Your biggest disappointment?

[Barrel_Proof]

A BBQ at the gazebo next year would be great, but I think that using the econo box, fluorescent-lit, breakfast room at the Gen. Nelson is a big mistake.

First, it's a fluorescent-lit econo box. Second, management wants a mere kilo bill for one night's rental!

[pepcycle]

Cliff,

How about we supplement the Gazebo with a tent.

Ed

[pepcycle]

Jeff,

Scale of cost $ to $$$$$

Flappers and Dappers: $$$: Food was Buffet style and quite good. Maker's Mark the only available libation. Choice of Manhattans, Maker's Peach Tea or Mixers. Tubby and Donna Smith were great. They were very approachable and took time to talk with anyone interested. Bill Keightly (Mr. Basketball) was also very Kewl. The best part was the gambling to benefit the Tubby Smith Foundation. Band was great, if you like Big Band style music. This was the first year and I think they learned alot. Bill Samuel's absence was notable. Cardboard standups didn't cut it. I would go again at this price. I loved getting dressed up, but that's not a requirement to attend.

Culinary: $$

This was a highlight for me. They had all kinds of trouble with the sound system. The room is now too tiny for this event. They need more room. They served a weird bourbon, ginger, citrus cocktail (Foo Foo without umbrella)They ran out of the cocktail before the main course and you only get iced tea. I would have liked a different cocktail or wine as an alternative. The food was great, portions good sized and served quickly and hot/cold as needed. I went in shorts and felt sl. underdressed. It wasn't made clear what the dress code was. I would definitely go again.

Four Roses:$

This was probably the most highly attended by SB.com members. It was my first time, so I enjoyed the tour, presentation and breakfast. I didn't miss the superpremium pours because I didn't expect them. It would have been nice. This was the best distillery tour I've been on. Wayne, our tour guide answered every question from a worker perspective, not a tour guide perspective. Breakfast was good, not my usual weight watcher's affair. Having done it once, I wouldn't go to this one again.

Gala $$$$$$$$$$$

This was my second time at the gala. If you like dressing up and mingling in a formal atmosphere, this is great. The tasting, which takes the first hour or so is wonderful but this year many distillers did not have the good stuff out. I love getting glassware but figure it costs me about $10.00/glass. The band was better this year and the food was better. I hate the "wedding style" service. If you leave the table whatever you're eating or drinking disappears by the time you get back. I put my napkin over food to preserve it from overzealous waiters. This year I knew a lot more people so I didn't feel quite so "fish out of water". Its not worth it, if all you want to do is sample bourbon. The Sampler in May is ten times better as a value. You also get the glasses. As a final note, the distillers sponsored shuttles so I didn't have to drive. Round trip/no charge. Well worth the tip.

I will definitely continue to attend, but will leave earlier. It fizzles about 11:30 PM or so. Plenty of time to get back to the gazebo for a nightcap.

5K run: 0$: Jeff paid for me (Thanks Jeff)This is a great way to contribute to the United Way and flush your liver. Its a walk/run and not very competitive. You don't get numbers and they don't rank past 3rd. You never really know where you finish and they don't have age groups. This was my first official race in about 15 years, so I was proud just to finish. Leslie, Jeff and Cliff were troopers. There is tremendous room for improvement in the organization of this event and we should get together a team for next year, followed by breakfast. I will definitely do again.

[MurphyDawg]

My 3 little disappointments:

1) That there wasnt a single resteraunt open (it seemed) on Saturday afternoon in Bardstown. Ed, Patty Jessica, & I all walked down to Dagwoods at 4:00 only to find they closed and didnt open again till five, the odd part was that ever eating establishment we tried on the way back to the General Nelson was the same way. I understand the concept, but you would think they would stay open during the day during the festival, because we werent the only folks being tuened away.

2) The Wild Turkey Thing : which I must I would have been more disappointed with if we hadnt already been in Lawrenceburg.

3) Me putting myself into a position where I couldnt enjoy the BT tasting fully. But that was my own damn fault, not theirs in any way.

TomC

[Barrel_Proof]

A parasail with poles and stakes might work, too. We'd have to keep Ed away from the ropes, however!

[jeff]

I just remembered something. One of my biggest dissapointments was the missing bottle of Hirsch that I was just sure would make it to the Gazebo on Friday night. I mean come on guys, some of you lucky enough to be able to purchase this stuff for $40 should have stepped up to the plate Also noticably absent was the Stagg.

[angelshare]

For me it was our "tour" of the Wild Turkey distillery on Friday afternoon. I had been looking forward to this tour for a long time. Since WT only tours during the week, I had not yet had the chance to take it. Apparently everyone that works at WT was at the festival, leaving one semi-disgruntled lady as the sole tour guide. She told us that she wouldn't take another tour early because she hadn't had her lunch yet. The tour started by a very quick "explaination" of the bourbon making process using a small distillery mock-up model. If you didn't already know about bourbon-making prior to this, I don't know how you could have understood anything as she went so fast.

