An epiphany

[gr8erdane]

A clarity of thought if you will.

Since returning from Bardstown I had been missing something. Other than great companionship of course. But there was something I just couldn't put my finger on for a couple of days until it hit me, the SMELL of Bardstown and it's distilleries. Somehow St Charles air, as foul as it might be seemed stale. I had attributed the smell to the bourbon sleeping in the barrels and the angel's share slowly being redistributed around the countryside, permeating all it's surroundings and what a wonderful smell that is.

But yesterday came the epiphany.

I was FINALLY working on the trim to my bar, and had bought some furniture grade white oak to do the job. After measuring the first piece I took the board into the garage and clamped it into my mitre box and from the first few strokes of the saw, I knew what I was missing. The OAK. That non-finished raw oak smell from the barrels. There it was again. And it occurred to me just how many square feet of raw oak was laying in the rickhouses in Bardstown exposed to the winds and concentrated in those rickhouses to be swept along with the slightest breeze. Sure the bourbon added to it but the OAK is the dominant scent. And what a lovely scent it is. It smells like wonderful memories.

[Edward_call_me_Ed]

nice epiphany Dane

[bluesbassdad]

Dane,

It smells like wonderful memories.

I suppose only a warped mind such as mine would recall Robert Duvall's line from "Apocalypse Now" upon reading your post.

I guess in your case the background music might be Bill Monroe rather than Wagner.

You probably realize that I'm just jealous. The closest I've come to having the experience you describe has come from viewing Chuck's video, "Made and Bottled in Kentucky".

Although a trip to Kentucky may or may not lie in my future, I am contemplating leaving the dogs in my wife's exclusive care at least long enough to make a Father's Day trip to L.A. If she succeeds in keeping the pit bull peaceful and happy in my absence, perhaps I'll try a longer venture later on.

Yours truly,

Dave Morefield

[Barrel_Proof]

Since returning from Bardstown I had been missing something. Other than great companionship of course. But there was something I just couldn't put my finger on for a couple of days until it hit me, the SMELL of Bardstown and it's distilleries. ... I had attributed the smell to the bourbon sleeping in the barrels and the angel's share slowly being redistributed around the countryside, permeating all it's surroundings and what a wonderful smell that is.

But yesterday came the epiphany .... The OAK. That non-finished raw oak smell from the barrels. There it was again. ... And what a lovely scent it is. It smells like wonderful memories.

Reading this thoughtful, reflective post from Dane, I was taken back to one of Bobby's from February 1st, 2002. Bobby's "Afternoon in Paris" post, then, and Dane's "epiphany" just now, are, in my humble view, exemplars of those moments of simple joy so frequently shared among the community of friends on this board.

Many thanks to you both.

[jeff]

Reminds me of an epiphany of my own.

I know what you mean. Nothing ever seems as nice as it does in Bardstown. I could have every bourbon on that table for my very own, and it wouldn't be the same. Though, B-Town is only part of it. You have to have the right company to make it really special.

[cowdery]

The first visit I ever made to Bardstown, almost 30 years ago, happened to be on a day when Barton was mashing and that yeasty smell was everywhere in town. I asked a local if it bothered him and he said, "nah, it's the smell of prosperity."

[Gillman]

During Sampler just past, I had spent the Friday, and a most interesting one, with Mike Veach and, later, Julian and Preston in Louisville. When I got back to B-town just after 6:00 p.m., the Gazebo gang had already left for dinner at a restaurant whose name I didn't know, so I couldn't catch up with them. I walked (in heavy rain) to Talbott's to see if I knew anyone there, I didn't but entered anyway and had a bourbon at the bar. One of the patrons said he had moved to B-town in recent months. He knew the town was a bourbon center but didn't have much interest in the drink as such. He said some mornings when he went to work there was an smokey odor in the air that he found reminiscent of bacon or some kinds of ham, he said that was the only way he could describe it. I think it was the smell of spicy smoked wood (from bourbon aging in charred barrels) that he was noticing, from the nearby whiskey warehouses. Certainly there is a special atmosphere in B-town, in this and other respects, and all bourbons taste better in B-town and Kentucky in general.

Gary

[OneCubeOnly]

Awesome thoughts, Dane!

And I'll echo the other posts after his: bourbon just plain does not taste as good anywhere else as it does with good friends at the Gazebo. Period.