May 15, 2025

The Bourbon Episode: Buffalo Trails, Wild Whiskey, Moonshine Memories and Family Traditions

The Bourbon Episode:  Buffalo Trails, Wild Whiskey, Moonshine Memories and Family Traditions

Aged to Perfection: The Bourbon Episode of Family Tree, Food & Stories!

Ever wondered how bourbon became such a staple in old-fashioned American family gatherings and even recipes? In this episode of Family Tree, Food & Stories , co-hosts Nancy May and Sylvia Lovely take you on a journey through the rich history and personal family stories of bourbon.

Here they'll take you on a journey of some very interesting "spirited" origins of iconic distilleries like Buffalo Trace, delve into the differences between bourbon and whiskey, and share some personal tales—like that time someone tried to smuggle homemade moonshine through airport security!

And of course, Nancy and Sylvia can't talk about bourbon without mentioning Pappy Van Winkle's Family Reserve . This ultra-rare bourbon, aged for up to 23 years, has become a collector's dream, with one bottle that's even been sold for $125,000 at auction. Its scarcity and unique flavor profile have secured its status as the ultimate example of good-old American bourbon craftsmanship. ​

There's a lot of mystique and mystery that comes in a glass of bourbon and stories from birth, weddings, death, and even beyond the grave!

So, pour yourself a glass and join Nancy and Sylvia as they tilt their glasses to the stories that make our family traditions - and bourbon - so special.

Key Takeaways:

  • The early stories of how bourbon came to be.
  • The "recipe."
  • Buffalo really did roam Kentucky, and the importance of this to bourbon and whiskey.
  • Stories about some of the most expensive bourbon on the market, and why it's so pricy.
  • Personal inside stories about bourbon, whisky, and even moonshine
  • How bourbon brings families together, and more.

🎧 Tune In and Share the Love and More in this Mother's Day episode :

Join us as we celebrate Mother's Day by honoring the traditions, recipes, and stories that connect us to our roots. Whether you're looking for ideas to start a new tradition or simply honoring mom with tried-and-true traditions, this episode is a tribute to mothers everywhere.

Remember, every mom, whether human or fur-baby caregiver, deserves a day filled with joy, good food, and endless stories.

Tune in now and make this Mother's Day unforgettable for you and your mom!

📣 What's Next?

Love food and a good story? Hit subscribe to Family Tree, Food & Stories for more unforgettable tales where laughter simmers, tradition stirs, and every meal comes with a side of real-life flavor.

👇 Share this episode with a friend who’s ever fought a box of noodles and lived to tell about it—and don’t forget to leave a review!

👇 Share Your Story With Nancy & Sylvia! : Leave us a voicemail or send us a DM on Facebook.

Additional Links ❤️


A bout Your Award-Winning Hosts: Nancy May and Sylvia Lovely are the powerhouse team behind Family Tree, Food & Stories , a member of The Food Stories Media Network , which celebrates the rich traditions and connections everyone has around food, friends, and family meals. Nancy, an award-winning business leader, author, and podcaster, and Sylvia, a visionary author, lawyer, and former CEO, combine their expertise to bring captivating stories rooted in history, heritage, and food. Together, they weave stories that blend history, tradition, and the love of food, where generations connect and share intriguing mealtime stories and kitchen foibles.

#kentuckybourbon #bourbon #whiskeyhistory #whisky #moonshine #BourbonCulture #BourbonTrail #familystories #dad'sbourbon #maker'smark #pappyvanwinklefamilybourbon #whiskeyvsbourbon @familytreefoodstories #craftbourbon #distilleries #kentuckydistilleries #bourbontrail #buffalotrace #bourbonrecipe #craftdrinks #spirits #familystories #familyhistory

Speaker:

Hey Sylvia, we're up for a rather thirsty show today, aren't we?

2

00:00:06,734 --> 00:00:08,914

Do you have your bottle ready?

3

00:00:09,074 --> 00:00:10,754

We're going to talk about.

4

00:00:12,634 --> 00:00:14,654

I love it.

5

00:00:14,654 --> 00:00:24,414

Hey, I thought though that we would be skin to begin a discussion of bourbon and spirits

and we'll talk a little bit about what that is by exploring the idea because our listeners

6

00:00:24,414 --> 00:00:27,134

might be wondering family tree food and stories.

