Twenty-five years ago, on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, America experienced a tragedy that forever changed our country.
Today, The Bourbon Flight pauses from the bottles, distilleries, releases and stories we normally share to remember the 2,977 people who were killed in the terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and aboard United Airlines Flight 93.
Behind that number are thousands of individual stories — parents, children, husbands, wives, brothers, sisters, friends and coworkers who left home that morning and never returned.
We remember them.
We also honor the firefighters, police officers, emergency medical personnel and other first responders who ran toward danger when instinct would tell most people to run away. We remember the passengers and crew of Flight 93, whose courage and actions prevented an even greater tragedy. And we recognize the men and women of the U.S. military, including thousands of Kentuckians, who would answer the call to serve in the years that followed.
September 11 also reminds us of something that can sometimes feel distant today: the extraordinary sense of unity Americans demonstrated afterward.
Neighbors checked on neighbors. Strangers helped strangers. Communities gathered together. American flags appeared on front porches, businesses, farms and Main Streets throughout Kentucky and across the country.
For a publication devoted to bourbon, there is something particularly meaningful about community. Kentucky bourbon has always been about more than what is inside a bottle. It is about people, families, traditions, hospitality and gathering around a table to share stories with one another.
But today, the most important stories are those of the people we lost and those whose lives were forever changed.
A generation of Americans has now reached adulthood without having experienced Sept. 11 firsthand. Twenty-five years later, remembering what happened — and sharing those stories with the generations that follow — becomes even more important.
So today, before raising a glass, take a moment.
Remember the 2,977.
Remember the first responders.
Remember the families.
Remember the courage.
And remember how, during one of America’s darkest moments, people came together to help one another.
From all of us at The Bourbon Flight, we remember.
Never forget.
