pictured on the left). Scott, who is an amazing drummer, gave my father-in-law a warm welcome at his band’s performance this past Friday. In addition to being a talented musician, Scott is a wonderful person and has been a welcomed member of the GBS family.
📚The History of Bourbon: Part One “The Firsts”
Some of you may know that by day I teach English literature. English to me is important because communication (and language) bridges gaps both socially and historically. Stories matter because it is the way that we learn from our past; improve our present; and change our future. Because of this view, I am automatically obsessed with history and those stories of how our world and culture has been shaped (and even thought of studying history in graduate school at one point).
When it comes to bourbon, it is impossible to separate the spirit with the history. By nature alone (or definition rather) bourbon is historically THE American spirit. Whether some want to admit it or not, there’s as much significant historical value in the creation of and production of the brown liquid we all know and love as anything else in this country. It is a product that has its roots in the earliest days of expansion. It is a product tied with the frontier and that unexplainable urge to seek freedom under the great western skies.
Who was the first?
This is not as easy to answer as first assumed. There are multiple contenders vying for the title of “first” to do it, but in actuality, it is almost impossible to pinpoint exactly who is responsible for the idea of bourbon. While many were already distilling corn out of a necessity (it was a way to use corn and prevent it from going bad or being wasted), the bourbon pioneers were those who decided to age the white corn whiskey.
One report claims that none other than Elijah Craig (of Heaven Hill fame) produced the first whiskey aged in a new charred white oak barrel sometime around 1789. This claim to fame has resulted in Craig receiving the moniker of father of bourbon. Whether or not this is just folklore (and maybe some clever marketing) remains to be seen, however, many bourbon enthusiasts are content with allowing Craig to hold that title.
The Elijah Craig website shares a little bit about this claim:
Reverend Elijah Craig was a Baptist preacher, an educator, and an entrepreneur who built the first paper and wool mills in Georgetown, Kentucky. But for all his industries, it was his gift as a distiller and an innovator that brought him his greatest acclaim.
In 1789, Elijah Craig became the first distiller to age his whiskey in new charred oak barrels. Some claim that an accidental fire charred his barrels and changed the whiskey inside. Others say he stored his whiskey in former sugar barrels and was impressed with how charring improved the flavor.
Evan Williams, another name many know in the world of whiskey, may not claim to be the first to make bourbon, they are historically verified as the first commercial distillery in Kentucky— being founded as early 1783.
While Craig and Williams are both entities well known in the bourbon community, a family that is less notorious has quite a claim to fame of their own: “the oldest bourbon family”. In 1783 Robert Samuels developed his “secret” family recipe for American whiskey. This product eventually was turned into a fully fledged bourbon business in 1840 when Robert’s grandson, T.W.Samuels created a Distillery Samuels Depot, KY. The distillery remained strong until prohibition where it halted production for some time. In 1943, Bill Samuels Sr. decided to destroy the family recipe by burning it. His thought process was to re-brand the product and the distillery by developing a bourbon that lacked the bitterness. To do this, he traded the rye of his mash bill with red winter wheat thus creating Maker’s Mark.
Distillery Spotlight: Smoke Wagon
Location: Las Vegas
Master Distiller: Aaron Chapenji
Overview: To those of you who have never heard of Smoke Wagon, I want to apologize— you are truly missing out. I stumbled across Smoke Wagon while traveling cross-country to Colorado. I was impressed by the slick bottle and interesting western theme. I’ve been a fan of cowboy-esque movies and media ever since I saw Tombstone as a kid, so this branding was right up my alley. After a little research I found out that Smoke Wagon had quite the reputation for a product that I had never heard of (mainly due to it not being readily available in South Carolina or North Carolina). Although I had not known about it, the bourbon enthusiasts that I look up to assured me it was well worth the buy.
Trusting their advice, I stocked up and boy oh boy am I glad I did. Not only is Smoke Wagon a damn good whiskey, but its popularity is growing rapidly and so is it’s value on the secondary market. This creates a conundrum for us carolinians. We cannot get them at all, and when they are eventual made available, the pricing and demand will be through the roof. My advice, and trust me I don’t say this lightly, is to take a trip anywhere that has them and grab 4 or 5 bottles. I truly believe they are poised to be the next big thing.
Here’s an excerpt from their website in the form of an interview about their story:
Jonathan: The story? You mean our story? Oh boy. You’d have to go back to August, 2004. I’d finished work just after midnight and gone to check out this joint in Eagle Rock (a Bohemian section of Los Angeles) that had just been named “Best New Bar” by Los Angeles Magazine.
Aaron: I remember that night, somebody said hey there’s that local screenwriter. I thought he looked like a homeless guy or a serial killer.
Jonathan: Cut me some slack, I was under deadline. Serial killers are never homeless by the way.
Aaron: He turned out to be an okay guy.
Jonathan: Thirteen years in business together and I’m an “okay guy.” This is what I deal with.
Aaron: Anyhow... we saw eye to eye on the bar business and decided to launch something new. And The Griffin was born.
Jonathan: Best decision I ever made.
Aaron: Yeah it definitely worked out—So, after a few years of late night “samplings of our inventory...”
Jonathan: A euphemism if there ever was one....
Aaron: We found ourselves talking a little, then A LOT, about what we liked in certain bourbons and vodkas.
Jonathan: And what we didn’t like.
Aaron: Then one night...
Jonathan: The light bulb blinked on. I think we both knew where the conversation was heading.
Aaron: Making our own juice.
Jonathan: It was a bold idea but we both said fu...
Aaron: Hey! Watch your language. See what I deal with?
