Time for the first movie post! As much as Lindsay and I love whiskey we actually started our relationship bonding over our love of movies. We have grown to like whiskey together but movies we had a passion for before we met. It has led to a lot of heated debates and I am pretty sure the majority of what we say to each other is quoting a movie. True love, am I right? Eventually, we will add more movie reviews and top 10 lists to this blog. We couldn't think of a better place to start than a movie that combines both.
I don't want to sound too dramatic when I say this but Neat: A Story of Bourbon is a life-changing event for people who want to get into whiskey. Okay, I'll sound "a little" dramatic BUT it is just a little. Lindsay and I were really getting into the craft when we heard about this movie and thought we would give it a shot. We liked the SOMM documentary on wine and this was probably something similar. This is also back before we had a kid when we could sit and watch a whole movie without interruption. It is weird to think about now, but I digress.
We went into the Amazon movie thinking it would just be a simple documentary about bourbon. On the surface that is just what it was. However, at least for us, it had a deeper meaning. Maybe it was because I just got back from a long deployment but the pride of it being an American drink really hit us emotionally. Every story seemed to be about American ingenuity or American farming and it felt good. It was a nice balance of being informational and entertaining. It wasn't just a 90 min lecture, it told stories of individuals and the industry. Lindsay and I have watched multiple times since the initial viewing and are still learning and excited to watch.
Neat did a great job of highlighting all of the different facets of the bourbon industry. They had small segments on each unique area while maintaining a solid through-line. This ranged from interviewing some of the big names in the industry to focusing on the up and comers. Neat also told personal stories of small-town bars or locals that host their own tastings. It was so interesting to listen to everyone's stories and what bourbon meant to them. It balanced this personal feel with the technical information beautifully. One of those personal stories that really stood out to us was any time Freddie Johnson spoke.
Freddie Johnson is one of the tour guides for Buffalo Trace that they interviewed. His philosophy is what changed Lindsay and my views on bourbon. I could do an entire post on him but I will try to just capture the highlights. Before watching this movie we saved any remotely expensive bottle for a special occasion. We also thought that we needed to drink all whiskey neat to be accepted as real whiskey drinkers and we had to judge people accordingly. Well, Freddie has a different view on the whiskey world and it profoundly impacted how we drink whiskey now. His first quote was "The right way to drink bourbon is just the way you like it". At the time we were taken aback. He was a legend in the industry and he was encouraging people to drink whiskey however THEY liked it? What if they wanted water, ice, or coke in a nice whiskey? Didn't matter. Whiskey is about enjoying the experience and that quote was like a wrecking ball to the fragile house of knowledge we thought we had. Keen observers will notice that his quote is parroted in our welcome post because we now drink whiskey the way we enjoy it and are thrilled when others do the same.
His other monumental quote for us was "There will always be more whiskey but moments with friends and family are rare." That line should hit everyone in the feels. We are in no way rich so when we have a nice bottle we tend to hoard it for special occasions. Hearing Freddie say that made us realize ANY and ALL moments with close friends and family are special occasions. Whiskey is made and bought to drink. Not sit on a shelf. We always knew to celebrate big things with a glass of our finest bottle however, we now use that same bottle to celebrate the family and friends just being together and sharing their time with us. No one knows how much time we have here and it isn't worth the risk to keep waiting for that "special" moment when friends and family are around.
Freddie's stories are just a small part of the documentary but an impactful one. The whole movie is just a feel-good story on the history of bourbon. It is a great watch and we highly recommend it to anyone even remotely into whiskey. Since you are reading a blog about the topic I would assume this would apply to you.
If you have seen it please let us know what you thought!
Cheers!
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