Kentucky - Frankfort & Lexington - Horses & Bourbon!

[giradman]

Thank you! I always enjoy reading this type of travel story. There's often more than you can find in looking at several other sources. It's nice to see a post like this written in an interesting and entertaining manner.

Thanks again Scifan.. - I enjoy putting these posts together - the web certainly helps - Dave

 

[giradman]

Frankfort - Kentucky State Museum & Other Sites

After our tour of the State Capitol building, we lunched (more later - had dinner at the same restaurant) and then visited the Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History, basically the state's history museum in a lovely fairly new building w/ free parking across the street @ the railroad depot (see quote below and link). I love to visit state historic museums and have probably been to at least a dozen, mostly in the southeast USA - the layouts are similar w/ the main attraction typically being a 'walk through' chronological history of the state w/ numerous exhibits and often interactive displays - Kentucky's version did not disappoint - a definite MUST if in Frankfort; below just a few images of the outside of the building and a pic of the 'Kentucky Governor's Exhibit.'

Now there are other downtown attractions that we did not have time to see (wanted to go to Bardstown and visit a distillery - next post - ); these are all opened for tours and include the: 1) Old State Capitol building; 2) Old Governor's Mansion; and the 3) City Museum (and a few others that I've left out - sorry). Dave

The Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History has been the headquarters for the Kentucky Historical Society since April 10, 1999. Covering much of a city block in downtown Frankfort, it provides space for permanent exhibits, museum and archival storage, educational activities, offices and special events (space rental is available). Its namesake, the late Thomas D. Clark, was former state historian and an instrumental partner in the building’s planning and development (Source).

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[giradman]

Jim Beam Distillery near Bardstown

After our visit to the Kentucky History Museum, we drove to the Bardstown area to visit the famous Jim Beam Distillery (quote below from start of a Wiki article - click on the link for more details). As stated previously, 95% of bourbon is made w/i the state of Kentucky and this distillery is the largest producer of this spirit - numerous products are made (see the link for a list), but some of the best are the 'small batch' offerings highlighted below - during our visit to Lexington, our hotel bar offer over 40 different bourbons to sample - I had several of the ones below, i.e. Basil Hayden & Knob Creek.

The first pic is a map showing the location of the Jim Beam Distillery plus 2 others that we visited on this trip (plus Maker's Mark on a previous trip to Louisville, KY - arrows); the next 2 images are the Jim Beam Visitor's Center w/ a statue of Jim himself - earlier Beam founders are seen during the tour of the property. The grains used in all bourbons are seen in bottles (both as their raw products and also ground in the back bottles). The next images are the 'Barrel Porch', 'Barrel Storage Warehouse', and 'Bottling Line' - the 'Barrel Porch' was cool - that's where the 'high proof' distillate is put into the barrels for aging - we were able to get our fingers wet and taste this un-aged liquid which is completely clear like 'moonshine' - long term aging in the barrel provides the amber color of bourbon; the final two pics show some of the Beam bourbons, including several from the list below. Dave

• The Beam "Small Batch Bourbon Collection" consists of several bourbons where the Beam name appears on the labels and marketing materials but is less prominent.
  • Booker's: aged 7 years, 120–129.2 proof (60–64.60% ABV)
  • Baker's: aged 7 years, 107 proof (53.5% ABV)
  • Basil Hayden's: aged 6 and 8 years, 80 proof (40% ABV); uses the Old Grand-Dad "high-rye" mash bill.
  • Knob Creek: aged 9 years, 100 proof (50% ABV), with a 9-year, 120-proof (60% ABV) single-barrel expression, and a 100 proof (50% ABV) rye whiskey.

Jim Beam is brand of bourbon whiskey produced in Clermont, Kentucky by Beam Suntory. It was one of the best selling brands of bourbon in the world in 2008.[1] Since 1795 (interrupted by Prohibition), seven generations of the Beam family have been involved in whiskey production for the company that produces the brand, which was given the name "Jim Beam" in 1933 in honor of James B. Beam, who rebuilt the business after Prohibition ended (Source).

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[KevinJS]

Great thread, Dave. Thank you.

 

[giradman]

Serafini Restaurant - Downtown Frankfort

My final post for Frankfort - despite being the capital of Kentucky, the town is small and the restaurant offerings limited - the first night, we ate at Jim's Seafood located on the Kentucky River - actually we started by sharing a dozen oysters on the half shell from the Gulf of Mexico which were quite good. However, the best restaurant there seems to be Serafini in downtown (w/i walking distance of all attractions there as discussed in a previous post) - on our full day, we had lunch there and also dinner on our return from Bardstown and the Jim Beam Distillery.

