Bourbon and Sense

...because with Bourbon comes good Sense

February's Bourbon and this week's Talking Sense.


Garrison Brothers

Garrison Brothers Bourbon Whiskey

Aroma: At 94 proof the aroma is alcohol forward but not unpleasantly so. The scent is reminiscent of oak spice and vanilla and new mown grass.

Taste: There are pleasing vanilla notes and a hint of rye although there is no rye in the mashbill. There is an overwhelming oaky or \"green\" taste which I personally find somewhat unpleasant.

The appearance is a very pleasing dark amber color.

Finish: Small Batch has a medium finish which sits on the tongue.

Story of: The Garrison Brothers Distillery, of Hye, TX was granted the first stiller permit for bourbon outside of Kentucky and Tennessee in 2006. This makes Garrison Bros the oldest bourbon distillery in Texas. Each Small Batch bottle indicates the corn variety and where it is harvested as well as the bottle number and the release date. This particular bottle\'s corn variety is Food Grade 1 White harvested in South Texas. This is bottle 90223 released in 2021.

Talking Sense


Fake Electors

Recently reported on the news is the 2020 Presidential Election attempt by Republicans, led by Rudy Giuliani, to nominate their own slate of electors to replace those chosen to vote for Joe Biden. Seven States where the vote for Joe Biden was close tried this fraudulent attempt: Arizona, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Nevada and New Mexico. State Legislatures choose the Electors from a single list of candidates for each State although the manner of choosing can vary: popular vote, Legislature choose by Congressional District or the State-at-Large. Over history, most States adopted a “winner-take-all" system where the presidential candidate who wins the most popular votes with a State wins all the of that State’s Electors.” So, over time, each Party would offer its slate of Electors loyal to their candidate and those Electors would actually be listed on the ballot. You can imagine the confusion and sometimes p roblems this created and it is rare to actually see the Electors themselves listed. However, it is still the case that “voters are actually casting their votes for the Electors for the presidential and vice presidential candidates of their choice rather than for the candidates themselves.” All citings from: The Electoral College - Manner of Choosing (uselectionatlas.org).


Back to our news. The attempt to submit their own list of Electors loyal to Donald Trump bypasses the State Legislatures’ role in the election. The States were asked to submit the names of these Electors to the joint session of Congress on January 6 to be certified. Former Vice-President Mike Pence was concerned about alternate electors, and he reminded the joint session to recognize only the legitimate electors. Fortunately, the States did the right thing and submitted the correct lists of Electors based on the presidential vote.


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More Talking Sense


To Mask or Not to Mask

The wearing of masks seems arbitrary depending on where you live and where you go. The only clear constant is that airlines require masks in the airport and while on the plane. It would be interesting to see the data for covid infection rates versus mask mandates and see if there is an inverse correlation (more mask-wearing = less virus infection). As a friend pointed out to me, you do not hear of super-spreader events at college and NFL football games and you don’t see people wearing masks at those events. One would surmise that with all the cheering, hugging, high-fiving going on, people would catch the virus. In fact, the result of one study I looked at concluded, “There was no reduction in per-population daily mortality, hospital bed, ICU bed, or ventilator occupancy of COVID-19-positive patients attributable to the implementation of a mask-wearing mandate.” (Source Analysis of the Effects of COVID-19 Mask Mandates on Hospital Resource Consumption and Mortality at the County Level (nih.gov).


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Point


The Reason to Wear a Mask

The reason I tell myself to wear a mask is out of respect to other people. Honestly, we don’t know if wearing a mask is any protection to the virus. We do know that the rate of infection is small, less currently than .018 per 100,000 people (7day average, link ) so one might guess that any kind of respiratory barrier between humans would help cut the transmission of the virus and therefore the spread – the better the mask, the better the barrier. The death rate per infection is now at .002 and .018 cumulative numbers over the entire history of the virus (Wall Street Journal). But back to respecting other people: I want to respect their situation, either for themselves or their family, relations, neighbors; any of who could be more susceptible to the virus than I think I am. So, it’s not for me, I’m vaccinated, boosted, and healthy with no known morbidities that could increase my chance of dying. But for those I come in contact; I think I help protect them. Finally, to paraphrase Dirty Harry, “I don’t feel lucky.”


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Counterpoint


Imminent Russian Attack on Ukraine

I must agree with the Ukrainian president, Zelentsky. Please, Brandon, stop the drumbeat of impending war (invasion or minor incursion or whatever). It sure is awfully reminiscent of President Bush’s declaration that Iraq (under Saddam Hussein) had weapons of mass destruction, and there were none. Biden’s constant refrain of imminent conflict serves no purpose that I can see but gets everyone anxious and trigger-happy. Keep the posturing private and quiet.


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