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By Garrett Kasey
On Monday, November 11, I turned twenty-two years old. The week before, I had made plans to workout, have a nice dinner, and spend time relaxing to celebrate, but none of those things ended up happening. My birthday began with an early morning spent working on economics homework and a business communications assignment. After attending my classes, I spent the rest of my day in meetings trying to forget the fact that I was spending the majority of my birthday away from friends, family, and enjoyable tasks. Finally, around 9 PM, I was able to return to my apartment and get ready to go to bed in preparation for my 8 AM class the following morning. As I walked into my room, I noticed a nice bottle of bourbon and a birthday wish from one of my roommates. While I had spent my day pouting about everything my birthday was not, I had a great friend who was thinking about one of the ways he could make my birthday better. Needless to say, this gift brought up my spirits, and it really saved what could’ve been a very drab birthday.
As you prepare for holiday gift-buying, I hope that you will consider the story I just told. There are two lessons to take away from my personal experience:
- Take the time to think about the positive influence you can have on someone else’s day.
- Bourbon fixes most problems.
While I cannot provide any real insight into gifts that are sure-fire ways to let someone know you were thinking about making a positive influence in their day, I will provide some recommendations for bottles of bourbon to gift this holiday season.
- Four Roses Single Barrel-This bourbon comes at a reasonable price, and brings a great flavor. I really enjoy this bourbon for its smooth finish. If you are looking for a bourbon that presents a little bit of spice to the palate, this bourbon will be perfect.
- Wild Turkey, Longbranch-This bourbon is one of the most unique I have ever tried. Longbranch was created in partnership with Matthew McConaughey, and you will even find his signature on the bottle’s label. This bourbon is special because it involves Texas mesquite charcoals in its refining process. The smoke in the finish really conveys the extra woods that are used in this bourbon’s production.
- Eagle Rare 10-Year Bourbon-While this bourbon is difficult to find, it will be the perfect for any bourbon lover you know. One of the smoothest bourbons around, I really think this might be my favorite bourbon that I have had. With many fruity flavors present in the taste, I think that Eagle Rare brings one of the most interesting flavors of any bourbon to the table.
If you are looking for great gifts to give friends and family this holiday season, I hope that you will consider using this bourbon guide. I think that I will provide some insight into what bourbon lovers are looking for. Best wishes!
Garrett Kasey is a McConnell Scholar in the Class of 2020. He is studying economics, political science, and Spanish at the University of Louisville.