Colonel Bourbon Blog

Besides dark country, southern gothic music is also known as gothic country, gothic Americana, and the Denver sound, on account of "alternative country" that blossomed in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Southern gothic combines gospel blues, and most notably alcohol. It harks back to the legend of Robert Johnson t the Crossroads, selling his soul to the devil.

A good Spotify playlist in this cool genre is the Southern Gothic Railroad.

(Pictured: Customer photo of tee from Colonel Bourbon's Southern Gothic Skulduggery T-Shirt Collection, for  Halloween night.)

As whiskey, particularly bourbon, has made in comeback, the Old-Fashioned cocktail is now in fashion. The blog is all about this time-honored mixed drink. The history of whiskey is full of legend and myth, and the same of true of cocktail. Truth never got in the way of a good story. The "whiskey cocktail" first showed up in the first decade of the 1800s. It was a mix of the liquor, bitters, sugar, and water. It was served at room temperature, as there was generally no ice at the time. (Photo: the Old Fashioned cocktail, with ice ball and twist. Creative Commons, Wikipedia.)

What is a cooperage?

It's where a cooper plies his trade; a woodworking master who bends timber to their will. A cooper profession is making wooden, staved vessels, such as barrels, buckets, tubs, and other containers. Typically, the items are heated or steamed to shape them, and are held together by metal or wooden hoops. (Picture: Rack house maturing Jim Beam, Wikpedia Creative Commons, Bbadgett.)

The Star Trek universe has had its share of both alcohol debauchery and prudishness. And bourbon has been featured.

By the time the series Picard aired, Star Trek Voyager's Seven of Nine (played by Jeri Ryan) could hold her liquor. When Picard offered Seven a drink -- tea, wine? -- she said bourbon, straight up. She downed a couple of fingers in one gulp. But what was also rather impressive was that Jean Luc had the bourbon  readily on hand, no replicator in sight.  

(Photo: Star Trek insignia, Wikipedia Creative Commons Jesperhansen 1972)