Bourbon & Shame

On Tuesday night I was heading down to Capitol Hill to watch my friend Barb read at the Salon of Shame. The only problem is that first, I had a dental cleaning that I'd been putting off for months.

It is ridiculous really, I have dental insurance, so I should just go every 6 months since it is paid for right? Well, there is a new hygienist at my dentist's office and she is kind of rough on my gums. I dread going to get my teeth cleaned. As I suspected - it hurt like HELL. I really need to floss more. Actually, I need to floss, period.

After the dentist, I needed something to numb the gums. The bitch hygienist wouldn't even give me Advil! There would have to be Bourbon.

After some pre-funkage at a nearby bar, we headed to the Capital Hill Arts center to join the crowd for the Salon of Shame. The show was sold out and for good reason. It was a riot! The premise is that people (mostly women in the 30s) read from their childhood/teenage journals. Barb was definitely the highlight and not just because she's my friend. She (like most women our age) had a massive crush on nearly every member of Duran Duran. And, she has the journal entries to prove it.

OK, not to diminish my enjoyment of the show, but I had another highlight that evening. The bar served Basil Hayden Bourbon. This is a really nice, small-batch Bourbon. In case you don't know, Bourbon is American whiskey usually from Kentucky (though it can be from elsewhere in the US). It must be made with at least 51% corn, blah, blah, blah.

I like whiskey, but I have to say that I LOVE Bourbon. Basil Hayden in particular is smooth and slighty herbal with some light vanilla notes. I don't really know how to describe it. Bourbon tends to be lighter & sweeter than say, Scotch. It doesn't have the smokiness of Scotch whisky either. If you ever have a chance, give it a shot.