Literature’s Great Bourbon Moments
In 35 B.C., the great poet Horace speculated in his XIXth Epistle, “… no poems can please long, nor live, which are written by water-drinkers.” William Faulkner took it a step further: “Civilization begins with distillation.”
While Horace preceded the creation of bourbon, Faulkner was well-steeped in the knowledge. He mentioned whiskey frequently in his novels, going so far as to write, “There is no such thing as bad whiskey. Some whiskeys just happen to be better than others.” Noir mystery author Raymond Chandler mirrored the line: “There is no bad whiskey. There are only some whiskeys that aren’t as good as others.”
Many of the manly writers of the first half of the 20th century were bourbon aficionados. Think Hemingway: “Never delay kissing a pretty girl or opening a bottle of whiskey.” Or F. Scott Fitzgerald in The Great Gatsby. Said Daisy to her husband, “‘Open the whiskey, Tom,’ she ordered, ‘and I’ll make you a mint julep. Then you won’t seem so stupid to yourself.’”
But references to bourbon run throughout the literary canon. Here are a few more well-read morsels to skillfully slip into your next sipping session with friends:
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