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Friday, January 27, 2012

Overview: The Road Trip.

After we left Kentucky,  Benny and I headed to Asheville, North Carolina. On our way we decided to make a pit stop at the Liquor Barn in a little town called Caryville off I-75 in Tennessee.


We were looking for craft beers and hard to find bourbons, whiskies and any other rare liquors. I know, why look in the middle of nowhere? Read on and you will see the method in my madness. As we walk in there is a young girl (mid 20's) at the register. I asked her if they had any beer. She said no and the manager standing next to her said that they were not allowed by law in Tennessee to sell beer where they sold liquor. Benny and I looked at each other and said okay and decided to look around anyway. We walked over to the cooler and we saw a couple of bottles of Delirium Tremmes and Nocturum. I was puzzled. I took it as a fluke and decided to head to the bourbons. Benny asked the manager about the beers and he said "oh, that is over 6 percent and we can sell that here." We came to the conclusion that "beer" in Tennessee was Bud, Miller Lite, Busch and so on. I was looking around where the bourbons were and Benny under his breath called out "Uncle Toby!, Uncle Toby!". He was standing in front of a cooler on the other end of the store so I walked over and saw a whole section of craft beers! We looked at each other and he said " I guess in Tennessee this is not beer." I returned to the bourbon section after I gathered up my 2 6packs of New Belgium beer (Abbey Ale and Belgo IPA) and went to the register to pay. I was talking to the manager about bourbons and our personal preferences and I mentioned that we were at Buffalo Trace the other day and how much I liked the Antique Collection. He said, "ya know, I have 4 bottles of the 12 yr. old Van Winkle upstairs. Would you like a bottle?"



I was shocked, and in a calm voice I said "hell yes!" So back to the register I went and purchased the bottle. I thanked the Manager whose name will be a mystery to me and Benny and I loaded up our loot and headed for the car. After we packed our goodies in the trunk, we high fixed each other and complemented each other on the beer and bourbon finds.

So it was onward to Asheville! Driving through the mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina is a wonder and a Glory if you have never taken the ride. After the Liquor Barn, we headed I-75 south to Knoxville and caught I-40 east to Asheville. I reserved a room at the 4 Points Sheraton in downtown Asheville on the assumption that we were walking and not driving (don't drink and drive) to all of the libation halls that were available to us. After storing the suitcases and such we proceeded downstairs to the bar to start our journey. I ordered a we-heav-ier ale and Benny followed suit. He never had one before so it was a treat to watch him enjoy his beer. We finished soon after and planned our tour of Asheville and proceeded to head to the first adult establishment.

THE THIRSTY MONK

They are located at 92 Patton Avenue in Asheville. With an upstairs and downstairs bar you have a wide variety of ales and such upstairs and Belgians downstairs. A wonderful gathering place for good times and libations.They have a full selection of local brews as well as




New Belgium, which brews Fat Tire, Avery, which brews their IPA and Out of Bounds Stout. After
conversations with the locals, we added two more beers to the list.I had a Monk's Cafe Sour Red Ale which has a sweet and sour sauce flavor with Belgian beer added. Very tangy and good in limited amounts. I also had an Ommegang Seduction on tap which I normally would only see in bottles. Way better on tap than the bottle.

JACK OF THE WOOD

Home of the Green Man Brewery, it's a celtic pub with live music and a great atmosphere. I ordered a Green Man Porter which has a smoky chocolate flavor with a slight hint of leather. One of the better porter in town. While being served, I was listening to a song that seemed very familiar. It turned out to be ACDC Back in Black bluegrass style! Who knew?

THE LOBSTER TRAP

This wonderful restaurant is home to the Oyster House Brewing Company and their signature beer is the Moonstone Stout brewed with oysters and shells. It is the finest Stout I have had and the oysters give it just the right flavor! Benny and I had baked oysters on the half shell with Swiss Chard and served with a remoulade sauce and topped with some crispy house bacon. We also had the crab dip which was served warm with Ashe County pimiento cheese and with sliced baguette. Benny enjoyed the Moonstone Stout and vowed to come back for more!


HANNAH FLANAGAN'S PUB AND EATERY

Our last pub for the evening was Hannah Flanagan's Pub and Eatery. A true irish pub with over 100 beers from around the world. The beers change frequently and I happen to notice that they had Old Speckled Hen on tap. Since I have only had it in bottles here in the states, I decided on having a pint. To my surprise, it had a bit more spice and a much creamier flavor. It kind of spoiled me on bottles from now on. We finished our pints and headed to the next establishment, The Mellow Mushroom. But, sadly they were closed. It was 11:30 pm so we headed back to the room for a nights sleep before the drive back to Jacksonville and eventually Miami.

If you ever decide to stop in Asheville, plan for a couple of days so you can visit all the fine drinking and eating establishments that the city has to offer. I know my next visit will be for at least 3 days.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Buffalo Trace


So next on the list of distilleries is Buffalo Trace. Buffalo Trace makes several whiskies including Van Winkle, Eagle Rare and Barton's. The trip from Ft. Knox to Frankfort took about an hour and a half and we arrived just in time for the tour. We were told the tour would take about 45 minutes to an hour and we were game for that.
We started out side with the aging warehouses which were about 7 stories tall. Where the barrel was placed in the warehouse was what determined which bourbon it would be labeled with. Once the barrel was placed in the warehouse, it was not moved until it was ready to be bottled. All of the premium bourbons were from the middle floors of the warehouse which had the most temperature changes. Those were the bourbons with the most flavor from the barrels.
After the distilling process, the "white dog" (ever clear) was placed into the barrels and rolled to the warehouse through a series of tracks. These tracks led to an elevator which placed the barrels onto floors in the warehouse.

