On Whiskey…

In 1952 Judge Noah S. “Soggy” Sweat, Jr. gave a speech concerning the prohibition of alcohol in Mississippi, but mostly it was about whiskey. Supposedly it took 2 months to write. It’s known as the “whiskey speech” and this is what he said, which I love:

My friends, I had not intended to discuss this controversial subject at this particular time. However, I want you to know that I do not shun controversy. On the contrary, I will take a stand on any issue at any time, regardless of how fraught with controversy it might be. You have asked me how I feel about whiskey. All right, here is how I feel about whiskey:

If when you say whiskey you mean the devil’s brew, the poison scourge, the bloody monster, that defiles innocence, dethrones reason, destroys the home, creates misery and poverty, yea, literally takes the bread from the mouths of little children; if you mean the evil drink that topples the Christian man and woman from the pinnacle of righteous, gracious living into the bottomless pit of degradation, and despair, and shame and helplessness, and hopelessness, then certainly I am against it.

But, if when you say whiskey you mean the oil of conversation, the philosophic wine, the ale that is consumed when good fellows get together, that puts a song in their hearts and laughter on their lips, and the warm glow of contentment in their eyes; if you mean Christmas cheer; if you mean the stimulating drink that puts the spring in the old gentleman’s step on a frosty, crispy morning; if you mean the drink which enables a man to magnify his joy, and his happiness, and to forget, if only for a little while, life’s great tragedies, and heartaches, and sorrows; if you mean that drink, the sale of which pours into our treasuries untold millions of dollars, which are used to provide tender care for our little crippled children, our blind, our deaf, our dumb, our pitiful aged and infirm; to build highways and hospitals and schools, then certainly I am for it.

This is my stand. I will not retreat from it. I will not compromise.

From the company’s stocks, Glenfiddich Malt Master Brian Kinsman helped select a cask of Scotch whisky that had been aging since New Year’s Eve in 1955 — nearly the halfway point of Roberts’ 110 years., “We took 15 bottles, of which, four were kept by the family,” Kinsman explains., Eleven bottles remained — one for every decade of Roberts’ life. Over the past year, Glenfiddich has been selling those bottles at charity auctions., One sold for $94, 000, purchased by an Atlanta-based whisky aficionado. The company says that’s a world record. (via This Is The World’s Most Expensive Whisky : The Two-Way : NPR) (viaRobK)
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From the company’s stocks, Glenfiddich Malt Master Brian Kinsman helped select a cask of Scotch whisky that had been aging since New Year’s Eve in 1955 — nearly the halfway point of Roberts’ 110 years., “We took 15 bottles, of which, four were kept by the family,” Kinsman explains., Eleven bottles remained — one for every decade of Roberts’ life. Over the past year, Glenfiddich has been selling those bottles at charity auctions., One sold for $94, 000, purchased by an Atlanta-based whisky aficionado. The company says that’s a world record.

(via This Is The World’s Most Expensive Whisky : The Two-Way : NPR) (viaRobK)

Source: NPR

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