Whiskey, and then some...

I had an email from Mark this afternoon. I read it, replied, and closed it. Then I opened it again. Then I closed it and went back to work. A while later, I opened it again. And then I realized that I needed to share this wonderul news with the rest of you. Here is what Mark sent to me;

"I probably shouldn't tell you this, but because of the peculiar limestone water in the area, almost all the bourbon distilleries in Kentucky are within a 25 mile radius of where we are staying.

Lori and Sean offered to rent a bus to take us on a "tour". We"ll have to explain to them the fine art of alcohol directed motorcycle navigation."

That one line keeps reaching out to me; "...almost all the bourbon distilleries in Kentucky are within a 25 mile radius of where we are staying". Brings a tear to my eye...

A tear of frikkin' joy!!

Making our Mark

Was chatting with King this past weekend and he mentioned that Maker’s Mark whiskey has a distillery that’s only 13 miles away from where we’ll be staying when we’re in Kentucky this summer. A distillery? Gee, that’s terrible. Looks like we’ll be doin’ some whiskey samplin’!!

Holy crap! The website says you can buy and dip your own bottle!!! Are you kidding me? We get to sink a bottle into one of the vats and fill it up on our own? They’d actually let us get that close to an open vat of whiskey!? Are they aware of the repercussions of such reckless endangerment!?!?!?

Oh…yes, I guess they are aware. Because upon further investigation, we would not be dipping a bottle into an open vat of whiskey. We’d be dipping an already-filled-and-capped bottle into a tiny pot of melted red wax, to attain our own signature wax seal. (Maybe not as exciting as dipping into a whiskey vat, but certainly wiser.) But all is not lost, for apparently they give samples of both; their famous whiskey, as well as what looks to be a near-moonshine-type of liquid they call; White Dog. Nice!

Let’s see what else the website offers us…hey check it out; we can be ambassadors! (I’m not sure who or what we’d be ambassadors to, but I signed up.) And get this; we can have our names put onto a barrell!! (Which I did, of course, and which I can ask to see when we visit this summer.) I even have the option of buying a bottle of the whiskey that comes from this, “my” own barrel…in 6 or 7 years when it’s ready. No problem; just means another road trip to plan for!

Not that we needed anything more to increase the excitement of a great summer road trip, but throwing something like this into the mix doesn’t hurt anything!

Dippin’ and sippin’, all while open-road trippin’!

'Vous Visions

It's Friday morning and I'm on the clock. However, I just kicked off a computer process so I've got a couple of minutes to post a quick entry. (Besides, I put in almost 13 hours this past Tuesday so The Man is certainly getting his time out of me.)

I got home last night to find a package waiting for me. It's from King! I wonder what it...wait, I bet I know what it is! It's about that time of year...that time of year when one last Christmas gift makes its way to Walpole for us Massholes...

It's our Rendezvous videos! Thanks King! And Baire! And whoever else helps out with this wonderful task! Videos! Videos of that most excellent time had by all, last June. Sweet!!

I didn't have a chance to pop it in and check it out last night but you can be sure that's on the list for this weekend. I sent out an email to the crew this morning to let them know the vids are in and to come on by and grab theirs.

Ahhh, fun memories of fun times with fun friends. And only 124 days until we get to do it all over again!

'VOUS!!

Ok, back to work...

Beer, Beer, Beer, Beer!

I'd had enough of the whole "on the wagon" thing. Hell, it'd been over a month! I'd been kicking around the idea of ending the madness for about a week now, and then at work yesterday, a couple of buds swung by to see if I was up for heading out for lunch. The plan was to check out a favorite haunt (read: "dive bar") in the area, so I said; "absolutely". And just like that, the deal was done; I was off the wagon! (Loud applause is heard in the background.)


And here it is, Saturday night, and what should be spotted while out food shopping just now? Why...a delectable looking bottle of wondrous refreshment!

Mmmmmmmmm...a nice double chocolate stout! I popped the cap off, being careful not to dent or deform it in any way (the bottle cap bar-top is about to be worked on, but that's a post for a different day).

Nice aroma, smooth taste. A lot drier than I was expecting, what with the promise of 'double chocolate' all over the label. Still, it was a good find (and didn't last long at all).

Mmmmmmm, BEER! :-D

Passing the Time

The salt and ice have returned with a vengeance, basically rendering riding impossible for the moment. So what does one do when one cannot ride? Why, one finds projects around the house to occupy one’s time with. And what better project to occupy one’s time with, than the ongoing basement project?

That’s right, it’s the return of the basement project (saga)! I’m happy to report that once again, things are moving along rather well, due in no small part to having some experienced folks working down there. Nothing like having motivated, knowledgeable people on hand to get things moving again. Lord knows where this project would be if it was left up to me to complete.

Here are a few quick snapshots of the ongoing progress…

The bathroom is coming along nicely, here are a couple of shots of what will be the shower (the wire hanging down from the ceiling is just an extension cord/bulb for the light being used, as there isn’t power in here yet).
Here’s the floor – it’s a kind of beach stone style. Not bumpy, but not entirely smooth, either. It’ll feel good on the feet after a long day on the road.
Here’s by the back door, and what will be a coat closet next to it. I decided it would be a good idea to slap some tiles down in this area to help ward off the mud and dirt being tracked in. (The plan for the rest of the floor will probably wind up being carpet – all the more reason to have a bit of a buffer zone, where shoes and boots can come off.)
Here’s the mini-platform over in the far corner where the pellet stove will wind up.
And look! A pellet stove, ready and waiting to be installed!
And here…Ahhhhh, here is the main event. The beginnings of a BAR!! Oh happy day – a bar in my basement! Will the marvels never cease!?!?
Some of you may recognize that slab of wood that comprises the top of the bar – that’s my old kitchen countertop. I made that out of red oak and it served me well for many years. When I upgraded my countertop to tile, I knew I couldn’t get rid of this beautiful piece of hardwood, and that one day it would find itself atop a bar. I’m happy to say that that day is at hand!

There are more pics to be taken, as more progress has happened this week. The tiling is just about done, the wainscoting is up, and most of the heavy equipment has been removed. The bar is very close - there's just the matter of my BOTTLE CAP BAR TOP!! to create, as well as cleanup and painting. The pellet stove needs to be installed, too, but that will require some finessing in its own right. I’ll get more pics taken this weekend and get ‘em posted up here hopefully next week.


Who knows, I might have to fall off the wagon and have a beer to celebrate!!! :-D