Tuesday 31 July No idea how many steps, my battery died while cycling about 45km
Song: Whiskey in the jar by so many, but for those of us from SA- the Blarney Brothers
It rained all morning, which gave us an excuse to lie in. Finally, the sun came out and we went for a cycle. It was an awesome cycle path that takes you through a green belt into Lexington. The path runs through University of Kentucky grounds and has signboards along the way pointing out historic and geological points of interest. It is so well maintained, we rode past a guy blowing away the leaves and sticks after the rain. At one point at the University Club, you can stop for a glass of cold water. The club was a mansion of an oil baron.
My imagination started working. Imagine a similar trail, linking Joburg, Pta, Krugersdorp and Magalies…..
We were following David’s cycling trails app to a bourbon distillery, but when we got there it was a brewing company in a rather old run down area of Lexington. We went in, but oddly enough, all they had was beer. The girl behind the counter was very sweet and offered to give me samples of what they call sours. I nearly gagged on the first one, it is worse than beer. It reminded me of the sorghum beer our Rosie was once brewing under the table in the ironing room in Pretoria. I explained we had thought we were coming to a bourbon distillery and she explained that there was one on the other side of the building.
We found it! I was expecting something like the Glenfiddich tour we did in Scotland. This was nothing like that. It was a small bar through an insignificant door and there was a “gentleman” sitting on the only barstool, engaging the hostess in a serious discussion. We drew attention to our presence and enquired about the advertised tour. He left. She said the tour was every half hour, but as it was 2:33 we could go ahead and she would catch up the time. She took us into back rooms where they mix the grain, ferment, distill and age it in barrels. They bottle it and each label is filled in by hand. It was actually very good to see the process on a small scale. We then tasted their products. I think I prefer the Woodford Reserve which I discovered in Chicago.
We then cycled through historic areas of Lexington and found a restaurant called Saul Good, for late lunch. I reckoned with a name like that it had to be good and it was.
We cycled home again, passing old houses, sports fields and Art?. I turned my battery assist on and rode as fast as I could because I had been on a saddle way too long.
David’s chuckle of the day: I asked the hostess who the “we” was that actually does the mixing, distilling etc as she was there alone, and she replied that it was the master distiller who had been sitting at the bar when we walked in. I could not help myself. I proceeded to teach her on marketing strategy. I told her to tell her boss how impressed we would have been, had he greeted us and promoted his product.
What I learnt: To be a bourbon, it has to have at least 51% corn in the mixture of grain and it has to be aged in a new charred oak barrel. Once a teacher, always a teacher!
Kim's journey 