Jim Beam in the Morning

Hurricane Sandy and 12 inches of snow  have a way of changing one’s plans.

My friend, Janice, met me in Lexington, KY, for a week of traveling together.  But instead of heading east, we turned west through the rolling hills of Kentucky. They really do roll, by the way, but even squinting, I couldn’t quite make the bluegrass look blue.

We visited the Sisters of Loreto Motherhouse, the boyhood home of Abe Lincoln, a lovely equestrian center and, yesterday morning, the Jim Beam Bourbon distillery.

Did you know that:
* 95% of the bourbon in the U.S. is made in Kentucky?
* If it’s not made in the U.S., it’s not bourbon?
* If it’s not put into a new cast, it’s not bourbon?
* There are more bottles of bourbon in Kentucky than there are people?

Maybe you did, but I didn’t.  I don’t drink bourbon, but I just found the whole process fascinating.  And visually alluring…

So it was Jim Beam in the morning, and Churchill Downs in the afternoon. A good day.