Lost, Red’s & Maker’s Mark what a combination!

Travels this week took my client and I back to Kentucky. I am starting to think this would be a great place to live (I almost live there now).

When you think of Kentucky two things pop into your mind – horses and bourbon whisky. This trip we went right by Marker Mark Distillery in Loretto. Of course we had to stop and see where the best Kentucky whisky is made.

When the T.W. Samuels family of distilling sold their distillery and their trademarks in the 1950s, Bill Samuels Sr. searched for a small distillery to purchase and continue the trade on a smaller scale, emphasizing quality over volume of production. He chose an older distillery in Loretto, Kentucky that had not been operational for several years but was the right size for his proposed operation.

T.W. (Bill) Samuels Sr. decided to come up with a new recipe for his bourbon in order to make it smoother, but since the aging process for bourbon takes years, could not take the time involved actually to distill and age many batches of bourbon of varying ingredients. His unique solution to this problem was to bake loaves of bread containing the exact proportion of the grain contents of each proposed recipe. The one judged to be the best-tasting was adopted for his new Bourbon. The one selected contained no rye whatsoever, which was replaced by more barley and red winter wheat. Accordingly, in 1953, Bill Samuels Sr., a sixth generation Kentucky distiller, burned his family's 170-year-old bourbon recipe. The first bottle of Maker's Mark was bottled in 1958 and featured the dipped red wax seal. Maker's Mark holds a U.S. trademark (serial number 73526578) on the wax seal of their bottles. What makes Maker's Mark unique is the "tendrils", or drip marks, on their seal.

The Loretto, Kentucky distillery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 31, 1974, and designated a National Historic Landmark on December 16, 1980, listed as "Burks' Distillery". It was the first distillery in America to be so recognized where landmark buildings were actively used for distilling. Today, Maker's Mark is owned by Deerfield, Illinois-based Fortune Brands, which acquired it from distillery giant UK-based Allied Domecq in 2005 in a joint bid with French rival Pernod Ricard. Maker's Mark has a cult status amongst some bourbon whiskey enthusiasts. For years it was marketed with the tag line, "It tastes expensive ... and is."

Fort Williams Kentucky

During the Civil War, Glasgow’s railway and depot made it an important communication and supply post for Union troops in south central Kentucky. Glasgow’s strategic importance was due to its location at the crossroads of several north-south and east-west roads and by June 1863 a branch of the L&N Railroad.

In the spring of 1863, Fort Williams was constructed as a “figure 8” shaped redoubt, an enclosed fort, built to withstand attacks from all sides. The fort was armed with 24-pounder and 6-pounder cannons. The fort had several names, but was officially named Fort Williams in November of 1863 in honor of Union Gen. Thomas Williams who was killed in battle.

On Christmas Eve in 1862, Confederate John Hunt Morgan took control of Glasgow for three days, just long enough to destroy Union rail and communication lines. During the battle that occurred, carbine, rifle and pistol fire erupted creating deadly Christmas Eve fireworks. Hard, intense fighting that eventually turned in the favor of the Confederates took place and the Union cavalry was forced out of town, leaving the Barren County seat in the hands of the Confederates. The Union forces retreated to Cave City, leaving two dead and sixteen prisoners behind and taking seven prisoners with them. Morgan’s men lost three killed.
Fort Williams was built in 1863 to deter future attacks of this kind and to maintain Union Control over Southern Kentucky. However, it did not work as planned. On October 6, 1863, the 25th Tennessee Infantry, C.S.A., attacked Fort Williams with 120 men commanded by Col. John M. Hughes.

The fort, garrisoned by the 37th Kentucky Mounted Infantry, U.S.A. and commanded by Maj. Samuel Martin, numbered some 420 men. Fifty men were camped in the Court House square and 30 men were out on patrol. The men on the square were hit at dawn and then Col. Hughes attacked the fort. He reported, "We killed 9, wounded 26 and captured 226, together with quartermaster’s stores in the amount of $250,000.00. My loss was 1 killed and 4 wounded."

I am not a country girl.

Okay, so I grew up in the city and I don’t do so well with country directions. However I have never been lost. I knew exactly were we were. We just couldn’t get to where we wanted to go. Yes, well I was a little off on the address too. I only missed it by a few miles. We only had to back track about 30 miles to get to where my client wanted to be. Thank goodness he’s understanding.

This is where we started to have doubts.

This confirmed our suspicions that we were not on the right road.

Red’s

The best food this week was at Red’s Coach & Table Restaurant in Bowling Green Kentucky. The first time we ate there it was lunch time. Great home cooking (maybe a little better than home cooking).

The next morning we had breakfast there again. Both meals were great. The best hoe cakes and grits I have had in a long time.