Sunday, August 17, 2008

Saturday, August 16, 2008

Ale 8-one

As it would happen, bourbon is not only the delicious drink that is created in Kentucky.
 
Ale-8-One is a "soft drink" (which I think is a Kentucky word for "pop") that is found in distinctive green bottles. I'm always on the search for a good ginger ale, and I think Kentucky has produced a winner:

"Still a closely guarded family secret, the Ale-8-One formula was developed by G.L. Wainscott in the 1920’s after experimentation with ginger-blended recipes he acquired during extensive travels in Northern Europe. He sponsored one of America’s first “name the product” contests, and “A Late One” was the winning entry. The drink’s logo, Ale-8-One, was adopted as a pun of its description as the latest thing in soft drinks." Source www.ale-8-one.com

There is also 37 mg of caffeine in each bottle, which is slightly more than Coke. Oh, and it mixes really well with whiskey (finally the perfect way to get rid of all that Templeton Rye I have stored up).

Saturday, August 9, 2008

The typemachine

The first person to write a book on a typewriter was Mark Twain, though he insisted on calling it a typemachine. The book was Life on the Mississippi.



Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Straight Bourbon Whiskey

When one moves to Kentucky, one finds herself surrounded by whiskey makers. Today we visited Buffalo Trace distillery in Frankfort, KY. We learned many things.   For a whiskey to be  considered a bourbon it must start out with at least 51% corn in the mash, age in a new American white oak charred barrel,   cannot be less than 80 proof and can't be cut with anything but water. The other elements for Buffalo Trace whiskeys are rye, barley and Kentucky limestone filtered water. They have a ton of products including Blanton's reserve bourbon and Rain Vodka (try it). We were able to sample Rain (seven times filtered), Buffalo Trace (9 year old small batch), and Eagle Rare Single Barrel (10 year old, 90 proof.)

Next stop was the Woodford Reserve distillery, where they only have one product, but it's good. Woodford Reserve bourbon is 72% corn and with an extra bit of rye for an extra kick. We missed the last tour, but there was a nice lady who answered all my random questions. There are two huge yellow brick buildings that stand empty because they are a much smaller operation than they were right after the Prohibition ended. I think she referred to them as raccoon condos.

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Old stuff doesn't play nice


Never transfer all your files from one computer to another.
The new one won't like it.