Ben Hogan Timex and TX Bourbon
The Watch-Timex Ben Hogan
Born out of 100,000 swings……..
That is the Timex way of saying, it takes a lickin’ and keeps on tickin. This especially holds true for the watch we have featured. It was made in the 1950’s and continues to work today. Timex made two models watches with Ben Hogan’s name on them, a hand wound wristwatch that closely resembles the Timex Marlin model, and a rather unique watch, picured above, that is to be attached to a belt like a digital pedometer from the 90’s. This model opens and closes up, as not to get in the way of your golf swing. Note on the advertisement, a price of $25, which translates roughly to $240 in today’s money.
Timex used another sports superstar, Mickey Mantle to market their watches at the time as well. As another way to show the watches durability, they supposedly put a watch on a baseball bat and let the Mick hit a few home runs with it.
The model we got our hands on, is the wristwatch pictured above. I had been closely monitoring the Ben Hogan Timex watches at online auctions, and found one that had never been used. In fact, the watch band hadn’t even been used. One of my friends got it for a song and is letting me use it for this article.
The watch was made sometime in the 1950’s and is basically a Timex Marlin that is rebranded, uniquely with Ben Hogans name at the top of the watch. This style and design is timeless, and you can even buy a hand wind Timex Marlin today. They released the Marlin model a few years back, and it continues to be a bargain in the watch world. I have no doubt, if they re-released this model with the Ben Hogan Signature on top, it would be a success.
Our watch has experienced a little bit of dial fading, which can be expected due to the age, but other than that, remains in remarkable shape. The white dial really makes the gold numbers and hands stand out. I have seen a few of these with hands with lume. I am not sure if Timex was just grabbing hands from the parts bins, or if those were non-factory hand replaced over the years. Note that the back of the watch says U.S. Time Corporation instead of Timex, which notes its age. The case comes in at about 32mm, which is small by today’s standards, but was a pretty normal size for a wristwatch at the time.
With the case back removed, you can see a simple Timex hand wind movement, which was a staple of their watches at the time. This one is still going strong, however could use a service to make it a little more accurate.
This is truly a classic watch design that looked good in the 50’s and still looks great today.
The Whiskey-Firestone and Robertson TX Bourbon
TX Straight Bourbon
Based out of Fort Worth, TX, Firestone & Robertson has two main products you can find on the shelf, TX Blended Whiskey and TX Bourbon. The TX Blend is what I refer to as a gateway whiskey. It is truly versatile, it can be served neat, on the rocks, or even mixed with coke without feeling bad about it. If you have a friend who isn’t a whiskey fan, I recommend getting a bottle of the TX Blend and letting them try it.
The TX Bourbon though, takes uniqueness to the next level. To begin with, the yeast used to make the mash is unique to this Bourbon alone. The yeast strain they use came from a single pecan, found in Somervell County, TX. Their mash is made from Texas Dent Corn.
After the product is distilled, TX Bourbon spends years aging in the Texas Sun. There is no age statement on the bottle, but the first batch that was released in 2016 was aged four years. I was lucky enough to get bottle from the first release, signed by the founders and head distiller, which is pictured above.
The bottle is a little snapshot of Texas, with the boot stitching in the glass and on the bottom of the bottle. The caps also have repurposed boot leather on top. For an interesting read, check out the section on their bottle caps on their website.
The Bourbon is widely available in the south, but I would check out their website to see if anyone near you carries it.
As for the whiskey, here are the tasting notes from Firestone and Robertson:
Color: Dark amber
Nose: Floral, maple, cinnamon
Taste: Fig, allspice, brown sugar
Finish: Balanced, smooth and warm
Proof: 90
The Connection:
Ten miles southeast of downtown Fort Worth, Tx……
Lies Whiskey Ranch, the distillery where TX Bourbon is made and aged. TX bourbon spends long hot summers there, just as Ben Hogan did years ago. You see, Whiskey Ranch was built on the grounds of the now defunct Glen Garden Country Club, which is where our Timex Watch’s namesake, Ben Hogan got his start caddying at the Club. In fact, Ben Hogan and Byron Nelson battled it out there in the 1927 Glen Garden Caddy Championship. The course is no longer open to the public, however, Firestone and Robertson Distilling has preserved part of the course, and as you can see above, made rather unique flags for the holes.
The book pictured above, Grown At Glen Garden, goes in depth of the history of this course, which produced two of the greatest golfers of all time, Ben Hogan and Byron Nelson. These two golfers have 14 Major’s between the two of them.
Whiskey Ranch is open for tours, where you can see how they make their Bourbon and walk the Golf Course that Ben Hogan learned to play on. Now, if only Timex would re-release the Ben Hogan edition watch!
