by Strayed » Sun Apr 09, 2006 10:03 pm
Everyone knows that there are two sides to any conversation. In fact, you can't even HAVE a conversation unless there are two sides. I mean, what kind of conversation is this? ...
"Blah-blah, blah blah blah blah"
"Yup! That's right!"
Through the years we have known Mike Veach, who we both consider to be the most knowlegeable person on earth about Kentucky (and especially Louisville) bourbon, we have enjoyed his friendship on many levels. One of those is his acceptance of us as a (good-natured) thorn in his side. I think it's possible that Mike (we're lucky enough to be able to call him Mike, as are you; less-fortunate media folk refer to him as "Michael Veach, Special Collections historian for the Filson Historical Society") never encountered a dissenting question until we started bugging him -- at least not one he couldn't easily dismiss. And we feel incredibly honored by that. I have often noted that nearly everything known about Kentucky bourbon was either quoted directly from Michael Veach or was paraphrased from the writings of someone quoting directly from Michael Veach.
Mike has actually adopted, and presented officially to the historical peerage, some of our ideas about the origins of Bourbon Whiskey. To be able to influence a person of such stature is an incredible honor, and one we do not take lightly. We feel Mike enjoys the logical and mental sparring that we also enjoy. We have always felt that it isn't our small knowledge that counts; it's the fact that we know enough to be able ask questions that require an expert to stretch beyond the easy limits in order to answer.
Gary has much the same knack, and since he considers us to be experts as well as Mike (boy, are WE stoked by such a comparison - and that's for real, not sarcastic) that puts him in the same position to us as we are to Mike. I'd like to see Mike (since he's the only one with the connections to be able to do it) assemble himself, us, Gary Gillman, and maybe a couple of others similar to us and put together an American Whiskey History Panel Discussion similar to the ones he did for the Kentucky Bourbon Festival. Maybe we could do appearances at the various festivals and whiskey shows.