AKA Road Trip: A Step on the Bourbon Trail

So we did!

 

While in Scotland we went on 2 different whisky tours and Himself asked what the difference was between the Scotch and American whiskeys.  I didn’t really know.  So another reason I selected to start our adventure in Bardstown… “Bourbon Capitol of the World”.  The name comes from Bourbon County, Kentucky. 

 

 

This is the stillhouse.  It’s easy to see it has been added on to over the years.  The stone portion is the original building.

 

 

Our guide. 

 

 

It starts right here… with the corn.

 

 

A view from the stillhouse.  Each bottle contains a sample of the grains that go into the 1792 Bourbon – corn, wheat, malted barley and/or rye. 

 

 

One of the stills.  The grates catch the sour mash (think sour dough bread).  To be legally considered ‘bourbon’ it must meet these standards:

 

“The Federal Standards of Identity for Distilled Spirits (27 C.F.R. 5) state that bourbon made for U.S. consumption must be: 

 

• made from a grain mixture that is at least 51% corn; 

 

• aged in new, charred-oak barrels; 

 

• distilled to no more than 160 (U.S.) proof (80% alcohol by volume); 

 

• entered into the barrel for aging at no more than 125 proof (62.5% alcohol by volume); and 

 

• be bottled (like other whiskeys) at 80 proof or more (40% alcohol by volume). 

 

Bourbon has no minimum specified duration for its aging period. Products aged for as little as three months are sold as bourbon. 

 

Bourbon that meets the above requirements, has been aged for a minimum of two years, and does not have added coloring, flavoring, or other spirits may (but is not required to) be called straight bourbon. 

 

• Bourbon that is labeled as straight that has been aged under four years must be labeled with the duration of its aging. 

 

• Bourbon that has an age stated on its label must be labeled with the age of the youngest whiskey in the bottle (not counting the age of any added neutral grain spirits in a bourbon that is labeled as blended, as neutral-grain spirits are not considered whiskey under the regulations and are not required to be aged at all). 

 

Bourbon that is labeled blended (or as 'a blend') may contain added coloring, flavoring, and other spirits (such as un-aged neutral grain spirits); but at least 51% of the product must be straight bourbon.”     ~~ Wikipedia~~

 

 

When the bourbon is ‘finished’ it is clear.  It is then put into NEW charred oak barrels to age.  The longer it ages, the darker…sweeter… and mellower it becomes.  It also increases in its alcohol percentage as a portion of the water evaporates thru the oak barrels (this is called ‘the angel’s share’).

 

 

After barreling, the barrels are taken to a warehouse to age.  The proper name for the warehouse is actually ‘rickhouse’.

 

 

These are HUGE buildings.  This one had eight or nine stories, as you can see in this freight elevator shaft.

 

 

And each floor has rows and rows of these ricks. 

 

 

…rows and rows…

 

 

And every single one of the barrels comes to rest with the bung facing the “12 O’clock” position.  They actually have a formula for what position the bung has to be in so that when it stops rolling down the rack the bung will be right on top!  Wow.

 

 

Each building also has 4 plumb bobs to make sure it doesn’t get pulled wonky by the tremendous weight of the barrels.  Seriously.  There are roughly 18,000 (!!!) barrels of bourbon in a full warehouse.  Each barrel weights roughly 400+ pounds.  And that can cause the framework of the racks to shift. 

 

The cure?

 

Move the barrels around!

 

 

Our guide pointed out the windows.  He said “There are bars only on the first floor of the building.  This is to keep people out.  Now notice the shape of the barrel.  See how it is wider in the middle?  Try to get it out the window and you’re not going to get past the second ring!”  (Besides the fact it weights close to a quarter ton!!!)

 

 

Guess this is going to be safe and sound.

 

 

Our next stop was bottling.  And there wasn’t any going on…  SIGH!!!

 

 

High tech label transport.  (The distillery also does bottling for other companies).

 

 

Final stop was the tasting.  There was a very well explained ‘class’ before the tastings began. 

 

 

There to compare was a taste of their “Very Old Barton” a 6 year old bourbon and “1792 Ridgemont Reserve” which is at least 8 years old.   

 

Himself said the hands down winner was the 1792 Ridgemont Reserve.

 

 

Before we got back on the road, Himself stopped by for a photo op at the “world’s largest bourbon barrel”. 

 

Then we were off to find out where honesty was born…

 

Shards!

When we moved into our home in the summer of ’08, we had to replace the stove.  I bought a new Maytag Gemini dual oven stove.  Overall it’s been fine, tho it has its share of quirks that should not have been there considering what we paid for it.  Things like the oven thermostat has never been accurate and the ‘hot’ light on the stovetop sometimes won’t turn off unless you give a smack to the stovetop in just a certain place. 

 

Nothing really major that we knew about.

 

 

A word of warning…

 

 

Do NOT drop something heavy on your stovetop!

 

 

It was very ugly.  Tiny sharp glass shards EVERYWHERE!  -sigh-

 

So we called the repairman and gave him the info of make, model, etc.  Then we covered the shardy glass with duct tape.  A few days later the repairman called and said the stove top was in from the manufacturer.  He came out the next morning to install it…

 

…and found out they had sent the wrong stovetop!  -huge sigh-

 

So he called and ordered another one.

 

 

However, he had first removed the old stovetop and found something really, really scary underneath.  When the stovetop was made, they placed one of the connector plugs directly UNDER the burner.

 

It had almost melted through!  Oh my goodness!!  There could have been an electrical fire when it finally melted all the way!!! 

 

A few days later he called again.  The new top came in and was correct…and badly damaged in shipping.  And the news got worse.

