Gentlemen Bootleggers & Big House Prohibition Red

I used to actively avoid the non-fiction section at the bookstore. I'd cracked open a biography here and there, only to find myself sighing with boredom after four paragraphs. Historical novels promised the action of war or corruption or space exploration, but were actually just bricks of dates and names.

But no longer. I've given non-fiction another try with books like Packing for Mars or the Benjamin Franklin bio by Walter Isaacson and have found a happy place. This feeling continued with this week's featured novel:

The Pairing

 Gentlemen Bootleggers: The True Story of Templeton Rye, Prohibition, and a Small Town in Cahoots by Bryce T. Bauer and Big House Wine Co. Prohibition Red Blend

If you're in doubt about non-fiction, or whether or not you'd like to hear about this particular tale, just read the first chapter. It's only six pages, so you can scan it while standing in the aisle of the bookstore (I'm not the only one who does this, right?). You'll be rooting for the tiny town of Templeton and dying to know more about Joe Irlbeck and pounding your chest for some farmer named Frank Neppl who kept his word. 

This bottle of Templeton Rye whiskey was full when I tried out this pairing. By the time I got to the photo shoot stage it had only a few drops remaining. It was either my fiance or my cats... investigation is still pending.

I don't even like whiskey and I liked reading about whiskey. Thankfully, the Big House Wine Co. came along and made me a wine that honors the bootlegging liquor business so I can drink a red blend while feeling like I'm a part of the whiskey club.

Big House wine is super affordable (this wine comes in a box, if you prefer), and while I don't know how a sommelier would feel about that, I'm sure the rest of you will enjoy it as much as I did. This red is easy and fruity, but with that nice little linger at the end. Big House claims that it contains notes of leather... I didn't really pick up on that? But perhaps? I caught way more of the cranberries and rhubarb. 


If you haven't read about Prohibition while drinking alcohol, I strongly encourage you to pick up this pair and give it a try. 

Cheers!

---

Page 60

For those that want the real deal experience, obviously you must grab yourself a bottle of Templeton Rye whiskey. For those who can't believe what people will use to make a candle, grab yourself a candle made from a Templeton Rye whiskey bottle. 

Image result for templeton rye whiskey   

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