Booze & Bands II

The Drink: Booker's Bourbon

The Music: Bob Dylan's Bringing It All Back Home

Present: John (host), Patrick, Aaron, Ian, Jase

The Drink

      

Booker's Bourbon is named after Booker Noe, grandson of Colonel Jim Beam. Beam was one of the first distillers to rebuild after prohibition ended in 1933, but the Beam line of distillers goes much further back. German immigrants settled in Kentucky in the late 18th century and began distilling whiskey from the grains they produced. Made with the clear limestone spring water of the Appalachians, the whiskey had a distinct characteristic and became known as Bourbon. 

In the 1980s, master distiller Booker Noe hand-selected single-barrel bourbons, bottled them in old wine bottles straight from the charred oak casks, and gave it to his friends as gifts for Christmas. It was so popular among his friends, he decided he should share bourbon the way it was meant to be, straight from the cask, with the world. He continued to hand pick the casks for Booker's until his death, when his son took over the responsibility. 

Booker's comes from a long tradition, but is a bit edgier than the average bourbon. Coming from a single cask, it varies in its potency from 121 to 127 proof and is not smoothed out by blending with other barrels. Booker's has a serious kick and is "the world's first uncut, straight-from-the-barrel bourbon." With the bottling of Booker's, the bourbon market changed. More and more consumers wanted the unique flavors of a master distiller's single cask. In the last decades, there has been a move in the whiskey industry towards unique bottlings and small batch or single barrel whiskeys. It could be argued that Booker's is responsible for the change by bringing bourbon back to its roots, its home, in the single barrel. 

The Music

Dylan's Bringing It All Back Home, released in the spring of 1965, changed everything. Dylan had become synonymous with the folk and protest music of the early 60s, even called by many the "voice of his generation." His songs, such as "Blowin' in the Wind" and "Only a Pawn in their Game," had made him famous, but transition was coming. Dylan had grown tired of being the voice and being leaned on. He began to feel that he himself had become the pawn in the game of political folk music. In the poetry that he included in his liner notes, he wrote that the district attorney was screaming "You're the one that's been causing all them riots..." followed by his sound engineer picking him up and asking for his latest works of art. Clearly, Dylan is finished being the voice, the pawn. He is moving away from the politics and into the personal. He is accepting the chaos, recognizing that he cannot lead the revolution, and maybe there doesn't need to be one at all. He is changing. 

Recorded over a series of three days in January 1965, BIABH would become the album that transitioned Dylan from acoustic folk singer to electric rock legend. Opening with "Subterranean Homesick Blues," the album kicks off loud and heavy, without direction, without politics, without his solo acoustic guitar. The A-side is entirely electric, one raucous blues tune after the next, still with Dylan's keen eye, quick, wit, and smart words, but with a little more psychedelia and a lot less politics. The B-side returns to his acoustic roots, but lacks the imperative for social change as had been seen in his earlier works. As he says, "its alright, ma- it's life and life only." Even though the album had both electric and acoustic, it was clearly a departure from his folk past and a sign of things to come for Dylan.

Dylan's move to electric shocked his folkie fan base and created mixed reviews. Many other artists, inspired by his fusion of folk and rock, took it as a sign of the future. (The Byrd's released a folk-rock version of "Mr. Tambourine Man" very soon after Dylan) Many of his fans felt he had lost his way, had sold-out, or had forgotten what he was fighting for. Dylan would take the next step later in the same year with the release of Highway 61 Revisited, opening with "Like a Rolling Stone" which he played with a full band in his first electric concert at the Newport Folk Festival in the summer of 1965.
Dylan going electric changed everything. It could be cited as one of the most important events in music history, up there with Elvis on Ed Sullivan and Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video. Dylan refused to be pigeon-holed by his fans, stood up for artistic expression, and, though called a traitor and a "Judas," continued to play his music the way he wanted to. It all started with Bringing It All Back Home.

Tasting/Listening Notes
The album, like the whiskey, starts off brash, but mellows by the time you get to the B-side.

Color: Dark amber, tawny, caramel. Hints of scarlet.

Nose: Leather and dried fruits.

Body: Dry and fire-y. Full.

Palate:  Intense burst of complex flavors, followed by the tannin and burn.

Finish: Long finish with sweet notes of smoke and caramel.