 

Whirlpool now owns Maytag brand.  And Whirlpool doesn’t keep up much replacement stock for the Maytag appliances they sell.  There were NO more stovetops available until the factory made some more. 

 

And that was going to take about a month…

 

Now that is just kind of disconcerting when parts for a fairly new appliance you own are that scarce.  And the carelessness in putting it together is just scary.

We bought a hot plate so we could cook at least one thing at a time.  And I did have my electric skillet.  Not a whole lot of cooking went on in May.  Fortunately, we did spend a week in MO and four days on our vacation where I didn’t need to cook.

But it was a long month.

When we came home from our trip, it was in.  It was not broken.  And it was installed the next day!

And I’ve been a cooking fool for the last few days!!!

AKA Road Trip: My Old Kentucky Home

After leaving our hotel, the next surprise destination was a very short drive away… 

 

 

We went across the street to visit the “My Old Kentucky Home” State Park.  http://parks.ky.gov/parks/recreationparks/old-ky-home/   Himself is a musician so I knew he would enjoy this stop. 

 

 

Contrary to common belief, Stephen Foster did not live here.  The house is the one on the back of the Kentucky state quarter. 

 

 

He was the composer of many well-known songs such as “My Old Kentucky Home” (sang at the beginning of the KY Derby), “Oh Susanna”, “Camptown Races”, “Jeanie With The Light Brown Hair”, and “Beautiful Dreamer”. 

 

 

The walkway to the house.

 

 

Heading inside.  Unfortunately photos are not allowed inside (there are interior photos at the above web site).  It’s a lovely home, with most of the furnishing belonging to the family.  It was sold by a family member and became a state park in the early ‘20s. 

 

 

The back of the house with the carriage house and kitchen.

 

 

Interior of the detached kitchen.

 

 

Another view.

 

 

The smoke house.

 

 

Carriage house.  The saddles and carriages are from the family.

 

The park is lovely and well worth the visit during cooler weather.  But in the summer there is an outdoor musical performed (which I had seen years earlier) called “Stephen Foster – The Musial”.  It’s a fun show. 

 

 

  

Man's Best Friend...

I’ve mentioned before that we do a lot of bird feeding.  We’ve started feeding off the deck rail this winter as it gives us a great view as we enjoy our morning cuppa.  We have about 10 different kinds of birds drop in at The Sticks Café. 

 

Himself will go out with the container of food and give a special whistle. And from the sycamore we’ll hear “grub, grub, grub”.

 

 

And this pretty boy comes swooping in!  He’s a Red Bellied Woodpecker…or as they are known locally, a Red-Crested Woodpecker. 

 

We call him “Cresty”. 

 

 

 

 

He’s quite spoiled.  He brings his wife to the buffet too.  He has a different call for her.

 

If we’re slow to get the food out, he’ll sit on the rail and stare at the window as tho to say, “Hey!  Service is getting a bit slow around here!” 

 

 

 

Himself saves ‘the good stuff’ for his buddy.

 

 

Lately tho, there’s been a bit of competition on the ol’ feeder rail.  A Blue Jay has moved into the neighborhood and ol’ Cresty is jealous.

 

For a Jay he is well mannered.  I’ve never seen him start a fight…but he horks down the seed like a blizzard is coming.  And that ticks off the other birds.

 

It amuses us tho…

Fire!

On one of our recent visits to Missouri, my Dad took us all out for dinner at a Japanese steakhouse.  The kids love Asian food, so they were excited to go.  (Please excuse the low quality photos.  I didn’t want to use the flash and annoy the other diners.)

 

 

The flamboyance of the ‘chef’ fascinated them.  Until…

 

 

…it was FLAME ON time!  If Little Hoss hadn’t been in a high chair he’d made record time getting to the front door.

 

 

They are whizzes at using their ‘training wheels’ chopsticks. 

 

 

Little Bird wanted me to show her how to do it without the ‘training wheels’.  It will be a while before she can manage that.  Among other things, the chopsticks are just too large for her little hand.  But I’m sure she will be brilliant at it someday.

 

I wonder… do they make kid-sized chopsticks? 

AKA Road Trip: Bardstown Sights

Day Two of our adventure started with breakfast out, then a drive around town. 

 

 

I’m not sure who voted it “the most beautiful small town”, but it certainly is lovely.  

 

 

We had our breakfast at “Mammy’s Kitchen”.  It’s named to honor the owner’s two grandmothers.  It was decorated with all sorts of cute signs and artwork.  I especially liked the granny looking thru the screen door.

 

 

We took an after-breakfast stroll to look in the shop windows.

 

 

MY prince!

 

 

The buildings are very nicely maintained.  Love this color combo!

 

 

 

The upper level windows are fun too.

 

 

The courthouse in the town square.

 

 

Courthouse bell tower.

 

 

Even the alleyways are pretty.

 

 

As we drove out, Himself spotted a Farmer’s Market. 

 

 

ALWAYS have to stop at a Farmer’s Market!  You never know what you’ll find at one.

 

 

A future birdhouse?  

 

 

Or strawberries and lettuce picked a few hours ago (with the dirty knees to prove it!). 

 

And we looked at a few lovely houses as we drove back to the motel to pack up for getting on the road again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We decided that we’ll be back to Bardstown as there was so much more we wanted to see.

 

Baby Birds

We have our first guests in the "bird garden".  A robin made a nest in our large wooden feeder.  This photo was taken a few days ago.  They are even larger and fuzzier now.  Mama Bird doesn't have a problem with a quick peek at them.  I think she's used to us from all the feeding we do.