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40 of the Most Legendary Bourbon and Whiskey Quotes

40 of the Most Legendary Bourbon and Whiskey Quotes

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Brent Hofacker / Shutterstock.com

"Love makes the world go round? Not at all. Whiskey makes it go around twice as fast."

Alvin Langdon Coburn, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

"Whiskey, like a beautiful woman, demands appreciation. You gaze first, then it's time to drink."

Ministerio Cultura y Patrimonio from Quito, Ecuador, PDM-owner, via Wikimedia Commons

"How well I remember my first encounter with the devil's brew. I happened to stumble across a case of bourbon — and went right on stumbling for several days thereafter."

Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

"Great fury, like great whiskey, requires long fermentation."

Eric Koch for Anefo, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

"My mama always told me there are few things a good hug can't cure, and those things are what bourbon's for."

itakdalee / Getty Images

"Never delay kissing a pretty girl or opening a bottle of whiskey"

National Archives and Records Administration, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

"Whiskey is liquid sunshine."

Fox Photos / Getty Images

"The water was not fit to drink. To make it palatable, we had to add whiskey. By diligent effort, I learned to like it."

Photo by Topical Press Agency/Getty Images

"I know folks all have a tizzy about it, but I like a little bourbon of an evening. It helps me sleep. I don't care much what they say about it."

Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

"The whiskey kicked like a mugger."

Stephan Schulz / Wikimedia Commons

"Never cry over spilled milk. It could have been whiskey."

L.O.N Dslr Camera / Shutterstock.com

"My own experience has been that the tools I need for my trade are paper, tobacco, food, and a little whiskey."

Archive Photos / Archive Photos via Getty Images

"A good poem or poet is like a good cigar or a good whiskey. Everyone has their own preferences."

Konstanttin / Shutterstock.com

"The light music of whiskey falling into glasses made an agreeable interlude."

Hulton Archive / Archive Photos via Getty Images

"Old but contented, the face of a man who had sipped life's vinegar and found it, by and large, to be mostly whiskey, and good whiskey at that."

Marian Weyo / Shutterstock.com

"Too much of anything is bad, but too much good whiskey is barely enough."

Everett Collection / Shutterstock.com

"Nothing is so musical as the sound of pouring bourbon for the first drink on a Sunday morning."

Carl Van Vechten, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

"There is no bad whiskey. There are only some whiskeys that aren't as good as others."

English: Photographer uncredited. Published by Alfred A. Knopf., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

"I wish to live to 150 years old, but the day I die, I wish it to be with a cigarette in hand and a glass of whiskey in the other."

Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

"I have never in my life seen a Kentuckian who didn't have a gun, a pack of cards, and a jug of whiskey."

Drawn on stone by Lafosse, Imp Lemercier Paris. Published by Goupil & Co. Paris, New York, London, Berlin, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

"Always carry a flagon of whiskey in case of a snakebite and furthermore, always carry a small snake."

NBC Radio, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

"You drink your whiskey, I'll drink my wine. Later when we're fevered and tipsy, we'll make savage love divine."

Brent Hofacker / Shutterstock.com

"Life is sweet when the whiskey's sour."

barmalini / Shutterstock.com

"Big Jim claims to be a deeply religious man, maintaining that his religion is primarily whiskey and women. I saw the connection between the two — most of his relationships were on the rocks."

maeching chaiwongwatthana / Shutterstock.com

"Whiskey has killed more men than bullets, but most men would rather be full of whiskey than bullets."

Library and Archives Canada, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

"It was so quiet, a reservation kind of quiet, where you can hear somebody drinking whiskey on the rocks three miles away."

Seattle City Council from Seattle, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

"I like my whiskey like I like my men: on the rocks, ready for death as I devour at their first intent."

Scott Olson / Getty Images

"You say tomato, I say bourbon and coke."

Ron Bennett--HUD, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

"The once plentiful herds of magazine writers would continue to be culled — by the Internet, by the recession, by the American public, who would rather watch TV or play video games or electronically inform friends that, like, 'rain sucks!' But there's no app for a bourbon buzz on a warm day in a cool, dark bar. The world will always want a drink."

2018 Getty Images / Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images

"Happiness is having a rare steak, a bottle of whiskey, and a dog to eat the rare steak."

Series: Combined Military Service Digital Photographic Files, 1982 - 2007Record Group 330: Records of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, 1921 - 2008, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

"I'm here to kick ass and drink whiskey, and pilgrim, I'm out of whiskey."

Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

"Bourbon is easy to understand. Tastes like a warm summer day."

Jason Busa / Shutterstock.com

"I would have preferred whiskey. There's nothing like its bold flavor and strong burn to remind you that you're alive. And then quickly dull that feeling."

Smit / Shutterstock.com

"Whiskey is by far the most popular of all remedies that won't cure a cold."

maeching chaiwongwatthana / Shutterstock.com

"I drink my whiskey neat and live my life messy."

Arpingstone, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

"Her eyes were the color of whiskey and grace. Moments with her always felt like getting drunk on Sunday."

Brent Hofacker / Shutterstock.com

"I'd much rather be someone's shot of whiskey than everyone's cup of tea."

Library of Congress Life, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

"And there's nothing wrong with spinsters, anyway. They have nice cats and little bowls full of candy. Mrs. Bailey and Mrs. Newitz are the kindest ladies you'll ever meet, and they have nips of whiskey in their tea like cowboys."

Smit / Shutterstock.com

"The medicine is in the eye of the beholder and right now you be-holding a big ass glass of it. So, shut up, and drink your whiskey."