Booze & Bands I

December 2, 2010

Drink: Long Island Iced Tea
Musician: Gogol Bordello
Song: Ultimate

Present: Ian (host), John, Patrick, Aaron, Jase

Drink

There are several versions of the origins of the Long Island Iced Tea. A few tell of it's start during the times of prohibition. Others simply state that it came from Long Island, New York in the 1970's. Still others say it came about in the 50's by proper Long Island House wives mixing a little from each bottle in the liquor cabinet. I tend to believe the story from prohibition. I ran across a website run by a man in Long Island, NY that had an email from someone claiming to know the real story of the origins of long island iced teas. The email states the following:

"Long Island Iced Tea isn't from New York at all. It first surfaced in the 1920's in a community called Long Island in Kingsport Tennessee.

The inventor of it was Old Man Bishop. He passed the recipe on to his son Ransom - who perfected the drink in the 1940's. This is a fact. The Teetotaler info is true - and the Click Bros. took the cocktail mainstream.

There was another drink from Long Island called Tap Water that has a different name these days, due to patrons not wanting to be poured water from the sink when they ordered it."

The lack of a clear-cut time and place of the discovery of this drink could be due to prohibition and the secrecy it required imbibers to have.

Music

Gogol Bordello started after a few of the soon-to-be band members met at a Russian wedding in Vermont in 1998. There was no official first show, but as GB played parties and galleries, more immigrants joined. Gogol Bordello was banned from CB/GB, Mercury Lounge, Fez, and Bowery Ballroom after their first performances for being too over-the-top. GB received an award from Colbert Foundation and NY Downtown Arts Project for Pioneering Efforts and Artistic Excellence. They used all of the money for strictly immoral purposes.

The history claims they "walk the path of a gypsy punk rock revolutionary, living it up and ain't giving a fuck."

The mission of Gogol Bordello is written on a wrinkled piece of paper and scanned onto their website. It reads:

Gogol Bordello.

Artest's Statement:

Gogol Bordello's task is to provoke audience out of post-modern aesthetic swamp onto a neo-optimistic communal movement towards new sources of authentic energy.

With acts of music, theatre, chaos, and sorcery Gogol Bordello confronts the jaded and irony-deseased. Our treatment of traditional material is freewilloos (? hard to read), but is not irony-driven and thus real. Our theatre is chaotic and spontaneous and becauase of that is alarming and responce provoking.

From where we stand it is clear that world's cultures contain material for endless art-possibilities and new mind-stretching combinations, raw joy and survival energy. We chose to work with Gypsy, Cabaret and Punk traditions. Its what we know and feel. And many more are possible that can make the beloved statement of post-modernism "everything is been done" sound as an intellectual error.

The troubadours of neo-authentics are comin as a trans-global Art syndicate family that has never been witnessed before. PARTY!

-Hütz and GB

I feel the song "Ultimate" by Gogol Bordello is a great example of how they live.

Mix

Long Island Iced Tea and Gogol Bordello have a similar style in the variety of culture they include.

The primary ingredients of Long Islands are Vodka, Rum, Gin, and Tequila. Vodka originated in Eastern Europe. The name stems from the Russian word for water "voda". Rum has it's origins in the Caribbean. Gin has Dutch origins, but became popular in England when the government allowed unlicensed gin production and at the same time imposed a heavy duty (tax) on all imported spirits. Tequila originates from Spain and Mexico.

Gogol Bordello is even more culturally diverse. The lead singer, Eugene Hütz, is from Ukraine. Others in the band are from places in Russia, Israel, Ethiopia, Ecuador. The rest are the first generation in their family to be US citizens and are descended directly from Chinese, Thailand, Swedish, and Caribbean.


The night was a great success.  Everyone enjoyed my Long Island, Gogol Bordello, and the Kartoplyanka (Ukrainian potato soup) that I made.

Booze & Bands I

Whisky & Jazz X

Scotch: Jura Superstition

Musician: Hank Mobley

Song: I Should Care

Present: Aaron (host), Ian, Patrick, John

This is our last Whisky & Jazz done from the book.  From here on, we come up with our own mixes.  This was a great one to end on.  Jura Superstition was hard to come by, but it's taste was quite amazing.  As always, the quality of the company was unsurpassable. 

