Kentucky Bourbon Trail June 27, 2014

The rules are simple.

No eating at a restaurant that could be considered a chain.  No shaving for the guys.  No shoes that require socks.  No mentioning certain people– names that fire up a negative atmosphere and anger.

The unwritten rules of traveling with friends who are a great couple and amazing travel partners include no drama, no competition, no assumptions, no jealousy, and no judging.  Got that?

Now that you’re aware of the rules, join us on our mini-vacation along the Kentucky Bourbon Trail!

The Kentucky Bourbon Trail is made up of 8 bourbon distilleries who invite visitors to learn about the history of bourbon, tour their facilities, and spend money at their gift shops.  There’s way more than 8 distillers of bourbon, but visiting the 8 who have joined the “country club” of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail will award each visitor a stamp in their passport; collecting all 8 stamps results in a free Bourbon Trail t-shirt.  The four of us got a taste of the trail 4 years ago, as we made our way homeward from a white-water rafting vacation in West Virginia.  Since we were unable at the time to commit to making it through the whole trail, we swore that someday we would return.

Since we’d been on tours of some distilleries before, part of me thought that there wouldn’t be much more to learn.  Man was I wrong!  We learned more about what specifications a “bourbon” must adhere to, charring the barrels, why Kentucky has the ideal climate, and the million variations that each bourbon can take.  It’s so interesting to learn about the history of bourbon from multiple points of view.  For example, the effects of Prohibition were different between each distillery; a couple were even allowed to stay in production!  We were also shared a Master Distiller’s opinion on how to best enjoy a fine bourbon: put a layer  of crushed ice in a rocks glass, pour two-fingerbreadths of bourbon on top, and sip slowly over 2-3 hours.

Buffalo Trace

The first distillery we visited was Buffalo Trace; one that isn’t included on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail and one that we had visited prior.  Buffalo Trace is home to dozens of varieties across multiple brands besides Buffalo Trace, including Eagle Rare, Pappy Van Winkle, Blanton’s, Sazerac Rye, Benchmark.  At a restaurant in Lexington, a shot of the Pappy Van Winkle would cost $100 because of its limited availability.  Since we’d done the tour in the past, we skipped straight to the tasting (but this is a beautiful distillery with a very worthwhile tour!).  We tasted the Eagle Rare Single Barrel and Buffalo Trace, but passed on a taste of their vodka.  The tasting ended with a delicious bourbon ball.

Buffalo Trace

Buffalo Trace

Town Branch

The Town Branch Distillery just might be a hidden gem of Lexington; from what we gathered, most people don’t really realize it’s right there in town.  Their claim to fame is their beer, which is brewed in the charred bourbon barrels after the bourbon is removed.  We decided to pass on a tour, but ended up with a personalized tasting from a feller named Tyler who taught us a lot about bourbon and tricks to appreciating it.  Five stars!

Town Branch

Town Branch – Bourbon Buddies

Woodford Reserve

The Distiller’s Select Woodford Reserve is a staple at our house so we were excited to make a return trip here.  Some things have changed in a few years though, because we weren’t allowed any tasting without paying for a tour.  But we enjoyed the grounds; Woodford Reserve is in one of the most beautiful areas of Kentucky and their bourbon balls are also delicious!

Woodford Reserve – Best Friends FOREVER! (and free counseling for me)

Woodford Reserve – a Mary sandwich!

Woodford Reserve

Woodford Reserve

Wild Turkey

Wild Turkey made our trip the last time, and we all remembered being pretty disappointed by their visitor’s center… but hey, we’d have to make a stop in for our Kentucky Bourbon Trail stamp!  As we followed the signs, we were delighted to find they have done a massive rebuild for visitors, with a great history lesson inside.  We missed out on tastings again, but Joe came home with a variety called Forgiven which was created by an employee’s mistake; turns out, her mistake was pretty tasty and so all was forgiven (and she even got to keep her job).

Wild Turkey

Wild Turkey

Wild Turkey

Four Roses

Four Roses and Wild Turkey are two distilleries on the tour that are actually neighbors and not a lengthy, swervy trip in between.  We seemed to recall being pressed for time at our last visit here, so we took it a step further and participated in their history lesson and tasting.  On the National Registry of Historic Places, Four Roses has a look unlike any of the others which stems from the original owner’s affection for the Spanish style architecture that was spreading through wine country in California.  Just don’t ask Joe about that.