Jag_cz / Shutterstock.com

"Love makes the world go round? Not at all. Whiskey makes it go around twice as fast."
"Whiskey, like a beautiful woman, demands appreciation. You gaze first, then it's time to drink."
"How well I remember my first encounter with the devil's brew. I happened to stumble across a case of bourbon — and went right on stumbling for several days thereafter."
"Great fury, like great whiskey, requires long fermentation."
"My mama always told me there are few things a good hug can't cure, and those things are what bourbon's for."
"Never delay kissing a pretty girl or opening a bottle of whiskey"
"Whiskey is liquid sunshine."
"The water was not fit to drink. To make it palatable, we had to add whiskey. By diligent effort, I learned to like it."
"I know folks all have a tizzy about it, but I like a little bourbon of an evening. It helps me sleep. I don't care much what they say about it."
"The whiskey kicked like a mugger."
"Never cry over spilled milk. It could have been whiskey."
"My own experience has been that the tools I need for my trade are paper, tobacco, food, and a little whiskey."
"A good poem or poet is like a good cigar or a good whiskey. Everyone has their own preferences."
"The light music of whiskey falling into glasses made an agreeable interlude."
"Old but contented, the face of a man who had sipped life's vinegar and found it, by and large, to be mostly whiskey, and good whiskey at that."
"Too much of anything is bad, but too much good whiskey is barely enough."
"Nothing is so musical as the sound of pouring bourbon for the first drink on a Sunday morning."
"There is no bad whiskey. There are only some whiskeys that aren't as good as others."
"I wish to live to 150 years old, but the day I die, I wish it to be with a cigarette in hand and a glass of whiskey in the other."
"I have never in my life seen a Kentuckian who didn't have a gun, a pack of cards, and a jug of whiskey."
"Always carry a flagon of whiskey in case of a snakebite and furthermore, always carry a small snake."
"You drink your whiskey, I'll drink my wine. Later when we're fevered and tipsy, we'll make savage love divine."
"Life is sweet when the whiskey's sour."
"Big Jim claims to be a deeply religious man, maintaining that his religion is primarily whiskey and women. I saw the connection between the two — most of his relationships were on the rocks."
"Whiskey has killed more men than bullets, but most men would rather be full of whiskey than bullets."
"It was so quiet, a reservation kind of quiet, where you can hear somebody drinking whiskey on the rocks three miles away."
"I like my whiskey like I like my men: on the rocks, ready for death as I devour at their first intent."
"You say tomato, I say bourbon and coke."
"The once plentiful herds of magazine writers would continue to be culled — by the Internet, by the recession, by the American public, who would rather watch TV or play video games or electronically inform friends that, like, 'rain sucks!' But there's no app for a bourbon buzz on a warm day in a cool, dark bar. The world will always want a drink."
"Happiness is having a rare steak, a bottle of whiskey, and a dog to eat the rare steak."
"I'm here to kick ass and drink whiskey, and pilgrim, I'm out of whiskey."
"Bourbon is easy to understand. Tastes like a warm summer day."
"I would have preferred whiskey. There's nothing like its bold flavor and strong burn to remind you that you're alive. And then quickly dull that feeling."
"Whiskey is by far the most popular of all remedies that won't cure a cold."
"I drink my whiskey neat and live my life messy."
"Her eyes were the color of whiskey and grace. Moments with her always felt like getting drunk on Sunday."
"I'd much rather be someone's shot of whiskey than everyone's cup of tea."
"And there's nothing wrong with spinsters, anyway. They have nice cats and little bowls full of candy. Mrs. Bailey and Mrs. Newitz are the kindest ladies you'll ever meet, and they have nips of whiskey in their tea like cowboys."
"The medicine is in the eye of the beholder and right now you be-holding a big ass glass of it. So, shut up, and drink your whiskey."

Both are brown with amber hues and they both usher you into an alternate reality as soon as you take a sip. They sting your throat, settle into your stomach, and suddenly the world is just a little bit different. At first glance, you can't tell the difference between the two and to be fair, all bourbon falls under the umbrella of whiskey. However, not all whiskey is considered bourbon. 

The manufacturing and aging process of bourbon is what sets it apart from whiskey. Whiskey first starts as a fermented grain. Then, it's poured into barrels where it undergoes an aging process. For whiskey to be considered bourbon, the fermented grain must be a mash that contains at minimum 51% corn. This addition is ultimately what changes the flavor profile of bourbon, adding a subtle sweetness.

The American Bourbon Association further explains that bourbon is created under strict regulations. For instance, regular whiskey can be aged in used barrels. However, bourbon requires new charred oak barrels for the aging process. The storage of these barrels is specific as well. The barrels must be placed on their side in ricks so that there can be airflow.

Bourbon cannot be altered with additives and the aging conditions must be just right to expedite the aging process (minimum of two years). All of these factors combined result in perfectly crafted bourbon. You can drink bourbon in various ways. Some prefer it neat while others take their bourbon on the rocks.

You can always try a cocktail with bourbon or whiskey, like an old fashioned, which incorporates sugar, Angostura bitters, and either a maraschino cherry or orange peel. Those who drink whiskey and bourbon have developed a special appreciation for their flavor profiles and notice the subtle differences with each drink. (And here are 25 of the most iconic quotes about drinking...anything.)

It's no wonder there are so many quotes on whiskey and bourbon, with many romanticizing these distilled spirits. To compile this list of the most famous bourbon/whiskey quotes, 247 Tempo reviewed several sites, some of which include quotes taken from TV shows and movies and others that collect quotes from literature and assemble them into a single source the way Goodreads does.

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