W&J10

Whisky & Jazz IX

Scotch: Balblair 1989

Musician: Milt Jackson

Song: Mean to Me

Present: Patrick (host), Ian, Aaron, John

So Anyway, the night began as any other. Me and John, and Aaron, and Ian, and my apartment,and it was fun, and we DRANK, and we fucked, and we smoked.  (story edited by Aaron from Patrick's point of view)

From W&J9

From W&J9

From W&J9

From W&J9

From W&J9

Whisky & Jazz VIII

Scotch: Bruichladdich 15 yr old

Musician: Miles Davis
Song: So What?

Present: John (host), Ian, Aaron, Patrick

From W&J8

From W&J8

From W&J8

From W&J8

Atticus like to toss his toy onto my lap so I'll play

From W&J8

Whisky & Jazz VII

July 20, 2010

Scotch: Aberfeldy 12 yr old

Musician: Cannonball Adderley
Song: Mercy, Mercy, Mercy

Present: Ian (host), John, Aaron, Patrick

For some reason, I felt that sloppy joes would be a good food for this whisky & jazz.  I included vegetable protein "meat" for John the vegetarian along with the turkey meat version.  Since it was my turn, I required everyone to take off their shirts.  It's not gay, I just like to sit around with as close to a balance between naked and comfort as possible, and I feel pretty comfortable around these guys.  

From W&J7

From W&J7

From W&J7

From W&J7

From W&J7

From W&J7

Whisky & Jazz VI

Scotch: Glenrothes 1973 (hard to get, used Glenrothes Select Reserve instead)
Musician: John Coltrane
Song: A Love Supreme

Present: Aaron (host), John, Patrick, Ian

This was my first time to host whisky and jazz.  We listened to one of my favorite records of all time A Love Supreme by John Coltrane, and drank a very delicious dram.

I cooked chicken tacos with black beans for John the vegetarian.

From W&J6

From W&J6

From W&J6

From W&J6

From W&J6

From W&J6

From W&J6

From W&J6

Whisky & Jazz V

June 22, 2010

Scotch: Bowmore 17 yr old
Musician: Art Tatum
Song: Tiger Rag

Present: Patrick (host), Ian, Aaron


It was going to be a Whisky & Jazz just like any other. Then, maybe an hour before we were to start, John calls and says there is a family issue and that he can't make it. He wouldn't give us any details, but we went ahead with our plans since Pat already had dinner in the oven.

John is the keeper of the book we read from. Since he failed to join us this evening, we had to make due with information we could find on the internet about Art Tatum and Bowmore 17yr. We may not have been as astute at finding the relationship between the whisky and jazz as Hans Offringa is, but we still learned a good bit. John eventually sent us a copy of the pages from the book, but that wasn't until we were done with the bottle of Scotch.

The three of us had finished the bottle by the end of the night. Eventually Aaron decided he should leave. As he stood up he swayed a little, then made his way towards the door. When he dropped his keys and bumped into the wall, he decided he should stay a little longer and have some water. Eventually, his girlfriend came to pick him up. When Aaron and his gf arrived back at his house, Aaron refused to take a shower to clean the smoky whisky smell off of him. He slept on the couch that night.

Oh, and we later found out that John and his wife had just found out they were pregnant. That's why John was absent. Congratulations, John!

Also, I'm sorry the pictures are kind of lame. I try to enjoy hanging with the guys instead of spending time taking pictures. At the time I took the pictures, I didn't know there was going to be a blog.

From W&J5

From W&J5

From W&J5

From W&J5

Whisky & Jazz IV

June 8, 2010

Scotch: Oban 14 yr old
Musician: Stan Getz
Song: Blood Count

Present: John (host), Patrick, Aaron, Ian

Another night of W&J. Stan "The Sound" Getz played some cool and latin jazz- I don't think anyone can help their foot from tapping when "Girl from Ipanema" plays. The smooth sounds of Getz paired perfectly with Oban, a smooth West Highland. The perfect mix of the peaty isles with the spice of the mainland, the dram was full-flavored, complex, but easy to drink. Stan Getz fit the bill- his jazz was easy to get in to, especially with the recognizable standards and vocals. If you listened a bit deeper for a second, you could hear the incredible talent and perfection in his playing.

Continuing the smoking tradition, we stepped outside and were joined by an old friend who stopped by for a bit.