Four Roses

Four Roses

Four Roses

Four Roses

Heaven Hill

This distillery is home to more brands and varieties than I ever could’ve imagined: Evan Williams, Elijah Craig, Larceny, and a Heaven Hill select Stock bottled at $250 each, to name a few.  We watched a video in their theater and had two tastes of their products, along with a very nice lesson on how to drink bourbon.

Heaven Hill

Heaven Hill

Heaven Hill

Willett

Willett Distillery was on Joe’s Must-Stop list; it might not be on the official trail, but it’s a smaller, family-owned distillery with a one-of-a-kind bottle that also happens to be filled with one of Joe’s favorites.  We skipped the tour but had a hilarious independent tasting with a gal who has been waiting for 4 years for a certain type of ring that will officially include her in the Willett family (and had also been in 4-H).  She said we could each have 2 tastes of their products as long as we hadn’t already visited 5 distilleries that day, and we were able to lie without hesitation.

Willett

Willett – a distinguished bottle.

Willett

Maker’s Mark

When we make it back for another round of The Kentucky Bourbon Trail (maybe in another 4 years), the guided tour of Maker’s Mark will be on our To-Do list.  Our self-guided tour of their absolutely beautiful grounds made us wish we had gotten in on the opportunity to see everything backstage too (and have a couple tastings).  Todd offered one worker $100 for a private tour, but after the confusion wore off, he said we’d have to wait until 5pm when he would officially be off work.  Since this was our final stop on a long day, we may have missed the last tour but still enjoyed their gift shop where Todd even got to dip his own bottle.

Maker’s Mark – two firemen in front of the fire truck.

Maker’s Mark

Maker’s Mark

Maker’s Mark

Maker’s Mark

Maker’s Mark

Maker’s Mark

Maker’s Mark

Jim Beam

Jim Beam Distillery was our first stop of a new day after a refreshing night in Louisville.  It is a very well-maintained campus, with a self-guided tour that was very educational.  At the tour’s final stop before the gift shop, we each got to choose 2 tastings from the many varieties produced here.  These include Jim Beam, Red Stag, Knob Creek, Basil Hayden’s, Booker’s, and Baker’s.  The technologically-savvy way to choose a tasting was neat, but we missed individualized attention.

Jim Beam

Jim Beam

Jim Beam

Jim Beam – Bourbon Buddies

Jim Beam

Jim Beam – Joe got individual attention as always!

Jim Beam

Jim Beam

Jim Beam

Jim Beam

Jim Beam Experience

Warning: I don’t have much good to say about the Jim Beam Experience which is located in downtown Louisville.  They have nice restroom facilities, and this was where we received the final stamp on our Kentucky Bourbon Trail passports.  Otherwise, it’s a costly tourist trap that we didn’t spend much time patronizing.  But they did have a nice sign for us to hold during a photo opportunity to commemorate our victory over the trail!

Jim Beam Experience

Some of the highlights from our trip are stories and happenings and pictures that are better left protected.  We had an incredible mini-vacation: one distillery on Day One, seven on Day Two, and wrapped up with two on Day Three.  I can almost guarantee the four of us will make another trip to taste bourbon in Kentucky, because the experience is that awesome.  The distilleries do a great job of sharing their stories and welcoming visitors, and the cities in Kentucky are (mostly) friendly places that are perfect for an evening sitting outside while sipping fine bourbon with fine friends.

So get your butts down to the Kentucky Bourbon Trail!  And get a free t-shirt while you’re at it!

Daddy June 13, 2014

I always knew Todd would make a great father because first and foremost, he likes kids.  He likes them a whole lot more than I do.  Before we had our own, I totally recognized his abilities to interact with little kids (which basically highlighted my discomfort around them, and my inability to have a conversation with a toddler).  His crazy energy and fun personality led me to believe he’d be great as a daddy too… someday.

