Hello Otterites.
It’s Thirsty Thursday and I would say that is a good day for me to put some words on this blog. The second thing is if I can actually accomplish the task being that I am the luddite of this little band brothers. Technology is one of them slippery things for me and I guess things just ran ahead of me compared to the others.
If you’re an avid listener to the show, (and we all thank you for it) then you know when my Uncle comes to town, we hit the distillery tours and tastings that are available. Sometimes it’s just dang hard getting into them. Some of the big favorites are book way out like the Buffalo Trace distillery in Frankfort KY, but usually there is always tastings and the smaller to mid-size locations that a person can get into.
Last week we did the Evan Williams Bourbon Experience located in downtown Louisville. The Tour was excellent and only about an hour long filled with a lot of local history. Evan Williams was the first licensed distiller in KY even though others started making and selling their product earlier such as Elijah Craig who legend attributes him to be the first to use charred oak barrels in the aging of his bourbon. Even Williams was also the first Harbor Master for the city of Louisville where he collected fees from the flatboats that had to unload and cart their inventory around the falls so the boat could shoot the rapids empty during the spring high waters on the way down to the port of New Orleans.
I picked up a couple bottles of the 12 year old “Red Label” Evan Williams while I was there at the end of the tour. What “Red Label” 12 year old I can hear you asking, because you have never seen one before in the “Wild” or at your favorite store. Yes, one does exist and I had previously seen it on the secondary market one time so I knew about it, but I had never found it to buy. Well, my friend here is the secret to purchasing this rare unicorn. You have to go on the Evan Williams Bourbon Experience tour. In fact, it is in their tasting line up at the end of the tour. You have to ask for it in the gift shop before you leave. It is not even on display, and it is a limit of 1 per a person at about $150 a bottle. So now when you are trying to decide whet tour to book this could be a deciding factor if you are an Evan Williams aficionado like me.
Today’s agenda will be an Elijha Craig with some history but not a large distillery tour. Time is in short supply as Francis and me are heading to the Louisville Public Library this evening. It’s a book signing, by one of our favorite authors! Really looking forward to hearing Craig Johnson, the creator of the Longmire series. I believe this will be his 19th book in the series. Some of you I am sure watched the television show that was based on his series of books.

It’s the summer of 1964, and recent college graduates Walt Longmire and Henry Standing Bear read the writing on the wall and enlist to serve in the Vietnam War. As they catch a few final waves in California before reporting for duty, a sudden storm assaults the shores and capsizes a nearby cargo boat. Walt and Henry jump to action, but it’s soon revealed by the police who greet them ashore that the sunken boat carried valuable contraband from underground sources.

The boys, in their early twenties and in the peak of their physical prowess from playing college football for the last four years, head out on Route 66. The question, of course, is how far they will get before the consequences of their actions catch up to them — the answer being, not very.

Back in the present day, Walt is forced to speak before a Judge following the fatal events of The Longmire Defense. With powerful enemies lurking behind the scenes, the sheriff of Absaroka County must consider his options if he wishes to finish the fight he started.

Going back and forth between 1964 and the present day, Craig Johnson brings us a propulsive dual timeline as Walt Longmire stands between the crossfire of good and evil, law and anarchy, and compassion and cruelty at two pivotal stages in his life.

‘First Frost’ will be released on May 28, 2024 and will be available at your favorite bookstore or order a personalized copy from the Bucking Buffalo Supply Co.

https://www.craigallenjohnson.com/first-frost.htm

See you fellow Otterites on the Rranch