An Anniversary Toast for I, Whiskey
It’s been a tremendous year since we released I, Whiskey on YouTube and Facebook and co-hosted our red carpet premiere with the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS) at Jack Rose Dining Saloon—and the tour continues.
The film has been accepted into 10 film festivals to date, with the Portland Film Festival, Cucalorus, and Silicon Valley International Film Festival on the books later this year.
We’ve just returned from our screening debut at WhiskyFest San Francisco, where I introduced the I, Whiskey brain trust and all-star panel: Executive Producer Richard Morrison (who urged attendees to Fight for their Right to Party), DISCUS Senior Vice President David Ozgo, and DonorsTrust President and CEO Lawson Bader.
I, Whiskey inspiration Fred Smith captures the heart of the film on camera:
Spirits allow us to be a bit more spiritual. They give us a certain feeling of the sacred in our own lives. They raise it up. They make us more human—or so I think.
I shared with the crowd at WhiskyFest a quote from a recent Bon Appétit piece Fred introduced me to that echoes our sentiment exactly:
Think about the most memorable moments of your life—your wedding, 40th birthdays, impromptu summer backyard BBQs that go late into the night. Alcohol consecrates these times like nothing else can. The happiest snapshots of my life have been defined by it—a magnum of Billecart-Salmon Brut Rosé Champagne, an ice-cold Narragansett tall boy (or three), and of course, a 1.75-liter handle of whiskey purchased at a state liquor store. What people often get wrong is that they drink to forget. I like to drink to remember.
As Richard suggests at the end of the film, tonight I’ll whiskey with friends and family to toast our first year’s highlights.