Veteran Vices: Merica Bourbon

There are few things more purely American than bourbon. (For more on this, read our feature on the topic in Issue 42.) But even among brown liquor brands, some raise their head above the crowd for raw patriotism and love of all things free. Daniel Alarik is no stranger to such utterly red, white, and blue things. While you may not recognize his name, we bet you’ll recognize his brand: Grunt Style. The brains behind one of the best-known vet-culture T-shirt companies has brought the same unapologetic style to the spirits world, with the aptly named Merica Bourbon. The idea wasn’t Daniel’s per se, as he was approached by a fellow veteran and former Marine who was interested in starting a bourbon brand. Daniel says, “I loved the name, but told him that I can’t sell a product that I don’t like, and I don’t like bourbon. He then took the time to work on developing a new flavor with me. It took about six months, and it was a lot of fun, tasting many different flavors until we landed on the perfect one, which is what we have today.” Featuring a mashbill of 70-percent corn, 26-percent rye, and 4-percent wheat, distilled at the former Indiana home of Seagram’s, Merica Bourbon is aged a minimum of six months before undergoing some sort of scientific voodoo involving “ultrasonic energy and oxygenation after standard distillation” that “finishes incomplete chemical reactions from the fermentation stage” — as quoted from the Merica website. There’s more about it, but the result is a slightly fruity, slightly spicy bourbon that can be had at a very low cost. One of the staples of both Grunt Style and Merica Bourbon is giving back to support the veteran brother/sisterhood. Daniel says they support a number of charities, but that one of their go-to organizations is T.A.P.S. – Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, which has been providing support and relief services for the family members of fallen service members since 1994. For less than the price of a pizza and beer, you can pick up a bottle of Merica Bourbon and support the earnest efforts of returning veterans to bring you an enjoyable product and an easy-going price point with a staunchly American stance on liberty and freedom for all. Source Merica Bourbon www.mericabourbon.com

More Veteran Vices on RECOIL

• Drinks
  • Green Feet Brewing
  • Railhouse Brewery
  • American Freedom Distillery
  • Ranger Candy Coffee
  • Gunbusters
• Smokes
  • Line of Duty Cigars
  • BAMF Cigars
• More
  • Bottle Breacher
  • Grill Your Ass Off

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