I bought this book with high hopes. I read The Chuck Cowdery blog religiously. I subscribe to the Bourbon Country Reader and Have bought two of his other books previously. After all of that I find it hard to believe that my expectations were actually exceeded. I've read every book on bourbon I can find at my local library. I have a small collection of books on the subject sitting behind me on a shelf that I've read cover to cover and go back and reference now and then. This is better than all of them.
So what is it? Well, the title is The Best Bourbon You'll Never Taste: The True Story of A. H. Hirsch Reserve Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Distilled in the Spring of 1972. Admittedly, the title is a mouthful. It was written, as you might have guessed by my intro, by Charles Cowdery.
The Best Bourbon You'll Never Taste is a complexly winding tale of not just the bourbon itself, but of the one-time Michter's distillery in Schaefferstown, PA. The tale of a very famous bourbon that became a legend almost by accident is fun. But the tale of the distillery, the people who owned it, ran it, and worked in it is fascinating.
This book stirred complex emotions in me as well. It introduced me to and made me start to lust after this bourbon that I would never have, that was distilled before I was even born. It told me I would never have it. Even though I loved the writing, I stopped reading the book at one point because the disappointment of me never tasting this beautiful thing he was describing was proving too much for me to bear. But I came back to it because the history was too tempting. I needed to know the rest of the story. And I'm glad I did. By the time I had finished the book, it had reassured me that while I was missing out, it would be all right since there are bourbon's I am tasting now that will go on to be legends in their own right. Some of which, I'd already stashed away for future celebrations.
The Best Bourbon You'll Never Taste is available as an ebook for $7.99 on both the Amazon Kindle and Barnes & Noble Nook stores. It is not available in paper form.
This book deserves to be considered amongst the best spirits stories ever written. Lots of well researched history and wonderful story telling. I loved it and highly recommend it.