Another great night, with great friends, great music, and great whisky. Almost half-way through the book!

From W&J4

From W&J4

From W&J4

Whisky & Jazz III

May 19, 2010

Scotch: Bunnahabhain 12 yr old
Musician: Chet Baker
Song: Let's Get Lost

Present: Ian (host), John, Patrick, Aaron

It was my turn to host Whisky and Jazz night. This time, we welcomed a new member to our club. I started off the evening with a dinner of fried rice and teriyaki chicken. I recall that it was incredibly delicious like it always is when I cook. Afterwards, we enjoyed some jazz trumpet and flugelhorn while drinking some delicious Scotch Whisky. Bunnahabhain may have been my favorite of the ten that we tried, but it is hard to tell when the tasting are spaced out over several months.

We would normally smoke pipes while we drink our Scotch, but someone had a surplus of cigars so we traded our usual Sherlockian image for more of a Churchillian.

The whisky was good, the jazz was good, the food was good, and the new addition of Aaron to our group was good.

From W&J3

From

From W&J3

From W&J3

Whisky & Jazz II

April 27, 2010

Scotch: Lagavulin 16 yr old

Musician: Dexter Gordon
Song: Round Midnight

Present: Patrick (host), John, Ian

This W&J meeting introduced a new semi-tradition of smoking pipes. We figured smoking pipes would add to the experience of drinking Scotch and listening to jazz. I also felt it would add to the man experience if we we had our bare chests showing while smoking pipes. I like to sit around with my shirt off anyway. Also, there was a piano that belonged to someone inconsiderate enough to store it at the apartment where there was little storage room anyway. To show our appreciation in our slightly altered state of mind, we opted to add a smokey scent to the piano. Afterwards, we continued enjoying Lagavulin, jazz, and pipes. We failed to finish the bottle until recently.

From i'll drink to that

From i'll drink to that

From i'll drink to that

From i'll drink to that

From i'll drink to that

From i'll drink to that

Whisky & Jazz I

April 13, 2010

Springbank 10 yr old was the Scotch, Charlie Parker was the Jazz.

This was the first W&J meeting and included John (host), Patrick, and Ian.

In the pictures below, Patrick has received a phone call from his xgf and has to deal with her while we patiently wait. John is obviously nervous about this first W&J ands prepares himself by rereading the pages he is about to read out loud. As we wait, I enjoy playing with John's dog Atticus. Once Pat is off the phone, John reads a brief history of the jazz musician, Scotch distillery, and their correlation. After we hear all about it, the book informs us of what we should expect from the Scotch and the jazz. We cheers the glasses and drink up.

From i'll drink to that

From i'll drink to that

From i'll drink to that

From i'll drink to that

Introductions

It started with a book.

One of the foremost commentators on all things Scotch wrote a book. Instead of only focusing on one passion, he combined two beautiful things, and the whole was greater than the sum of its parts.
Hans Offringa loves Scotch, and he loves Jazz. So he wrote about both.

Including short introductory chapters on the history of whisky and the history of jazz, he followed up with specific details about ten great jazzmen and ten great single malts. He described the story behind and the importance of each man and each dram.

This would have made a great book, but Offringa added a little lagniappe that changed things.

He suggested something novel: Whisky and Jazz can be paired in the same way as a gourmet meal and fine wine. When paired correctly, the drink brings out subtleties of the music and vice-versa.

It changed the way we thought about jazz and whisky. We learned about the great men and distilleries and enjoyed great company. Every other week, we got together, drank a specific whisky, listened to a specific artist, and discussed.

Not only did we enjoy the drinks and the music, we enjoyed catching up, and forcing ourselves to take time to relax with good friends.

Here is where the blog comes in: We are through with the book, but we've been converted by Offringa. Music and drinks go together, and when paired correctly, heighten the experience. We are going to continue, but without a book to guide us, we are going to base the rest of our series on our own thoughts.

We'll not restrict ourselves to Whisky & Jazz, but open the floor for a variety of mixes. We will select an artist (or an album) and the right drink, give a little background and tasting notes, and explain why they fit together, then get together to try it out.

We'll find some perfect matches; others might be off a bit, but we'll survive, I'm sure.

A toast then:To the things that bring us together: Good music, Good drinks, and most importantly, Good Friends!

I think I'll drink to that.