Jonathan: Tell them about where we set up shop. It was actually a no-brainer.
Aaron: Because we love Las Vegas!
Jonathan: Becoming the first distillery in the city was an adventure.
Aaron: The Las Vegas City Council had to create a license for us since none existed!
Jonathan: Then things got real.
Aaron: Really real. Making diamonds in your sphincter cause it's clenched so tight real.
Jonathan: We’d never dealt with distilling equipment before, didn’t know our ass from our...
Aaron: But getting our equipment to pass building inspection was so much fun, then having the state laws change which forced us to redo everything....
Jonathan: Things might have gone quicker if you hadn’t insisted on ordering a proprietary silver filtration system from a country I’d never heard...
Aaron: Hey now! You’re giving our secret away!
Jonathan: Then of course we had to get our bottles and packaging together.
Aaron: Ugh.
Jonathan: Ugh is right. Due mostly to “Mr. Do It Yourself” here insisting on designing and engineering everything. Himself. When there are people you can hire to do that.
Aaron: There are?
Jonathan: Yes. They’re called “Designers” and “Engineers.”
Aaron: Oh yes, those people. The ones that told us we couldn't put the silver dollar dead center on the bottle or use amber glass for our bourbon bottles.
Jonathan: But I gotta admit our bottles and packaging are pretty bitchin.
Aaron: Well thanks, partner.
Jonathan: All in all the process took six years. But fortunately...
Aaron: Some good actually came from all the waiting.
Jonathan: During all the delays we kept laying down new bourbon distillate using our high rye content mash bill, and now it was all coming of age!
Aaron: So once we were able to open, we hit the ground running.
Jonathan: Sprinting.
Aaron: And that's how we got here.
Jonathan: We have big-time passion for what we’re doing and are both grateful for the opportunity. We take pride in the products.
Aaron: And of course we're not done yet. As the new barrels mature we get more opportunities to experiment with new blends...
Jonathan: Yeah right. He’ll be “experimenting with new blends” tonight in the Griffin until 4 a.m.
Aaron: See what I have to deal with?
Products: Straight Bourbon, Uncut Unfiltered, Small Batch, and Private Barrel
10 Questions with Former Gamecock’s Pitcher Wil Crowe:
First off, thank you to Wil for starting of this brand new regular segment. Each newsletter we will offer interviews with former players to give you all an opportunity to get to know them a little better. Please be sure to support Wil as he makes Gamecock nation proud as a pitcher for the Pittsburg Pirates.
1. GBS: What is your favorite Whiskey?
Wil: Everyday drinker is Elijah Craig 94 proof Father of Bourbon/ unicorn Michters 10 yr
2. GBS: What is one bottle you want for your collection?
Wil: Weller white CYPB(only one I don’t have)
3. GBS: What food pairs best with bourbon?
Wil: Love a good piece of fish (Salmon or Mahi) with some veggies and a nice bourbon with a big rock!
4. GBS: What is your favorite memory as a Gamecock?
Wil: First outing in Founders park, got a standing ovation coming off the field, Clocks by Coldplay was playing. Moment I’ll never forget and was my first experience of getting the gamecock faithful showing me love.
5. GBS: Who is your favorite Gamecock player of any sport?
Wil: Connor Shaw. A gamer man, what a career he had and just an all time competitor. Loved watching him play!
6. GBS: What advice would you give someone wanting to go pro eventually?
Wil: My advice would be to work hard, believing in your self and don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do it. If you want something bad enough you’ll do what you have to, to make it there!
7. GBS: What is your favorite television series?
Wil: Ozarks
8. GBS: What is the coolest field you’ve ever played on?
Wil: Dodger Stadium/Truist Park
9. GBS: Is there anything you want to plug?
Wil: I’m doing a wine event in Pittsburgh in July. The details haven’t been released yet but it’s gonna raise money for kids foundation in Pitt so be on the lookout for stuff on social media.
10. GBS: What is your favorite place to eat in Columbia?
Wil: Favorite spot in Columbia is Grill Marks. Love that Spot.. Place is legit!
This week I am drinking one of my all time favorites, Elijah Craig Toasted Barrel. This was something provided by a friend who really came through for me! I was absolutely thrilled by the taste and found it as a refreshing as I remembered!
News and Updates:
Our special edition garnet hats were
such a hit that we sold out in 30 seconds. Don’t worry though, we have another batch of hats that will be released soon
Our GBS Woodford Reserve GBS barrel pick with J&F Bar Supplies has been selected. Expect around a 5 week turnaround time!
We are in the middle of planning a series of events we are happy to call the Gamecock Bourbon Palmetto Trail. These events will take place across the state of South Carolina and give an opportunity for non-Columbia fans to join us for a night of fun! More details to come soon!
Life comes at you fast. Just 3 short years ago I was moving to Charlotte to start my career in teaching. Now I’m officially a resident of the place I love most, soda city, about to continue my career here. I’m sad that I’ll be moving away from some of the best friends I’ve ever made, but I’m excited to know that there are so many more I’ll be getting to hangout with here in Garnet nation. Thanks to all of you for being so amazing! I really do feel welcomed and at home.
Thank you to our newsletter sponsors:
Thanks to Titos&Chicken (our official podcast partner), Jeremy Smith, J&F Bar Supplies, Donohue’s Fine Wine & Spirits, and The Cotton Gin.
As always, if you are interested in partnering with us, sponsoring a future giveaway or collaborating with us, please email our engagement coordinator at GarrettDailey@gamecockbourbon.com
Follow us Twitter and Instagram at @gamecockbourbon
🐔🔥🤙🏻🥃