Earlier this month I posted an article on September being National Bourbon Heritage month. In that article I stated that my 2016 contribution in paying homage to this most outstanding of months was to “force” myself to enjoy bourbon each of the 30 days of September. I also mentioned that I planned to sample as many bourbons from different states as possible. When I wrote the article I was only a week into the month but off to a really great start. Here is what I had tallied at the time:

9/1/16 – Kentucky (Knob Creek), 9/2/16 – Colorado (Tin Cup), 9/3/16 – Tennessee(Jack Daniels – Tennessee whiskey), 9/4/16 – Illinois (Koval), 9/5/16 – Alabama(Clyde Mays), 9/6/16 – California (Cyrus Noble), 9/7/16 – Virginia (Belmont Farms), tomorrow 9/8/16 – New York (my neighbors Hudson Baby bourbon).

Since then however, I’ve run into difficulty completing my challenge. Not in the area of enjoying bourbon every day of the month, but actually finding bourbon offerings from different states. I even discovered that labels such as Cyrus Noble (above) were actually a Kentucky bourbon (Heaven Hill Distillery, Bardstown, KY) aged in another location like San Francisco, California and not produced there. Although it seems very misleading, many distilleries outside of Kentucky make this a practice and I really can’t blame them. No place in the world makes better bourbon than Kentucky…no place anywhere ! So when I thought I had sampled 8 different state offerings I really, in all actuality, had only sampled 7 (boo!). I did contemplate getting a membership with Caskers Whiskey Club (absolutely a wonderful online store) so I could order those hard to find bourbons, but the need to foolishly squander my money on such things as food and a mortgage, prevented me from doing so.

From September 8th moving forward to the end of the month, here is how I finished my challenge:

9/11/16 – Utah (High West American Prairie Bourbon), 9/17/16 – Indiana (Redemption), 9/22/16 – Vermont (No.14 Bourbon) and finally 9/30/16 – Texas (Garrison Brothers – only a shot however. It was pricey). You can fill in the other 19 days with bourbon produced in  Kentucky from one distiller or another.

So if you are keeping score, that is 11 different bourbons from 11 different states (it should have been 12 for 12. Damn you, Cyrus Noble!). I consider this challenge a mild success, but will use it as motivation to perform much better next year.

-The Bourboneer

Bourbon enjoyed while writing this article: Jim Beam Double Oak, 43% ABV or 86 proof (no age statement) Clermont Frankfurt, KY.