Next we were off on the "tour". The first major dissappointment was that once you crossed the street to the distillery, there were no pictures allowed. NO PICTURES ALLOWED Apparently they are over-reacting with safety measures put into place after their fire a few years back. Something ridiculous about a possible spark from a camera flash igniting bourbon fumes...insane.

Second dissappointment to me was that the distillery was closed for upgrades. We didn't get to see the still, the fermenters or anything. All we saw from the tour was the bottling line, which was filling WT101, and the lab, which was very non-impressive. Now back to the gift shoppe to encourage us to spend money

I was searching...hell, I can't even temember the topic now, when I found this thread. It made me sad because you deserved better, Jeff!

In January, 1997 we toured WT. Tina & I were the only people on the tour. The guide was apologetic because we didn't have any company (!!!). No problem, we said.

We enjoyed a wonderful PRIVATE tour, got two souvenir bungs soaked in WT, and we met Jimmy Russell. I almost fainted. We were outside, and the tour guide stopped suddenly and said, "Oh, there's Mr. Russell. Let me see if I can catch him." He came over to us, was extremely gracious, and even commented on the Rare Breed Society pin I was wearing just in case I ran into a fellow WT enthusiast.

The bottom line: one of my favorite distillery tours. It bummed me out that your experience was so negative.

Needless to say, I'm a die-hard WT afficianado probably in part as a result of that tour.

[jeff]

Dave,

Thanks for bringing up this old thread , it was fun to relive again. Thankfully the experience didn't sour my taste for WT bourbons. I share your enthusiasm wholeheartedly I just think they could prepare a little better for the festival. I don't think it is a stretch to expect higher attendance during festival time, but then again they are in Lawrenceburg, a little ways from Bardstown. It wasn't a total waste however, as I did come across a complete set of my favorite Rare Breed glasses and the little tea room we found for lunch made it a nice afternoon after all.

I do hope you and Tina find a way to make it in September!

[dhooch]

My wife and I went to the Wild Turkey distillery last year and were, also, disappointed. This is a shame since, in general, Wild Turkey bourbon is my favorite brand (although I do like Old Rip Van Winkle 15 yr/107 a lot!)

We were, also, rushed through... only us... no others on the tour. We couldn't take pictures, either. Everything was closed (nobody working), except for the gift shop. We didn't see Jimmy Russell at the distillery. I have spoken to him, in person, on two different occations, though. He is a very nice man and fun to talk with. It would have been wonderful if we ran into him at the distillery!

As I said, this was disappointing... but not enough for me to stop drinking Wild Turkey!

[angelshare]

Although we frequently wax nostalgic about our visits to KY before children arrived (our last kidless visit was May 1998) and envy those of you who live there or travel there frequently, reading your posts makes me feel fortunate that we made it to WT when we did. It sounds like the style, tone and content were so different then. Rushed we were not - I think our tour lasted about 90 minutes in all. I haven't looked at our old albums, but I'm SURE we took photos. I specifically remember taking two or three photos of a barrel being dumped.

I know this is a tremendously biased view, but I think a certain level of hospitality should be expected on a distillery tour. Sure, they're "free," but the distillery is "inviting" you by advertising them. If a consumer comes to the distillery, s/he is usually saying in effect "I like your product so much I really want to take 90 minutes of my time to learn more about it." To get the brush off after (implicitly) saying that is a bit of an insult.

I read the posts and see the pictures of Bettye Jo's tours and think, wow, WT could learn a thing or two from her! Admittedly, she sets the bar extremely high with her hospitality, and I'm not saying that every distillery could (or should) reach it. But one way to improve is to learn from the best in the field, right? At any rate, whatever the minimum hospitality level is, it sounds like WT as fallen below it.

Ironically, all of the true tours we have experienced - JD, MM, HH (regular version!), WT, L & G - have EXCEEDED our expectations dramatically! I don't count JB as a tour, and when we visited Dickel, some flooding had put the tour on hiatus. Even so, the person at Dickel was very courteous and apologetic and gave us a freebie from the gift shop. I think it was bottle of Dickel brand chewable vitamins (just kidding - I like Dickel a lot but have still found your vitamin flavor musings entertaining!).

So, in a nutshell, I think "no tour" is better than a bad one; ie, if you don't want me here, don't invite me.

[cowdery]

Speaking of tours and disappointment, I have to believe most people are disappointed when they go to Jim Beam. I was there last weekend because there was something I specifically wanted to photograph, but just walking around a stranger engaged me in conversation (no doubt because I appear to be such a genial chap) and in that brief encounter confided that he had expected to see the distillery. Beam offers quite a bit for tourists: a film, gift shop and various exhibits in the "American Outpost," a glimpse into a warehouse, an old time pot still, a cooperage exhibit and a tour of the "Jere Beam House" (which was really the Carl Beam house, but that's another story, the vanishing act Beam has pulled on everyone not directly descended from Jim Beam), but with the exception of the warehouse none of it is "real." I can see why Beam doesn't do tours--the distillery itself is unusually claustrophobic--but you would think they could do something to give people a glimpse of the real distillery.