Neat: The Story of Bourbon

A bit of everything in this. I enjoyed the history most.

Yes!

A touching taste of the reality of the time and effort that goes into that bottle of American made white oak matured bottle of whiskey we call bourbon.

I found the DVD of this short documentary at my local library. I am a whiskey/whisky drinker, and Bourbon is my favorite.

The documentary covers a lot about the history of whiskey, about some of the unregulated dark days when various foreign ingredients were mixed in, sometimes even causing death, and how that led to laws regarding maintaining the purity of whiskey. There are interesting views inside the operation showing how Bourbon is made from beginning to end.

For my pleasure it dwells just a bit too much on various people reminiscing about their Bourbon experiences. I found myself wishing the content had more details about the making of Bourbon. For example they all must have at least 51% corn in the mash and all use American White Oak barrels that are charred. So why are some Bourbons much better than others? What are the production approaches that result in the premium Bourbons that command the much higher prices? Is it just years in the barrel or something else?

All that is minor, all in all it is a very interesting story of Bourbon. However they could have eliminated the several Steve Zahn spots, he added nothing and his antics aren't funny.

Just watched Neat: The Story of Bourbon, and it gives you a good background on how bourbon is made.

Best part of the movie, are the stories of the people making bourbon.

Light, breezy, fun documentaries have their place. However, a film about bourbon--a spirit, per the film, that mirrors the history of America, which is a far cry from light, breezy fun--hardly belongs among them. What could've been an exploration of shifting cultural dynamics or rebellious entrepreneurialism is turned into a long-form advertisement for the bourbon industry. And advertisements don't make for good documentary films.

The characters are all industry stalwarts, except for the heroic hobbyist who turns his basement into a speakeasy. Their views on how Bourbon is made is valuable, but the film's treatment of those views--all adoring and unquestioning, often overlaid with stirring string arrangements and shots of glasses being filled in slow-mo while backlit by a sunset--is so saccharine that it ends up being a turnoff.

The most interesting cultural bits are left out. Where's the Whiskey Rebellion? The social impact of Prohibition? The role of immigrants in making Bourbon what it is today? These are omitted in favor of the personal stories of the characters that are so much less meaningful.

You might pick up some interesting tidbits on Bourbon, or have a hankering for a good cocktail. But the film will leave you wishing for something more substantive.