The Drink: Bulleit Bourbon
The Comic: D4VE #1 published by Monkeybrain Comics
The Bourbon
In the 1830s in Louisville, Kentucky, Augustus Bulleit worked as a tavern keeper. He wanted to create something new, something different. He tried time and time again to create a bourbon unique in flavor. Finally, after many attempts, he had done it. He had created the bourbon he had always wanted. Some years later on a routine delivery trip from Louisville to New Orleans, Augustus mysteriously vanished , never to be heard from again. No one is quite sure what happened to him. Like him, his bourbon recipe almost disappeared. That is, until Thomas E. Bulleit Jr., his great-great-grandson, quit his successful career as a lawyer and revived the family recipe. In 1987, Thomas distilled the first batch of Bulleit Bourbon and established The Bulleit Distilling Company.
Bulleit Bourbon has always been produced using the small-batch method. The small-batch method means the bourbon is produced by mixing the contents of a small number of barrels. It is then aged anywhere from six to nine years in oak barrels. Bulleit Bourbon has a spicy, oaky nose to it. It has a vanilla taste at first moving into cinnamon and spice. The spiciness, which comes from the amount of rye used, lingers for a while, giving it a nice bite at the end.
This is mine and my wife’s favorite bourbon, and we always have a bottle on our drink cart at home. It’s a great tasting bourbon and will only set you back about $25-$30 (it’s on sale right now at Hy-vee Stores for $19.99). If you’ve never had it before, do yourself a favor and pick it up. If you’re a fan of bourbon, you won’t be disappointed.
The Comic
This week, I took the recommendation from fellow THN Love Slave Aaron Meyers and read D4VE #1 from Monkeybrain Comics, written and lettered by Ryan Ferrier and drawn by Valentin Ramon. Monekybrain comics is a digital-only comics publisher that I knew very little about before reading this. I haven’t fully embraced digital comics yet. I love having the physical product there in front of me, in my hands, but I also love the idea of having my entire comic collection on a single device. It’s the exact same way I felt about music when I got my first iPod. Now, I can’t remember the last time I went to a record store and bought something.
I must say, thank you Aaron Meyers! This book was fantastic! The story follows D4VE, a down and out ex “Defense-Bot”, a highly regarded military figure during the robot uprising. It opens with a daydream of a better time for D4VE that is quickly interrupted by his asshole of a boss, FR4NK. After work D4VE drives home and is clearly not happy with the traffic. As soon as he walks in the door at home, his robot wife 54LLY confronts him about remembering the oil. Of course, he forgot and has to go back out. These interactions set the tone for the book perfectly. We quickly get caught up on why there are no humans and only robots through some gorgeous flashback scenes. A lot of books try to do a similar thing and feel very rushed. This did not at all.
Valentin Ramon’s art is beautiful. From the designs of the different robots to the flash back scenes of robots fighting monsters, Ramon doesn’t miss a beat. I love the way he draws the different robots in everyday human activities. He conveys the emotions of the characters without facial features wonderfully. There is a splash page of D4VE looking up into the stars, drinking a cup of coffee, that is absolutely beautiful. I spent a lot of time looking at each page.
All in all, this book was fantastic. I cannot wait for the next issue and to see more of this world that Ferrier and Ramon have built. For only $.99, this is a steal. Do yourself a favor and buy this. I will be not-so-patiently awaiting the next issue!
Thanks for reading,
Christopher Kelley
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Chris Kelley is Matt Baum’s cousin. We try not to hold that against him.