After that , we went into the bottling room where they hand bottled all of the premium bourbon. When we were there, they were bottling Barton's and Eagle Rare. The folks in the bottling room were fun and very informative. Our tour guide explained that the production bourbon was bottled in another area of the property and if you wanted to take that tour, it was later on in the day. We opted out of that tour and decided to go right to he tasting. we tasted the Buffalo Trace 9 yr. old and the Eagle Rare 10 yr. old. Buffalo Trace is a small batch bourbon which could use anywhere between 25 to 75 barrels to get the right taste. Eagle Rare is a single barrel bourbon which uses only one barrel and bottles from that barrel only. The Eagle Rare had a nice bold flavor with a spice finish that was pleasing to the palette. The Buffalo Trace had a smoother flavor and not quite the spice but with hints of vanilla and a slight creaminess to it.
All in all, some fine Bourbon from these folks. They also have an Antique Collection which consist of George T Stagg 15 yr old, Sazerac Rye 18-Year-Old, Eagle Rare 17-Year-Old, William Larue Weller uncut and unfiltered and Thomas H. Handy Sazerac uncut and unfiltered. The Weller was bottled at 143 proof at the last bottling. The Antique Collection only comes out once a year in September and usually is gone before it is shipped. You can reserve it with your local liquor store so get on the list now.


Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Tennessee Mountians and everything else...

Leaving Atlanta this morning and traveling through Tennessee to Kentucky. The Mountians of north Georgia and eastern Tennessee are a sight to behold. The difference today is that it was raining today which made it all that more alluring. Passing through Chattanooga and heading to Nashville at about mile marker 111, you see the detour to Jack Daniels Distillery and at mile marker 105 you see the detour to George Dickel distillery. Having been to Jack Daniels twice before, I decided to go and see the Dickel distillery. As usual, it was further off the highway than first expected, (15 miles) but I was pleasantly surprised at how authentic looking it was. Benny, my nephew has never been to a distillery before so this was fun for me to be with someone who's first time it was to tour a distillery and watch and comment on the process. We thought that the two of us were going to be the only folks on the tour until 10 minutes before the tour, a bus load of active senior citizens pulled up and unloaded. A delightful group, we started the tour and chatted it up with them and had a wonderful time. The tour lasted about 30 minutes and we headed back to the gift shop and found out that we were in a "dry county" and could not taste the whiskey. Oh well, I bought whiskey any way and said our goodbyes to the tour and headed on our way to Kentucky.
When we arrived at our destination (my son and daughter-in-laws home on Ft. Knox) I decided to taste the whiskey there. A glass of the #12 10 yr. old and a good cigar (a Cuban Churchill) was in order. I was awesomely surprised at the flavor of the whiskey, smooth and velvety body with a hint of vanilla and a slight spice but balanced finish.
When I arrived at my room later on, I opened the barrel select 12 yr. old and had a glass and it was greater surprise that his was even better than the #12.
If you have a chance to try these Whiskies I would recommend that you do and make sure you visit the distillery too.

Monday, January 16, 2012

On the road again...

Well here I am on the road again. Stopping tonight between Chattanooga and Atlanta. Having a Sweetwater Georgia brown ale. Brought my nephew, Benny with me and we are going to see my son, Alex. He just got back from Afghanistan and unscathed. I'm glad to have him home. He doesn't know that Benny is coming along so this should be good. We are going to stay a few days then move on. Tomorrow on the way, we will try and make a stop at George Dickel distillery for some whiskey tasting.

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Beer. Enough said.




My adventures with beer these past couple of years have been, well just awesome! From the Three Philosophers, to Brooklyn #2, to Dogfish head IPA 120. I have tried a wide range of beers from stouts to pilsners and from lagers to pale ales and of course my favorite, Belgian ales. I have always, when on road trips, made it a point to stop at the local wineries for a little taste of the local juice. This year, I'll be doing the same but adding local micro breweries to my list. I might even make specific trips to selected breweries for first hand tasting and brewing techniques. And I just won't travel within the U.S., oh no boys and girls, I plan on making this a world wide adventure. Germany, the Czech Republic, South America, the Caribbean and many more places. Brewing beer is over 4000 years old and was used in the middle ages as the only source of drinkable liquid (except for wine). Water was polluted from human waste and to make beer it had to be boiled. When they finally came to America, the pilgrims still would not drink the water. Even though the water was pure they made beer. During the 1800's, British brewers found out that if you used an extra batch of hops when brewing, the beer would last much longer on the trips to India. Thus the IPA, Indian Pale Ale was born. Now, micro brewers all over the world are experimenting with back room recipes and creating some of the finest beers ever made. Beer lovers like me are in heaven and trying to keep up with all the new beers coming out it's almost too much. But, I will make it my best effort to try all of the beers that I can, even if it takes the rest of my life!

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

The final year? I doubt it.


So here it is 2012 and the supposed end of the world in December and this is when I have decided to finally get serious about getting this blog on the right track. I have three things that I want to get out this year. One. Learn, drink and talk more about the wine I drink. Two. Learn, drink and talk more about the beer I drink. Three. Experiment, learn and share food dishes that I eat and cook myself with my loving wife, Debbie. I guess I can talk about her cooking too. I'll start by catching up on the beers and wines that I have already had (I have pictures) then I will move on to bigger and better things. I will be doing as much traveling as I can, in fact we have already started. Savannah, GA and the wonderful eateries and local breweries that we visited. Woolwine and Floyd , VA with the bed and breakfast and the wineries that I love. Asheville, NC the Mecca of micro breweries with some of the best beers I've had and the historic Biltmore Estate with their wonderful wines. Then on to Kentucky, home of some of the most famous Bourbon distilleries in the world. Later this year I will be going to the California wine country and if I can talk my wife into it, a trip to Europe.