My grandfathers died in the fall of 1976. The following spring I flew to Florida, my first airline flight, to drive one of my grandmothers back to Michigan. The following fall I started driving her to Florida in the fall and back to Michigan in the spring. We did that for about 4 years.
She and my grandfather had wintered in Florida for about 20 years, driving the most direct route to and from, stopping only to eat, sleep and get gas. She said, you know there are places I would love to see, if you have a few extra days, let's explore the country between here and there. And we did.
We were making our way across Tennessee one fall. She was tired, I was feeling kind of off, we needed a quiet day. And that is how we ended up at the first distillery either of had ever seen, we went to see the Jack Daniels distillery. We enjoyed the tour, all you could get was a good sniff, it was a dry county. Refreshed by the quiet day we moved along on our journey. I remember we stayed a Holiday Inn, and the charge never showed up on her credit card. She worried about it, called the hotel to inquire, and was told to not worry about it, it happened sometimes in the days of manual processing. She worried about it for months.
Having lived in Bourbon country for a decade, I have seen a lot of distilleries. The one above is Journeyman in Michigan, on the left is a pot-still, to the right of that two column or continuous stills, and on the far right a doubler. I am amazed that I can identify the distilling hardware. I shouldn't be, the parking lot at the law school was next to the Vendome copper works, where many of these are made.
We were driving across Kentucky and Indiana last month, and making jokes about "oh look more corn fields." Corn fields are a common sight. I remarked about the corn being bourbon seed. The core of bourbon is dry hard field corn. Ground to meal, boiled to activate the sugars, then fermented with yeast, then distilled, aged (sometimes to perfection) and bottled. That is a very distilled summary of whisky making.
If you ever want to go exploring distilleries, let me know. I hear there are some great ones in Scotland, I have not been there yet.
We have a friend who is a collector. He explores the distilleries of Scotland ever year. What a hobby.
ReplyDeleteThe tour could be great fun, pretty places
DeletePotato the truth I think you missed your calling you should have had your own Distillery. I can see it now, Penguin Libations Distillery.
ReplyDeleteI passed on a opportunity once
DeleteMaybe designed more for American tourists with sweeter tastes, but we did not like the whisky in the couple of Scottish distilleries we visited. We only had a small taste but it was not to our liking.
ReplyDeleteWell aged, it is the nectar of the gods.
DeleteI know "whiskey" means "the water of life," but I wonder what "bourbon" means? Does it refer to that old French royal family?
ReplyDeleteI sense you using your new kitchen for a little moonshine???
ReplyDeleteNot yet
DeleteGood job remember the names of all the equipment. I've only been to one distillery and it was at an outlet of the University of Missouri. They gave my sister and I a tour. They actually taught distilling, brewing and wine making.
ReplyDeleteMany people study alcohol at University. But not how to make it.
DeleteSome people in this area winter down in Arizona
ReplyDeleteCoffee is on and stay safe
My parents were snow birds when I was in high school
DeleteNever been to one. It'd be interesting to go sometime.
ReplyDeleteSassybear
https://idleeyesandadormy.com/
I regularly read about the Scots distellires in "Whisky Advocate". To me they are all sort of alike; it is the tasting room I wanna see.
ReplyDeleteWe should arrange a tour
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