Booze & Bands III

moe. drinks.

The Drink(s): Jack Daniels, Shiner Blonde

The Music: moe.: Happy Hour Hero, Tin Cans and Car Tires

Present: Jase (Host), John, Ian, Pat, Aaron

The Drink(s)

Both Jack Daniels Tennessee Whiskey and Shiner Blonde Lager (Not Ale) come from humble beginnings. Both libations offer little in the way of history save a parallel vein into myth and tradition. JDTW was in fact created by Jack Daniel, a man whose history can only be traced as far back as the product named after him. Daniel was allegedly sixteen to eighteen years of age when he became a distiller (Circa 1875) and died in 1910 from infection. The JD website boasts they are still manufacturing the

Whiskey the same way it was made 100 years ago, being filtered through ten feet of sugar

maple charcoal. Why? Excellent question.

Shiner Blonde's history is slightly more cut and dry. Kosmos Spoetzl (Founder of Shiner Brewery, Shiner, TX) brought this blonde lager's recipe as the "original recipe" to the little brewery in our neighboring state. Shiner quantifies their brew as "a golden lager that pays

sincere tribute to it's Bohemian roots... it represents the best of a true American lager". Without a doubt (hopefully) this brew will be an excellent retort to the attack of JDTW.

The Band/Album/Song

moe. (There is no typographical error, the period is part of their name) is an American

jam band with a two decade history. Countless albums (25-ish) and numerous underground hits have helped the band gain a huge patchouli following. Their songs on the album featured tonight range from a grungy rock to a second-line drum riff, through "a clunky honky tonker". Clearly they cover all of their bases and do it well. Their album "Tin Cans and Car Tires"

released in 1998 flows without glitch through all the musical stylings listed above, plus takes notes from Little Feat, Hall & Oates, Zappa and Phish... According to Matthew Robinson from "The All Music Guide". The song we are drinking to in particular is a very concrete interpretation of the drink choice tonight. "Happy Hour Hero" is a jam bands answer to country music drinking songs. "A pint of ale and a shot of Jack" is actually a line from the first verse. Rock solid.

The Common Denominator:

JD is classic, Shiner is the Original. moe is the All-American "Middle Of Everywhere" (That interpretation is pure speculation). The Bar and Grill is hands down the best conduit to truely experience American music paired with American food.

Tasting Notes:"our [everything] is still judged the same way. By the way it looks. By the way it smells. And of course, by the way it tastes."- JD Dot Com.

ACTUAL Tasting Notes: Jack Daniels is thick, oily, corn-syrupy and smoky. Rough, and charred JD is perfect when one wants to "rough it".

Shiner Blonde is aptly named because there is very little going on inside. Light on the hops, light in color, Shiner Blonde is a great beer of which to drink a great deal. Grain and corn incorporate a mild flavor and the nose has a faint (pleasant, but faint) aroma of noble hops and grass. Bubbly and light, one doesn't get full of this beer.

Just like the drinks, moe. offers a smooth and satisfying experience without bogging the listener down in the necessities of attention paid or demand for thought. All three pieces resound "relax" quite clearly.