Well, I was right.  In all the ways I worry about schedules and baths and meals, Todd is the perfect balance.  Yes, he cares about the boring stuff too, but he doesn’t get tied up in the specifics and is a reminder that the details often aren’t worth stressing over.  He’s the one who Trent wants to play outside with because he’s so much better at play than I am.  Todd can toss the boys around on the couch, chase them all over the house, and become a man-made swing.

When there are Daddy Days at our house, I can’t help but to imagine that I’m not missed much.  Trent winds up wearing a 1st birthday hat.  Tyson winds up with hiccups from giggling.  Chances are someone (or everyone) winds up with a bruise.  All of a sudden there’s  a tent pitched in the basement and a fort of blankets on the couch and a shortage of suckers.

I like this quote: “Anyone can be a father, but it takes a lot to be a daddy.”  Maybe it’s cliché, but I think a daddy should be fun, spontaneous, and tough.  He should love cuddles on the couch and reading books too.  I’m so thankful that my boys have a bona fide daddy who will pause to soak up the hugs and kisses, but will also wrestle on the floor and expect a boo-boo from time to time.   My kids will never thank me for making sure they had their nightly bath and got their teeth brushed, and that’s okay because I’ll do it anyway.  I have a feeling their best memories will be of rough-housing with Daddy, who mixes giggles and happy screams, scrapes with kisses, and games of tag with cuddling.

Trent and Tyson can’t thank him yet, so I’ll do it for him.  Thank you, Todd, for being a daddy to our boys.

What I Learned In College June 1, 2014

Sometimes people think that the goal of attending college is to earn a degree, seek employment in that area of profession, and carry out a career until retirement.  While that may be the case for some, the percentage of people who attend college only to find their career path make a surprising turn must be significant, considering the number of people I personally know who fall into this category.  My own life story includes earning a degree in Animal Sciences from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where I took classes to specialize my degree towards dairy herd management.  Fast-forward a few years, and my story will tell you that I became employed into a full-time position as a paramedic.  Well hmmm.  Guess those college years were wasted, right?

It shocks me how often people make an assumption: that if I’m not “using” my degree, then the time and money spent earning said degree were wasted.  I happen to find it easy to argue that point, with a few points of my own.  And thus, I present to you, what I learned in college.

1.  I’m in charge of me.

Wake up on time.  Get to where I’m expected to be on time.  Go to bed on time.  Pick up my groceries, wash my laundry, pay my bills.  In college, I figured out pretty quickly that no one was going to do any of these things for me, or remind me to do them.  And who suffered the consequences if I didn’t get to class on time or buy a gallon of milk?  Just me.  Now, I have children who would suffer the consequences if I didn’t have my shit in order.  But in college, I learned that I was no longer someone else’s responsibility and that I’m quite capable of being independent.

2.  Eating right is hard.

I grew up in a house where each meal arrived to the table without my active participation in choosing it or creating it.  We ate what was served (except I just can’t eat beets and I’m pretty sure my sister still avoids lima beans) and didn’t really appreciate how well the Food Pyramid was represented around the clock (thanks Mom).  Then I got to college and was given a magical card that let me into the dining hall, where anything and everything was fair game.  No one would question me if I ate three bowls of Lucky Charms.  I thought a bagel every morning was a grand idea because I wasn’t used to having free access to bagels.  Even though I like vegetables, it was hard to remember to toss them onto the tray next to whatever caught my eye.  I don’t recall fitting the stereotype of “The Freshman 15” but I learned that I really didn’t have the metabolism to eat whatever I wanted.  In the dorm near mine, there was a late night cafeteria that served an array of things fried and dripping with grease.  With that same magical card, I could go grab a pizza and fried cheese sticks; somehow, the idea that those things were there and “free” made it a bedtime decision that didn’t take much convincing.  At some point, I realized that those pizzas were barely palatable and instead of eating late night crap, I could just go to bed.  Oh yeah… I learned that eating right takes a lot of thought and active participation.

3.  Money matters.

I was blessed with the American Dream life of two hardworking parents who chose to financially support their children through college.  I didn’t have a clue at the time what that actually meant, or that other kids would be sitting next to me in class and paying tuition bills on their own.  I did know I needed to apply for every scholarship that might consider me, and I knew I was expected to be employed and earn my own money.  During this same time, I got my very first credit card and was responsible for paying my own bills and making rent payments.  I had to keep a checkbook balance and actually do the math; I had to watch dates on the calendar for when bills were due, and sometimes wait for Pay Day.  I learned to appreciate gifts, earn my keep, and worry about money (not a fun skill, but a skill nonetheless).  And in the years following graduation, I’ve come to realize the full extent of how damn lucky I am to have had my tuition paid.

