In honor of Thanksgiving we wanted to revisit our thoughts on some vital holiday must haves, bourbon and beer. The article was originally posted on November 23, 2015. Happy Thanksgiving.

In 1979 Jimmy Carter, history's greatest monster, signed HR 1337 into law. This little piece of legislation allowed people to brew beer at home. Many credit this law with the rise of the micro and craft beer movement, others do not give President Carter the credit he deserves. Regardless of who we want to give credit to, America was about to be introduced to better beer. We were going to be able to determine what actually tasted good, and what was just great marketing.

I entered college in the late summer of 1993,  a very small institution in the middle of Missouri. Many students at my college were legacy, meaning one of their parents had attended at one time. Because of this legacy culture, the college was filled with people from all over the United States. I was lucky to befriend someone from California. This friend brought back some Sierra Nevada Pale Ale after one extended break. At this point in my life I had tasted the entire field of the Anheuser Busch Brewing family and a few local Missouri micro brews (early Boulevard and Schlafly). The fanciest of all beers in my life was the great Dutch export called Heineken.

I thought Heineken was the nicest beer someone could drink. It was a little more expensive, came in a green bottle, and had a funky smell. The advertising told me Heineken was the better beer because of these differences. You will pay more for beer because it is in a green bottle, because it smelled funky, and because it was fancy. I bought the marketing, and Heineken was my go to beer for being a classy individual. The fact was that Heineken was the go to fancy beer for my parents generation. They had very little options in beer, I should have known better.

Eventually I experienced better beer. I became a connoisseur, and a bit insufferable with my ale over lager attitude. My beer hipsterdom eventual led me into the world of high end bourbon. I was not fully aware of single batch bourbon, but I wanted to be a part of the group who would drink bourbon straight. I asked around and quickly learned that Maker's Mark was the best bourbon widely available. At the time I lived in St. Louis Missouri and the internet was not as helpful as it is today. Maker's Mark was available in my area, it was at a higher price point, and it had the iconic red wax on the head of the bottle. All of these factors set Maker's Mark as a brand of its own. The price and the red wax must mean that it tasted better than other bourbons. This was not a bourbon for mixing, it was for sipping.  I was sold, and Maker's Mark became my fancy bourbon for the next few years.

In the winter of 2006 I moved to Cincinnati, Ohio. I was now less than 100 miles away from where all of the world's best bourbon is produced. Suddenly I was introduced to bourbons I had never heard of. Bookers, Blantons, Willett, Four Roses, and Corner Creek to name a few. Maker's Mark was still to be found in many people's home as their expensive bourbon, but the other options available showed how marketing trumps taste. Many of the other high end bourbons had unique and interesting flavors. I was quickly becoming aware that under the red wax of Maker's Mark there lie an aggressively sweet and overrated spirit. For what I was paying for Maker's Mark, I could afford some Bulleit, Buffalo Trace, or Knob Creek. For only a few bucks more one could afford great bourbons like Woodford Reserve or Basil Hayden.

The last decade has seen an explosion in the popularity of bourbon. We are even entering a peak bourbon era where many of the great small batch options are increasingly hard to find. Maker's Mark used the idea of peak bourbon when the announced that their spirit was going to be watered down to stretch out the supply during lean times. Many people expressed dismay at the news, and the distillers at Maker's Mark announced they were not going to destroy their great tasting product. Once again the good marketing minds at Maker's Mark positioned their brand as great tasting high end product. Their sales continued to grow. Their bourbon is not getting better

I still occasionally purchase a bottle of Maker's Mark, I use it to cook with. Pecan pie and bourbon balls are a staple in my house during the fall and the winter. The sweetness of Maker's Mark works very well this time of year. I have used the Maker's Mark in bourbon Manhattans, but it is still to damn sweet. A bottle of Evan Williams black label is half the costs, and is a lot better for cocktails. Sometimes out of town guests will sip on my leftover Maker's Mark, but I try to steer them towards the Corner Creek (my house bourbon). My wife purchased a bottle of Blanton's for my birthday, and I reserve this for only family. I will also occasional drink a Heineken, when that is the only thing available at a summer barbecue. Many times I will skip the Heineken and just go with water. There is never Heineken to be found in my refrigerator I make my own beer and keep some local Cincinnati craft beer on hand (Mad Tree and Rhinegeist are killing it in the great tasting beer market).

Heineken and Maker's Mark have built their reputations in marketplaces with few options. Once these marketplaces started to become more saturated, both brands were exposed. The green bottle and red wax became icons, and people continued to flock to what was iconic. Neither product is downright disgusting, but they are overpriced and vastly inferior to their peers. If you are discovering beer and someone gives you Heineken, do not give up. There are thousands of better options available to you. If you do not live near Kentucky and someone gives you some Maker's Mark as their high end spirit, do not give up. Your local liquor store will have hundreds of better options to sip on. Do not be trapped by marketing. When a beer or bourbon is depending on iconic looks, they are usually hiding inferior tastes.

Oh and if you are lucky enough to have some Pappy Van Winkle, we should get together for a little talk.

The original article said Germany was the homeland of Heineken. We have correctly changed it to the Netherlands. One should not drink while they write.

RD Kulik

RD is the Head Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man podcast. He finished the Blanton's while writing this article and needs to get another horse and jockey bottle topper. You can help him out.