🥃 When the Mob Ran the Streets, Mabel Ran the Basement

💥 Opening Pour

A widow. A church basement. And a congregation that came for the hymns but stayed for the hooch. 😏

This isn’t a tale from a gangster flick. It’s the true story of a Prohibition-era woman who outsold the mob—not with muscle, but with prayer, patience, and a rye so smooth it could convert a Baptist. Let’s raise a glass to the woman who served salvation… neat. 🥃

📖 The Story

Her name was Mabel Wilkins, and when her husband passed—leaving her with three kids and a struggling congregation—she didn’t fold. She poured.

The year was 1923. Prohibition was in full swing. Booze was outlawed, and mobsters ran the streets with tommy guns and bathtub gin. But Mabel? She was holding something stronger than brass knuckles…

She had barrels.

Her late husband had stockpiled a dozen casks of rye in the basement of their Chicago church. Aging quietly in the dark—next to old hymnals, pew cushions, and the ghost of last Sunday’s sermon.

Most folks would’ve called the cops.
Mabel called it opportunity.

She tapped the first barrel on a Friday.

By Sunday, she had a line.

No jazz bands. No flappers. No passwords at the door. Just folks with tight lips and thirsty hearts, stepping into the Lord’s house and slipping downstairs after service for a sip of Redemption Rye.

She charged nothing. Asked only for “what the Spirit moved you to give.”

Turns out, the Spirit was feeling mighty generous.

In five years, Mabel:

• Repaired the church roof

• Bought a new organ

• Sent all three of her kids to college

All while the Mob was busy shooting each other in alleyways and watering down rotgut.

The cops never touched her.

Neither did the gangsters.

Because even Capone knew: you don’t mess with the woman who’s got the preacher’s blessing and the city’s best whiskey.

So next time someone tells you whiskey’s a man’s world…
Tell ’em about Mabel.
The Prohibition Widow who poured her way to power—one neat pour at a time.

🥇 The Weekly Pour

Bottle: Heaven’s Door Revival Tennessee Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Price: ~$49.99
Proof: 92 (46% ABV)
Age: 5+ years

Nose: Caramel, toasted grain, and a kiss of charred oak
Palate: Maple syrup, warm baking spice, and cinnamon
Finish: Smooth, slightly dry with a lingering oak sweetness

✅ Traditional bourbon with a modern twist
✅ No charcoal mellowing — full character intact
✅ Excellent value for under $50

🛒 Buy it now → $49.99 at Heaven's Door

🍹The Art of Mixing

The Basement Revival

Ingredients

• 2 oz Heaven’s Door Revival

• ½ oz Benedictine

• 2 dashes orange bitters

• Flamed orange peel

Instructions

1. Stir ingredients over ice until chilled.

2. Strain into a rocks glass over one big cube.

3. Flame the orange peel, express the oil, and drop it in.

Tip: Sip slow. Let the fire and the rye preach to your senses.

🍖 Flavor Pairing Picks

What Would Mabel Serve?

🍗 Pulled Pork Sliders with Apple Slaw — The sweetness and spice of the pork play off the rye’s warm clove notes.
🍫 Dark Chocolate Bread Pudding — Mabel’s favorite, soaked in bourbon caramel sauce and served warm.
💨 Arturo Fuente Hemingway Short Story — Small but mighty, just like the widow herself. Earthy draw, creamy finish.

🧠 Big Lesson of the Week

Sometimes the best revolutions don’t come with bullets or headlines—just barrels and belief. Quiet courage can outsell loud crime, one honest pour at a time.

🥂 Final Toast

To the saints who pour, the sinners who sip, and the spirits that bring them together.

🥃 Repeatable Proverb

“When the law goes dry, the soul still thirsts.”

📖 The Whiskey Journal Is Here

For those of us who believe every bottle tells a story worth writing down.

I finally released The Art of the Pour Official Whiskey Tasting Journal—the same one I use to jot down:

🖋️ Tasting notes, barrel picks, and “finally cracked it open” moments
🗓️ First pours with friends
🧠 Thoughts that hit halfway through a good pour

🎁 And because I love a good surprise, I’m throwing in a free printable Whiskey Tasting Wheel—yep, the one folks keep asking about from past newsletters.

Already a subscriber? You’re first in line.
👉 Get the Journal + Free Whiskey Wheel

Now Its Your Turn

💬 Know a hidden whiskey hero like Mabel? Tell me.
⭐ Save this story for your next pour.
📤 Send it to someone who needs a sip of inspiration.

Cheers to quiet rebels, full glasses, and history in every bottle,

Ethan “Neat” Whitmore

P.S. Next week, we’re breaking down the science of barrel aging — from char levels to climate control — and why two barrels born side by side can pour two totally different stories. 🪵🔥 Don't miss it.