Friday, August 17, 2007

The Butterfly House, Whitehouse, Ohio












Carrie has had an excessively tough week at work, and so we wanted to do something really relaxing for her on Friday afternoon, so she could just mellow out and feel better about things. Well after a bit of perusal and upon consulting her parents, we decided to go to the Butterfly House, in Whitehouse, OH. After being a little reserved about the idea, at first, more willing because she would be happy than about the Butterflies themselves, I have to say the place was pretty cool. I took a bunch of pictures that seem to come out okay on my cellphone. The bugs were cool, dude. I am not gonna lie though, I liked the MOTH in the first picture best.


TomC

L&G Sour Mash Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey


Here is review of a singular tasting experience I got to try during the Labrot & Graham Tour during the 2002 Kentucky Bourbon Festival.

Preface: At the very end of our tasting at Labrot & Graham, when some of the people were already leaving to see the bottling line and so forth, we were given the oppurtunity to taste some of the bourbon produced before the restoration of what is now the "new" L&G facility. Bourbon that was made when L&G had a continuous still. I know nothing of the history behind what we tried and was hoping people would fill it in for me afterward as I am quite curious. The bottle was a little spoiled and tasted like cork, but I think I was able to get a decent feeling for it outdside of that fact. Anyway, here it is:


Name: L&G Distillery Established 1838 Sour Mash Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey (Bottled In Bond)

Price: Not Available Any More as Far as I Know. Try Hitting up the folks at L&G for a bottle .

Bottle: (I will post a great picture of it that Koji took for me as soon as I get my vacation film developed, should be this Weds. . . ).

Color: A Nice Golden Orange.

Nose: Orange, Tobacco, & Tea Leaves.

Taste: Oaky, with Citrus notes and Rye And Fennell Spiciness

Mouthfeel: Nice and Oily and coating, Medium in the mouth, with hints of vanilla.

Finish: Medium-Long, Oaky & Spicy

Conclusions:
I figure I posted this more for posterity's sake than anything, because it is doubtful that I will ever taste this stuff again. It was good, and different than most of the bottled in Bond stuff I have tried form the modern day. I wonder if this was the "old-time bourbon taste" that Ken Weber (@ our other tour) was saying so many Older bourbon drinkers say is missing these days. . . . . Most of all I was glad to be a part of itt all and would like to thank everyone involved because without all your generousity I would NEVER even had the oppurtunity to taste and comment on something like this.


Bleeeeeeeeeeeee!

Tom (Tasting His Way Through History) C

The Bummer That Is American Politics


This is just a quick note updating my blog's editorial stance. You may have noticed over the the last few months that I have not talked about politics and religion as much as I did when I first started. Some of the more observant might have even noticed that I even took the politics and religions sections out of my blogroll (replaced with my ever growing list of baseball links). No, this is not because I dont have an opinion on those subjects anymore, quite the contrary. But there are two good reasons why this is the case (well three):

1) With the job search ongoing, I would rather keep my free time more light and fluffy, and focus on things I really enjoy, in and effort to fend off the occasional bouts of despondency thats comes with not being financially viable. Baseball, Cigars (this ostensibly is a CIGAR site, with some other fun stuff thrown in, after all), Whiskey, and Women are some of those thing, and thats why you see a lot of those subjects.

2) I am a baseball fanatic, and it consumes a lot f my free time when the Red Sox (especially), are in season. Anybody who knows me quite well would just sigh, and understand this. On top of the usual dementia, I have this year discovered the joy that is Nippon Professional Baseball, and now hace TWO teams to root for (the Hanshin Tigers, along with those fabulous Red Sox). I feel bad for anybody who has to put up with my baseball rantings, including my loyal readers. Does this mean I will stop? HELL NO!

3) I started talking about presidential politics too soon, and got burned out. I am sure I will be dragged back into it as Ohio's primary draws close, but I just cannot get the energy up right now to care. It doesn't help that they really aren't arguing the issues. I watched a debate on CNN recently of the Democrat Candidates, and all they do is bitch at each other. Right now my opinion is this: John Edwards looks like a decent candidate and Barack Obama looks like he could be something special, but neither are yet. I'll get back to you in a few months. . . .

(As for religion, I have my faith and my beliefs, but I dont feel like pressing them on you. this seems to be a problem many people have these days, not being able to keep to themselves. If I find something interesting about Catholicism I feel is interesting enough to share, I will. Also maybe we can get back to Moral/Philosophical debates, which are different than religion to me. That said, like politics, I am tired of arguing the same old worn out topics, and so until i can find something new, I doubt I will be osting much about them either).

I hope this clears a few things up,

TomC