4.  Sisters can be friends.

Growing up, you’re stuck with your siblings.  You’re stuck sitting next to them at the dinner table, maybe stuck sharing a room, often stuck sharing a car or a hobby.  I never classified my relationships with each of my three sisters while growing up as anything other than “sister”; I never knew any different.  When I went to college, my older sister who I was forced to share space with at home became the wise, experienced one who I would choose to meet for lunch (and who got me through chemistry).  Then she graduated and my younger sister showed up on campus, and we developed a friendship that went beyond sisterhood too.  The great thing about being on campus with a sister is you can do all the fun “sister” things, then everyone goes home to their own space!  Then everyone is out of school, married with kids, living lives with careers and separate addresses… and I realize that the growing-up part of having siblings is a tiny chunk of time compared to the friends-forever part.

5.  Report cards don’t get sent home.

An A is great to brag about.  The rest of the alphabet?  Not so much.  But if someone is investing in your education and personally cares about your successes, I feel like that person is owed a regular update on how classes are going (even if the answer is “Not so great.”).  College is a good time to learn that Bs and Cs are okay (if that lesson wasn’t learned in high school).  I muddled my way through French, math, and chemistry because I had to, not because I enjoyed the material.  And I figured out that working towards a degree that involved a deeper understanding of any of those topics was not for me!

6.  Extracurriculars are worth the time.

Oh hell yeah.  College is not defined by the classes in a schedule but how time is spent otherwise.  Maybe it’s running or reading or drinking or sleeping… but college is the perfect opportunity to be involved in true extracurriculars.  My college experience wouldn’t have been anywhere near the same without the Marching Illini, playing in the Basketball Band during home games, the Illini Dairy Club, being a member of the Illini Dairy Judging Team, or playing intramural sports.  Those groups are where my memories were made and where my closest friendships began.  I traveled for the first time in my life as part of my extracurriculars, and had experiences that I would have missed out on if I only studied.  Of all the pictures I have from my years on campus, I can’t find a single one of me studying in the library.

7.  Some friends are forever.

And some aren’t, and that’s okay too.  But the friends who know me today and knew me in college have seen my life come full circle and been supportive the whole way.  These are the friends who I have shared some of the most awesome experiences with, from a time in my life that will never be recreated (no kids, no responsibilities, no major bills).  These friends understand what it means to “bleed orange and blue” and feel the same warm, fuzzy feelings of returning to campus.  They also share the same dismay of returning to campus and not recognizing half of the buildings… we haven’t been gone for that long, right???

8.  Oh wait, I don’t have it all figured out?

In high school, everything seemed black and white.  Then I went to college and everything that was “black and white” became gray and fuzzy.  Turns out, our world isn’t so black and white either.  Things change, people change, realities change.  But we still set goals, make achievements, and hopefully spend time with the “extracurriculars” that make tomorrow worth looking forward to.  Nope, I don’t have it all figured out even at this point.  I have my family and my friends, and the rest keeps sorting itself out on some wacky but trusted journey.  My experiences in college were a great stepping stone to figuring out how to make life worth living, even if I failed at choosing a major that would define my life ten years later.

I wouldn’t choose to have my life today any different from how it is.  I spend time at the farm (see, using my degree!), enjoy my job, and have the best, most handsome group of fellas living under my roof and filling my heart.  Part of my journey to where I am now included four of the best years of my life studying at the U of I, growing friendships and making memories.  My name isn’t engraved on a Bronze Tablet of insane smartness (like my sisters Jenny and Julie, kudos!) but it is somewhere in the Animal Science Lab on a plaque for something or another.  Looking through these pictures reminds me of so many awesome experiences I had shoved into those 4 years, and I’ll have those memories for the rest of my life.  Along with some retained knowledge about ruminant nutrition and reproductive health in dairy cattle, of course.

Just don’t ask me a single thing about chemistry.