For our dessert that evening @ Serafini, Susan had the tiramisu which was quite light and delicious; I decided to have a special Pappy Van Winkle bourbon neat in a brandy sniffer - this is a legendary, rare, and expensive bourbon (the latter VERY dependent on the aging times) - quoted below (from the link) a description indicating that the Pappy bourbons are now being made at Buffalo Trace Distillery - note that 'wheat' replaces 'rye' in the mash bill.

This restaurant offers dozens of different bourbons (see pics below & check link - the shown list is incomplete in my screen captures) from inexpensive to OUCH! Also, 'bourbon flights' can be purchased where a number of different bourbons are offered 'in a row' and in smaller amounts, a nice option to taste a variety of products - notice the 'Pappy Flight' of 4 bourbons - a whopping $125! The other images show some of the various Pappy Van Winkle bourbons - not sure which one I had but the cost for 1 1/2 oz was $35 - my first taste of this brand. Dave

Recently, the Van Winkles entered into a joint venture with the Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, KY. All of the Van Winkle’s whiskey production now takes place at Buffalo Trace under the same strict guidelines the family has always followed in order to produce a superior quality product.

Aside from the rich family history, Van Winkle bourbons are special for another important reason, their recipe. All of the Van Winkle bourbons are made with corn, wheat, and, barley instead of corn, rye and, barley. This "wheated" recipe gives the bourbon a much softer, smoother taste and it also allows the whiskey to age more gracefully.

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[giradman]

Great thread, Dave. Thank you.

Thanks Kevin.. - just added a few more posts related to Frankfort - now off to see our son in Indianapolis, then back to Lexington, KY for 3 nights - topics will be mainly about horses w/ one last bourbon distillery visit - Dave

 

[scifan57]

Frankfort - Kentucky State Museum & Other Sites

After our tour of the State Capitol building, we lunched (more later - had dinner at the same restaurant) and then visited the Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History, basically the state's history museum in a lovely fairly new building w/ free parking across the street @ the railroad depot (see quote below and link). I love to visit state historic museums and have probably been to at least a dozen, mostly in the southeast USA - the layouts are similar w/ the main attraction typically being a 'walk through' chronological history of the state w/ numerous exhibits and often interactive displays - Kentucky's version did not disappoint - a definite MUST if in Frankfort; below just a few images of the outside of the building and a pic of the 'Kentucky Governor's Exhibit.'

Now there are other downtown attractions that we did not have time to see (wanted to go to Bardstown and visit a distillery - next post - ); these are all opened for tours and include the: 1) Old State Capitol building; 2) Old Governor's Mansion; and the 3) City Museum (and a few others that I've left out - sorry). Dave


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I've been to several state and city historical museums. The city museum in Denver is excellent and not to be missed.

 

[scifan57]

Jim Beam Distillery near Bardstown

After our visit to the Kentucky History Museum, we drove to the Bardstown area to visit the famous Jim Beam Distillery (quote below from start of a Wiki article - click on the link for more details). As stated previously, 95% of bourbon is made w/i the state of Kentucky and this distillery is the largest producer of this spirit - numerous products are made (see the link for a list), but some of the best are the 'small batch' offerings highlighted below - during our visit to Lexington, our hotel bar offer over 40 different bourbons to sample - I had several of the ones below, i.e. Basil Hayden & Knob Creek.

The first pic is a map showing the location of the Jim Beam Distillery plus 2 others that we visited on this trip (plus Maker's Mark on a previous trip to Louisville, KY - arrows); the next 2 images are the Jim Beam Visitor's Center w/ a statue of Jim himself - earlier Beam founders are seen during the tour of the property. The grains used in all bourbons are seen in bottles (both as their raw products and also ground in the back bottles). The next images are the 'Barrel Porch', 'Barrel Storage Warehouse', and 'Bottling Line' - the 'Barrel Porch' was cool - that's where the 'high proof' distillate is put into the barrels for aging - we were able to get our fingers wet and taste this un-aged liquid which is completely clear like 'moonshine' - long term aging in the barrel provides the amber color of bourbon; the final two pics show some of the Beam bourbons, including several from the list below. Dave

• The Beam "Small Batch Bourbon Collection" consists of several bourbons where the Beam name appears on the labels and marketing materials but is less prominent.
  • Booker's: aged 7 years, 120–129.2 proof (60–64.60% ABV)
  • Baker's: aged 7 years, 107 proof (53.5% ABV)
  • Basil Hayden's: aged 6 and 8 years, 80 proof (40% ABV); uses the Old Grand-Dad "high-rye" mash bill.
  • Knob Creek: aged 9 years, 100 proof (50% ABV), with a 9-year, 120-proof (60% ABV) single-barrel expression, and a 100 proof (50% ABV) rye whiskey.

