Helllllllllooooooooo Otterites!
Been a miniute since we’ve posted. Feels like I start out a lot of posts that way. Oh well, it’s the price we pay for being world famous bloggers and podcasters.
As Martin noted in his last post, we went to the KY Bourbon Festival in the Holy Land of Kentucky: Bardstown and stayed with Cajun for the weekend along with his uncle T.L. (We hide the names of innocent bystanders. Well, bystanders anyway.) Alas, Br. Andre could not join us this time, and Francis and Martin could not stay for Sunday’s festivities. For that matter, neither could I. Came down with a stomach bug and had to leave early. Kept me out of work the next day too.
But! What a weekend! TL regaled us with his own stories, including a snippet of two of his time in Viet Nam. Thank you for your service, sir! We made an even bigger impression on him it seems. He had a great time, for which I am grateful. He and Cajun do a lot of Bourbon tours around the state and are quite close, but the six of us got along famously all weekend.
If you get the chance to go to this event, don’t hesitate. Fifty to 60 distilleries showed up, each with probably three to six different expressions (or more) to try. There had to be at least 300 different kinds of bourbon (rye and other spirits too) on hand to try out.
One of the highlights for us, was the interview I did with Joyce Nethery, the Master Distiller and owner (with her daughter Autumn) of Jephtha Creed. If you haven’t had a chance to try any of their bourbons, you’re missing out. My personal favorite is the Red, White and Blue with the new Six Year Wheated Bourbon coming in a close second.
Joyce and Autumn have created their brand from the ground up. Literally. They grow everything that goes into the bottles right there on their farm. What they can’t produce themselves, they source locally if at all possible. Family farm. Family owned. KY proud. We love it when businesses recognize their roots and community like this. Would that all businesses, not just distilleries, acted like this.
Anyway, check them out. You won’t regret trying anything they have in our humble opinion.
Cajun picked up 25 or so different bottles of bourbon or rye whiskey to add to his massive collection. Well, massive to the rest of us anyway. He’s got to be up to around 100 bottles or close to it now. Francis and I sitting around 40 bottles each, with the rest of the crew much farther behind. Not that it’s a competition. It’s not. Really.
We’ll probably have some more posts and pics coming from the Festival soon. Look for the interview with Joyce on the podcast of course and don’t forget to leave us a review wherever you listen.
