Day 26: Pure Kentucky

To any of our friends and readers who don't drink...don't judge us too harshly today. We visited--and thoroughly enjoyed!--the Maker's Mark bourbon distillery near Bardstown. One of our family's Christmas traditions is to make bourbon balls (butter, sugar and a splash of bourbon rolled into a ball and dipped in chocolate), and we thought it would be a good idea to better understand where the ingredient originated. ;-)  We really enjoyed the tour and learned a lot about the process... from the grinding of the corn, wheat and barley to the final bottling and wax dip. For those unfamiliar with Maker's Mark, it's a high end bourbon that features a red wax seal on the top of the bottle. With our new education in the bourbon-making process, we're sure to enjoy our Christmas goodies even more this year, right?! Too bad we can't afford to make them with Maker's Mark.

The reason behind our title choice tonight is that bourbon is quintessentially Kentucky (95% of the total produced is made in the state). And our next stop was to another Kentucky institution...Churchill Downs, home of the Kentucky Derby. A brief walking tour of the facilities gave us a glimpse of the horse-racing world and its pinnacle, the Derby. It's the longest running event in American sports; next May (always the first Saturday) will be its 138th year. And would you believe we encountered yet another connection to the Clark family (of Lewis and Clark fame)? In one of the leaner periods of operation (early in the 1900s), the place was bought by Willliam Clark's grandson, who helped return it to a prosperous venue. We had so much fun recognizing the names of winners from past races...War Admiral (later raced and lost to Seabiscuit), Secretariat, Barbaro, and this year's winner, Animal Kingdom. These and the other winners' names are mounted in chronological order, the plaques winding their way around the various paddocks. It's impressive to see names going back all the way to 1875. I imagine the organizers in those early days would have a hard time believing that more than 165,000 people attend on Derby Day and that betting at Churchill Downs that day reaches more than $100 million (that's cash only and doesn't include any other betting locations!). Granted, that's not all on the Derby; there are many races held that day before the BIG race begins. I'm not offering any commentary on the betting itself. Between that and the bourbon, we're not doing ourselves any favors in the image department!

Our day ended on a really special note, having dinner with my Aunt Mary and her husband, George. They treated us to a delicious meal at Cafe Lou Lou; the chef is from Louiville and received training in Louisiana...hence the name. It was great to connect with family. We're blessed.

One of the 8 fermenting vats (notice we weren't the only parents who brought their kids!)

Kendall wasn't impressed by the smell

the copper still

the wax dip (today they were dipping souvenir glasses for the gift shop)

Winner's platform in the background

Mary and George