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Serafini Restaurant - Downtown Frankfort

My final post for Frankfort - despite being the capital of Kentucky, the town is small and the restaurant offerings limited - the first night, we ate at Jim's Seafood located on the Kentucky River - actually we started by sharing a dozen oysters on the half shell from the Gulf of Mexico which were quite good. However, the best restaurant there seems to be Serafini in downtown (w/i walking distance of all attractions there as discussed in a previous post) - on our full day, we had lunch there and also dinner on our return from Bardstown and the Jim Beam Distillery.

For our dessert that evening @ Serafini, Susan had the tiramisu which was quite light and delicious; I decided to have a special Pappy Van Winkle bourbon neat in a brandy sniffer - this is a legendary, rare, and expensive bourbon (the latter VERY dependent on the aging times) - quoted below (from the link) a description indicating that the Pappy bourbons are now being made at Buffalo Trace Distillery - note that 'wheat' replaces 'rye' in the mash bill.

This restaurant offers dozens of different bourbons (see pics below & check link - the shown list is incomplete in my screen captures) from inexpensive to OUCH! Also, 'bourbon flights' can be purchased where a number of different bourbons are offered 'in a row' and in smaller amounts, a nice option to taste a variety of products - notice the 'Pappy Flight' of 4 bourbons - a whopping $125! The other images show some of the various Pappy Van Winkle bourbons - not sure which one I had but the cost for 1 1/2 oz was $35 - my first taste of this brand. Dave


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Bourbon in Kentucky is held in the same regard as Scotch in Scotland. A bar I visited in Edinburgh had over 300 kinds of Scotch available.

 

[giradman]

I've been to several state and city historical museums. The city museum in Denver is excellent and not to be missed.

We've also been to the Denver museums and a few others out in western USA - agree a MUST visit!

Bourbon in Kentucky is held in the same regard as Scotch in Scotland. A bar I visited in Edinburgh had over 300 kinds of Scotch available.

Years ago when our son was a mid-teen, we took him to Europe twice (France & England/Scotland) - in Scotland we stayed in Edinburgh & Inverness near Loch Ness (on our boat tour on the lake, we did not spot Nessie - ) - but in our bar hotel, a LOT of 'single malts' were offered so I probably sipped on a half dozen over several days, one of my first introductions to scotch whisky - this would have been probably mid-late 1980s. Dave

 

[J. A.]

The nickname for the creature that's supposed to live in Loch Ness is Nessie.

Although I didn't post in your threads until now, I hope you know that I'm reading your travel stories. It's most interesting for me when you tell about your country's history. Though I know a few facts about it, my knowledge is limited. So I'm learning something new every time I read one of your posts. Thank you!

 

[The OB]

The nickname for the creature that's supposed to live in Loch Ness is Nessie.

.....

Possibly Dave may have been thinking along the lines of..... When asked by a local "Did you see Nessie", he was thinking "Not on your Nellie"...
Andrew

 

[J. A.]

..... "Not on your Nellie"...
Andrew

I'm afraid you'll have to explain this to me.

 

[The OB]

I'm afraid you'll have to explain this to me.

It means "Nah!"
Here's an explanation:
not on your Nelly

Australian Slang
absolutely not!

London Slang
an old saying meaning 'not on you life' or 'no way !'. It derives from the Rhyming Slang 'Nelly Duff' an invented name meaning 'puff' or 'breath (of life)'.
Andrew

 

[J. A.]

It means "Nah!"
Here's an explanation:
not on your Nelly

Australian Slang
absolutely not!

London Slang
an old saying meaning 'not on you life' or 'no way !'. It derives from the Rhyming Slang 'Nelly Duff' an invented name meaning 'puff' or 'breath (of life)'.
Andrew

Thank you!

I couldn't help reading the other links in your post. (See also:...)
"Vampire's tea bag" made me laugh.

 

[giradman]

Thanks Johanna & Andrew - I have no idea why I typed in 'Nellie' knowing that 'Nessie' was the correct nickname - can only plead that it was late and I did not do my usual proofing - correction made to the post w/ your help. Dave


P.S. Hey - maybe I was thinking about the old song Wait Till the Sun Shines Nellie? We took that boat tour on Loch Ness in the morning, and as I recall, the fog over the water was so dense that we could not see much at all - hoping for some sunshine, I guess - Below, Mary Martin & Bing Crosby from the film Birth of the Blues (1941) - Dave