My love affair with Maker's.

I have.. What one might consider a odd attraction to the beverage know as makers mark.

It is a brand of Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey. Now the thing is, Maker's is not what you would call a high class Bourbon. But by no means is it Rot-Gun.

It is what I would.. High Quality.

But none the less I would take it over almost any other spirit.

But why you might ask? I pondered on this question for some time and came up with this answer.

It is in fact a conscious chose on my part.

And not based entirely on the beverage itself.

So here is my list to answer the question.

#1. Taste. Now as I stated Maker's is a good Quality Bourbon but by no means the highest Class brand out there. But I do prefer bourbon over any other straight drink. And that is how I drink my Shots. Straight.

#2. Kentucky. Simply put the state of Kentucky makes Practically every Straight Bourbon out there. Only Tennessee makes any other kind of Bourbon, And it is Blended. That is half and half bourbon and normal whiskey to cut down on the cost to make it.

#3. Patriotism. Bourbon is In fact the legally proclaimed Drink of the Unites States of America. So picked because it was considered the most American Beverage out there.

#4. History. Maker's Mark is the oldest continually running distillery in the nation. Running at low volume throw prohibition.

#5. Quality. Maker's mark is one of the few Bourbons... Nay Alcoholic Beverages that can put the words Handmade. (It is in fact the only handmade Bourbon) And you can see it. The bottle is nice. Nothing Special but rustic. The Brown Labile I would Explain as Hansom. The Signature Red Wax dipped neck and top, with a handmade fiber string you use to part the wax. Its like when you go into a expensive house with all the luxury's that money can buy. And you run up on that handmade wooden desk.. Fine wood. No Nails. Hand polished, Because some times you just cant replace craftmenship.

You can really see the care.. And dare I say.. Love put into this product.

#6. Connection.

I first came across Maker's In Orlando Florida wile working there. My then Boss Karther bought the drink for me wile we were all out in a group celebrating a job well done on a major project.

He got it for me and told me that when ever he got home sick he would buy a special brand of scotch that made near his home town.

Latter I found out that Maker's was my Fathers drink of choice. And Then My Grandfathers.

So the Drink I guess... Feels like home. Like Kentucky.

In the words of Jess Wilson. "A man born in the mountain can spend half his life trying to leave. And then the other half trying to get back home again."

I have lived in allot of places. Some good some bad. I have seen allot of Kentucky. Some good some bad. But this place has become my home. I can feel it's pulse and heart beat now. The Feel and Smell of Kentucky.

And Maker's Mark is like that smell and feel. Dare I say that Maker's is what i consider the taste of Kentucky. Not High Class, But High Quality. Strong and Robust just like the state it is crafted in.

I live in a white ghetto. (Greetings from clay county Kentucky )

OK so first off i want to give you a geography lesson.
I live in the State of Kentucky, which is the 4th poorest state in the United States.
I live in Clay County Kentucky, Which is the poorest county in the state of Kentucky.
The Per Capita Income for clay country is $9,716. (As of 2000 census) Making it the 18th poorest county in the nation. And the poorest "white" County in the United States, Only being beaten out by country comprised mainly of Swamps and Desert in Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas.
And Most notably 10 of the country's that beat out Clay County are Native American Reservations.

So i am by no means saying that people in Clay County are the poorest people in the world.
Simply this. $9'716 per person is about he same (About $10 less) then what people make in Brazil.
My county is a third world nation. Or if i wanted to use Current Policitcal Language i live in a developing county located inside the borders of a developed county.


I can to the epiphany that i lived in a White Ghetto, in the same place i came across almost all of my epiphany's in life. At Disney.

I was in my last apartment, the one i spent the most time at on my 2nd stay with Disney.

The household was comprised of. (I'm only using first names)
Myself. (From Clay County Kentucky)
Jamal. (From Washington D.C.)
"D" (From Chicago Illinois)
Derrik. (From Sweet Water Texas)
Abdulla. (From New York City)
Juan. (From SauPalo Brazil)

So in this house hold we had, Myself, Three African Americans, And two Latino's One from a family that lived in Texas seance before it was Texas, and another from Brazil)

Now even if we had a very mixed household, we all got along fine.
After some remixing on the rooms, putting myself and Jamal in the same room because Im a quite sleeper, and he's a very light sleeper. And putting Juan and Abdulla in the same room, because Juan got up very early for work, and Abdulla got up very early to pray to Mecca.



Now on to Jamal, he had trouble with rooming with Juan early on, because Juan Snores and gets up early. And Jamal is a VERY light sleeper, so much so that i eventually ask him. To which D answered that he had been in "The joint" And was afraid i would shank him in the night. We laughed and then Jamal answered the question. "Because i live in Anacostia" Now i knew what that meant, Anacostia is a WAR ZONE. He explained that on more then one occasion he actully had to dive to the floor because of stray bullets hitting his families house.

When asked why they didn't move away, he answered "Because they can't afford to" He then told us that he was going to college on scholarship, and wanted to get a good job so he could Move his family away from there. Then we started a conversation about high school.

And we both maid a discovery.
Nearly every one that we both went to high school with, was ether dead on in prison. Most of the males. (All of them with my last name) Have been in Jail with the exception of me.

As we kept talking we both came to the conclusion that i live in a white ghetto.
Now there are differences.

Clay county is not a war zone, but there are dangers, if you wander in to the wrong patch of forest, you can be harmed or killed. Something a census worker found out not to long ago.
And for nearly a century the county was run with the same politics that were used in the 1890's.

Two families owning everything, the same family always being major, corrupt judges, voting fraud. Murder, Drugs and corruption.
Wile Jamal's home was more dangerous, he told me he would never live in a place like clay county, we are poorer and less free, until recently we lived in a kind of feudal system.
The family's at the top doling out the wealth and good jobs in the county to family and people who acted as there lap dogs.

The thing is, That clay county, if you Ignore the people could be one of the most beautiful places i have ever been. And if you know the county you can easily stay away from danger. But if you do your almost living apart from the rest of the people.


And just list Jamal's family most people are just to pore to move away.
The only real jobs in the county are state jobs. In particular working at the state pen.
And soon they will be building a Recycling plant that will give jobs to about 300 people.

But again most of the jobs will go to people from the county's around Clay, and people who are in the "Loop" and it comes to my attention that the county's entire economy is built on handling other people's refuse. Human or otherwise.

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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/25/census-worker-killed-by-a_n_299725.html
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The link above shows what i mean by, corruption and human waist.