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It’s not very often that anyone from Virginia, especially my friends, come to Kentucky to visit. I think the last visit was from Paul in…well, a long time ago…2006 I think. I’ve been trying to convince my old friend Brandon to come visit for quite some time now. He kept saying he would, but nothing ever transpired. Finally, after about 2 months of discussion, he called for directions. Amanda still doubted that he would actually come–but he did. I tried to show Brandon a good time, although I am unsure if I succeeded. Hopefully he wasn’t too bored.

First I showed him around town and then we all went out to dinner at Texas Roadhouse–who has an excellent NY Strip, mind you. Although the brewskies were less than palatable (but hey, at least we didn’t have to pay for them). After dinner, we headed underground to Redmon’s for some live music and a few drinks. Unfortunately, we arrived long before anyone else. But hey, at least we got to skip the cover charge. After Redmon’s, we headed over to Saddle Ridge Saloon.

Saturday, once we rose from bed around noon, we headed over to Woodford Reserve distillery. There are about 7 distilleries here in Central Kentucky, all within about an hour drive of our house. I have always wanted to visit one, so I made sure to include a visit in the weekend’s agenda. I had planned to also visit the Wild Turkey Distillery, but slept in a little too late to hit them both. After our Woodford Reserve tour, and a taste of delicious Kentucky Bourbon, we headed back to Lexington to eat at the best [reasonably priced] restaurant in Lexington: A. P. Suggins Bar & Grill. Were I also had a delicious NY Strip. Actually, it was even better than the Roadhouse. If you live in or near Lexington and haven’t been to Suggin’s, you are missing out. You definitely need to check it out. Call me up–I’ll meet you there and buy your dinner! After our delicious meal, we headed back to the house to plan our last night.

We headed over to Comedy Off Broadway (I’ve found that the openers tend to be funnier than the main act), where Auggie Smith and Dax Jordan provided more than a handful of laughs. Nothing beats a little stand-up comedy, followed by some drinks and pool at Marrika’s. I don’t think there’s anything I would rather do than hear some good stand up and shoot some pool. Since Marrika’s has a HUGE selection of bottled and draft beer, I decided to try a few new tastes. Then I feel in love with Carlsberg, which is brewed in Copenhagen, Denmark. I don’t know what it was exactly about this beer, but its taste was superior to all others. Although Amanda disagreed. But who cares what she thinks, I LOVED IT! After Marikka’s we headed home and just hung out for a bit and reminisced about old times.

Here are a few pictures for your viewing pleasure. Be sure to check out Amanda’s blog about our Six Flags trip. [sorry about all the hyperlinks, I got carried away]

Dinner at Texas Roadhouse

Brandon Chillin’ at Redmon’s (Notice all the people? Give it an hour though, and you won’t be able to move!)

Um, you better watch it, Big Guy….there are plenty of ladies out tonight.

Outside Redmon’s

Just the three of us

Woodford Reserve Visitor’s Center

Outside of the Distillery

What’s left of the day’s bourbon
(The barrels are pushed out of the distillery, then a mechanical arm knocks the barrels and rolls them to where they are now. Then, one of the workers will shove the barrel and roll it 500 yards down the steel track to be housed…Sorry, I thought that was pretty neat)

Entrance to the distillery…Exciting huh?

A look inside the sour mash cooker

5,000 Gallons of Sour Mash fermenting…Looks yummy, huh? Yeah, it smells even better

A look inside the empty fermenter

Copper Stills imported from Scotland. These are the only copper stills in use in the United States.

(Sorry for the blur)

A closer look at the still in operation. (These were originally used in Scotland to make Scotch. Did you know that you can only make Scotch in Scotland? And bourbon can only be made in the U.S.? Interesting fact that I didn’t know.)

Look at all that bourbon! (One of those barrels could be yours…for a nominal price of $8,000)

Finished product…straight from the barrel.

Very small bottling facility

Ready for the Liquor Store shelves!

Time for a taste!

Or two…

Me and my beautiful Wife, Amanda

Time for some pool at Marikka’s

Thanks for checking out the pics. Be sure to leave a comment!