Journal Entry No. 005 – “Desert Heat & Deserted Bars”

Journal Entry No. 005 – “Desert Heat & Deserted Bars”

Entry Date: Scribbled in sweat. Marfa, Texas. Time unknown. Possibly hallucinated.

Marfa is one of those towns that feels like it shouldn’t exist. It’s halfway between nowhere and no signal, where art installations outnumber streetlights and the heat talks back.

I came for the Marfa Lights. I stayed because a man named Buzz said he had a bottle of bourbon that had been “blessed by the deep state.”

Now, I’m not a man who seeks out conspiracy theorists. But I am a man who seeks out bourbon in unmarked glass jugs.

Buzz and the Bourbon Bunker

I found him inside what used to be a mechanic’s garage and what now claimed to be a “whiskey vault.” There were no locks. Just cacti, lawn chairs, and a taxidermy armadillo holding a cigar.

Buzz looked like a prospector who’d swallowed a HAM radio. He handed me a glass and said, “This here’s the real reason Area 51’s off-limits.”

I asked what it was. He said it was called Smoke Wagon Small Batch Bourbon, but the government didn’t want us knowing how good Nevada could make whiskey.

He stared at me like he expected me to argue. I didn’t.

The First Sip

To his credit, it was excellent. And legal, I later found out. Which is a shame. Because it tasted like something that should’ve come with a warning label and a two-hour blackout.

We talked for hours. About whiskey. About the Marfa Lights (he claimed they were alien headlights). About his uncle, who once waterboarded himself just to prove a point.

Somewhere between the third pour and his theory that “Bourbon is America’s blood type,” I realized I was having a genuinely enlightening conversation. Or heatstroke. Could’ve been both.

Today’s Whiskey: Smoke Wagon Small Batch Bourbon

Straight bourbon from Nevada—unfiltered, unbothered, unexpectedly brilliant.

  • Nose: Toasted caramel, cinnamon, and cherry cola

  • Taste: Rich vanilla, oak, spice, and a little desert dust

  • Finish: Long, warm, and surprisingly refined

  • Pairs best with: Conspiracy theories, open skies, and poor hydration planning

Final Thought from the Idiot

Buzz gave me the rest of the bottle as I left. Said the lizard people didn’t need it anymore.

I never saw the Marfa Lights. But I did see a man pour the truth into a glass and dare the sun to judge him.

That’s worth something.

Until next mirage,
—W.I.

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