“CivÂiÂlizaÂtion begins with disÂtilÂlaÂtion,” William FaulknÂer once said, and like many of the great writÂers of the 20th cenÂtuÂry — Ernest HemÂingÂway, F. Scott FitzgerÂald, James Joyce — the bard of Oxford, MisÂsisÂsipÂpi cerÂtainÂly had a fondÂness for alcoÂhol.
Unlike many of the othÂers, though, FaulknÂer liked to drink while he was writÂing. In 1937 his French transÂlaÂtor, MauÂrice Edgar CoinÂdreau, was tryÂing to deciÂpher one of FaulknÂer’s idioÂsynÂcratÂiÂcalÂly baroque senÂtences. He showed the pasÂsage to the writer, who puzÂzled over it for a moment and then broke out laughÂing. “I have absoluteÂly no idea of what I meant,” FaulknÂer told CoinÂdreau. “You see, I usuÂalÂly write at night. I always keep my whiskey withÂin reach; so many ideas that I can’t rememÂber in the mornÂing pop into my head.”
Every now and then FaulknÂer would embark on a drunkÂen binge. His pubÂlishÂer, BenÂnett Cerf, recalled:
The madÂdenÂing thing about Bill FaulknÂer was that he’d go off on one of those benÂders, which were someÂtimes delibÂerÂate, and when he came out of it, he’d come walkÂing into the office clear-eyed, ready for action, as though he hadÂn’t had a drink in six months. But durÂing those bouts he didÂn’t know what he was doing. He was helpÂless. His capacÂiÂty wasÂn’t very great; it didÂn’t take too much to send him off. OccaÂsionÂalÂly, at a good dinÂner, with the fine wines and brandy he loved, he would misÂcalÂcuÂlate. OthÂer times I think he preÂtendÂed to be drunk to avoid doing someÂthing he didÂn’t want to do.
Wine and brandy were not FaulknÂer’s favorite spirÂits. He loved whiskey. His favorite cockÂtail was the mint julep. FaulknÂer would make one by mixÂing whiskey–preferably bourbon–with one teaÂspoon of sugÂar, a sprig or two of crushed mint, and ice. He liked to drink his mint julep in a frosty metÂal cup. (See image above.) The word “julep” first appeared in the late 14th cenÂtuÂry to describe a syrupy drink used to wash down medÂiÂcine. FaulknÂer believed in the medÂiÂcÂiÂnal effiÂcaÂcy of alcoÂhol. LilÂlian Ross once visÂitÂed the author when he was ailÂing, and quotÂed him as sayÂing, “Isn’t anyÂthin’ Ah got whiskey won’t cure.”
On a cold winÂter night, FaulknÂer’s medÂiÂcine of choice was the hot todÂdy. His niece, Dean FaulknÂer Wells, described the recipe and ritÂuÂal for hot todÂdies favored by her uncle (whom she called “PapÂpy”) in The Great AmerÂiÂcan WritÂers’ CookÂbook, quotÂed last week by Maud NewÂton:
PapÂpy alone decidÂed when a Hot TodÂdy was needÂed, and he adminÂisÂtered it to his patient with the best bedÂside manÂner of a counÂtry docÂtor.
He preÂpared it in the kitchen in the folÂlowÂing way: Take one heavy glass tumÂbler. Fill approxÂiÂmateÂly half full with HeavÂen Hill bourÂbon (the Jack Daniel’s was reserved for PapÂpy’s ailÂments). Add one tableÂspoon of sugÂar. Squeeze 1/2 lemon and drop into glass. Stir until sugÂar disÂsolves. Fill glass with boilÂing water. Serve with potholdÂer to proÂtect patienÂt’s hands from the hot glass.
PapÂpy always made a small cerÂeÂmoÂny out of servÂing his Hot TodÂdy, bringÂing it upstairs on a silÂver tray and admonÂishÂing his patient to drink it quickÂly, before it cooled off. It nevÂer failed.
RelatÂed ConÂtent:
William FaulknÂer Audio Archive Goes Online
William FaulknÂer Reads from As I Lay Dying
I want everyÂone to know that Jack Daniels is not BourÂbon and does not resemÂble BourÂbon in odor or flaÂvor. The mint julep is a traÂdiÂtionÂal KenÂtucky drink and must thereÂfore be made with with BourÂbon whiskey and nevÂer with TenÂnessee whiskey. So there…
You are both wrong. BourÂbon does not have to come excluÂsiveÂly from KenÂtucky. Rather, what defines bourÂbon is the perÂcentÂage of corn used in the mash (which must be 51% or greater to qualÂiÂfy as bourÂbon). TenÂnessee whiskey difÂfers from its KenÂtucky cousin only in the utiÂlizaÂtion of the “LinÂcoln CounÂty Process,” whereÂin the spirÂit it filÂtered through sugÂar maple charÂcoal. TenÂnessee disÂtillers did this intenÂtionÂalÂly to disÂtinÂguish their spirÂits from those of KenÂtucky, but othÂerÂwise, they are exactÂly the same (genÂerÂalÂly using the same corn ratios, though this varies from disÂtiller to distiller–the only comÂmonÂalÂiÂty being that corn conÂstiÂtutes 51% or more of the grains used in the mash). In othÂer words, TenÂnessee whiskey is not bourÂbon only as a result of the state’s disÂtillers earÂly marÂketÂing efforts.
Well, his fondÂness for whiskey EWA obviÂousÂly not limÂitÂed to bourÂbon as it comes only from KenÂtucky. Jack Daniels is a TenÂnessee whiskey, not a bourÂbon
You, sir, are 100% corÂrect.
The LinÂcoln CounÂty process was inventÂed in LinÂcoln CounÂty TenÂnessee and disÂtillers were using it in that counÂty around the same time that BourÂbon whiskey in KenÂtucky was being made and before it was being disÂtribÂuted in any great quanÂtiÂties to be known well enough for the disÂtillers in TenÂnessee to try and comÂpete with KenÂtucky bourÂbons per say !The LinÂcoln counÂty process was used by regionÂal disÂtillers in priÂmarÂiÂly two counÂties LinÂcoln and CofÂfee counÂties! No one knows who inventÂed the process but it was develÂoped for regionÂal taste at the time ! Jack Daniels learned how to make whiskey when he was 7 yrs old and he learned it from disÂtillers who had been using it there for decades and most likeÂly it was develÂoped to improve the taste of the whiskey and not for marÂketÂing against the KenÂtucky whiskeys which most inhabÂiÂtants in that region at the time nevÂer tastÂed or knew existÂed . Also though known to many of the disÂtillers in that region in the 1800’s knew of the LinÂcoln CounÂty process not all of them used it , because it takes longer to make whiskey that way ! So it is highÂly unlikeÂly that it was develÂoped as a marÂketÂing ploy against KenÂtucky bourÂbons !
i just finÂished readÂing a book of short stoÂries by faulknÂer. some of them were conÂfusÂing and unreadÂable. i wonÂdered if he was drunk while writÂing them. now i know that he very posÂsiÂbly could have been.