Bourbon - Kentucky, USA
I DIG A PONY
Susan Schwartz takes us on an unusual journey which starts with a horse in Kentucky and culminates in a bourbon called Never Say Die.
When John Lennon sang the words, “I Dig a Pony” on the roof of 3 Savile Row, London, on a blustery January 30th 1969, even he probably didn’t realise that without one particular pony (and we do mean the kind with four legs and a tail) he might not have been up there singing at all. In fact, there might never have been The Beatles had not one special horse won the Epsom Derby in 1954.
It seems a huge leap to jump from the Beatles’ origin story to the origin of a brand of bourbon, but the fusion of one foal, the Fab Four, and fate was the making of Never Say Die Kentucky Straight Bourbon.
Back in 2015, fourth generation Kentuckian and businessman Pat Madden invited a few close English friends, including Cambridge buddy David Wild, to join him at the Kentucky Derby. After a day at the races, over much bourbon, Pat embarked on a tale of a sickly horse, born on his family’s farm, who after being given a shot of bourbon by his trainer…Well, this is the story…
Even at birth, many hopes of greatness were pinned on this little foal with a white streak down his nose. His father was Nasrullah, the champion thoroughbred owned by the Aga Khan; his mother was Singing Grass, a descendant of Man O’ War, considered the greatest racehorse of all time.
But what arrived that evening in 1951 at Hamburg Place, the Kentucky farm owned by John Madden, grandfather of our storyteller Pat, was not a fully formed champion, but a spindly legged weakling that might not even make it through the night, let alone win any race.
This as-yet-unnamed foal was having a hard time breathing and his right front leg was bent uncomfortably beneath his body. Fearing for the newborn’s survival, John Bell, manager of Hamburg Farm, ran to fetch a bottle of bourbon.
He took a shot for himself and then, so the story goes, poured the remaining liquid down the struggling foal’s throat. Miraculously, the little horse was up on his feet in no time and appropriately christened Never Say Die.
Never Say Die’s owner, Robert Sterling Clark of Singer Sewing Machine fortune, had been snubbed by the US Jockey Club and vowed never to race in the United States, so Never Say Die was sent to train and race in the UK.
After an initial flurry of great runs, Never Say Die hit a bit of a losing streak. Although scheduled to run in the Epsom Derby, he was rider-less after being passed over by an 18-year-old Lester Piggott and a few others jockeys to boot. No one was keen to take on this now ’33–1 loser’.
‘NEVER SAY DIE’S OWNER, ROBERT STERLING CLARK OF SINGER SEWING MACHINE FORTUNE, HAD BEEN SNUBBED BY THE US JOCKEY CLUB AND VOWED NEVER TO RACE IN THE UNITED STATES, SO NEVER SAY DIE WAS SENT TO TRAIN AND RACE IN THE UK’
As it happened, no one wanted Lester Piggott either and he ended up with a choice between riding Never Say Die that day or not competing at all. So on June 2 1954, donning his colours of cerise and grey striped with a blue sash and the number 5 emblazoned on his back, Piggott mounted his steed and was out of the gate, Never Say Die became the first Kentucky-born winner of the Epsom Derby.
Not only was the newly-crowned Queen Elizabeth II in attendance but also, somewhat less noticed by the crowds, one Mrs. Mona Best. Mona had pawned her jewelry and placed her fortune and her hopes on a longshot horse whose name she liked. Since moving to Liverpool she had had her heart set on one special house and she was gambling to get it. That day, Never Say Die did not let her down.
Her son and his friends had been driving her crazy with their rowdy music. Now that 8 Haymans Green was hers, she immediately set about transforming the basement into a venue for her son, his friends and a great many other devotees of rock n’ roll.
More than 1000 kids signed up before Mona’s Casbah Club had even opened. But who should play that first night? The choice was a local high school band known as the Quarrymen, three of whom would be forever known by their first names: John, Paul and George.
When Mona’s son Pete later joined them on drums, they changed their name to the Beatles. A few years later, Pete was unceremoniously dropped and replaced by Ringo Starr. The rest, as they say, is history.
After a story like that, Pat and David decided, it couldn’t stop there. That story needed a future. It was time to start picking the corn, charring the barrels, and revving up the stills. Never Say Die Kentucky Straight Bourbon was on its way.
The pair crafted a liquor that was 100% Kentuckian, but they knew there was only one place that Never Say Die Bourbon could reach its full maturity and really call home. Just like its namesake, Never Say Die Bourbon takes that same six-week journey by ship across the ocean to land on the shores of the Mersey, with a cheeky nod to Liverpool’s most famous sons.
Our horsey hero, Never Say Die, spent the rest of his long life in England, but once matured, his namesake liquor is exported all over the world – along with his story. I can hear it now being told again and again with a Never Say Die Bourbon Old Fashioned in hand, accompanied by the original version of Love Me Do with Mona’s son Pete on drums.
‘NEVER SAY DIE BOURBON TAKES THAT SAME SIX-WEEK JOURNEY BY SHIP ACROSS THE OCEAN TO LAND ON THE SHORES OF THE MERSEY, WITH A CHEEKY NOD TO LIVERPOOL’S MOST FAMOUS SONS’
The Beatles performing Dig a Pony, on the roof of 3 Savile Row, London, on January 30th 1969.