7

00:00:27,134 --> 00:00:29,894

What does bourbon have to do with that?

8

00:00:29,894 --> 00:00:34,648

Well, we'll find out later in the show that bourbon actually is now.

9

00:00:34,648 --> 00:00:35,961

put on all kinds of food.

10

00:00:35,961 --> 00:00:41,812

It's one of the essential ingredients in lot of foods, particularly in central Kentucky,

which is the land of bourbon.

11

00:00:41,834 --> 00:00:43,707

But what is food, Nancy?

12

00:00:43,707 --> 00:00:46,121

What do we mean when we talk about food?

13

00:00:46,301 --> 00:00:49,623

Well, you I guess it depends whether it's liquid or solid.

14

00:00:49,623 --> 00:00:55,546

And you mentioned spirits and I said, may the spirit move me this morning as we're this

show.

15

00:00:55,686 --> 00:00:57,747

But I think there's a big question.

16

00:00:57,787 --> 00:01:00,789

and you you talk about family tree food and stories.

17

00:01:00,789 --> 00:01:10,174

Well, there's a lot of spirits, we'll call them, you know, alcoholic spirits that's always

seems to get into a family story somewhere, right?

18

00:01:10,174 --> 00:01:12,856

You've got your grandma's rum cake story.

19

00:01:12,856 --> 00:01:15,391

There's always a rum cake story somewhere.

20

00:01:15,391 --> 00:01:19,314

There's something's loaded in the, around the Christmas time.

21

00:01:19,314 --> 00:01:23,827

You've got the, God, I'm drawing a blank on it, brain cramp.

22

00:01:23,827 --> 00:01:27,269

Maybe I need some more of those spirits to keep me going, right?

23

00:01:27,269 --> 00:01:28,260

But the fruitcake, right?

24

00:01:28,260 --> 00:01:30,371

The fruitcake is always soaked in something.

25

00:01:30,371 --> 00:01:32,553

I've got my grandma's rhubarb wine.

26

00:01:32,553 --> 00:01:37,196

We also had, growing up, my folks' peach brandy.

27

00:01:37,697 --> 00:01:40,238

Peach brandy, like where you bury the peaches.

28

00:01:40,438 --> 00:01:43,980

I guess the question is whether you remember to dig up the peaches.

29

00:01:44,148 --> 00:01:45,498

Mm-hmm.

30

00:01:46,139 --> 00:01:47,259

Yeah.

31

00:01:47,479 --> 00:01:51,601

Yeah, so, and actually in foods, this is kind of interesting too.

32

00:01:51,601 --> 00:02:02,926

We should just say before we get into actually the spirits part of it, but they're really

great in marinades, like in beef and they break down the proteins and make the meat

33

00:02:02,926 --> 00:02:03,506

tender.

34

00:02:03,506 --> 00:02:05,506

So that's really cool.

35

00:02:05,527 --> 00:02:07,167

Is it marinade or marinate?

36

00:02:07,167 --> 00:02:08,008

Marinade.

37

00:02:08,008 --> 00:02:09,708

I said marinate.

38

00:02:11,929 --> 00:02:13,290

that's true.

39

00:02:13,345 --> 00:02:15,749

herbs, or herbs?

40

00:02:15,971 --> 00:02:16,692

Darling.

41

00:02:16,692 --> 00:02:20,074

I was showing my Eastern Kentucky roots at marinade.

42

00:02:23,497 --> 00:02:24,778

she can do anything she wants.

43

00:02:24,778 --> 00:02:26,018

That's right.

44

00:02:27,480 --> 00:02:37,667

Anyway, know, and my rum cake idea that came out in our book where we talked about that

where we tricked my grandmother who was a teetotaler into eating rum cake.

45

00:02:37,667 --> 00:02:41,224

So it was the best thing she'd ever eaten and she had no idea it had rum in it.

46

00:02:41,224 --> 00:02:42,030

grandma.

47

00:02:42,030 --> 00:02:43,750

There you go, grandma.

48

00:02:44,590 --> 00:02:48,610

But why don't we just dive right into bourbon and spirits?

49

00:02:48,970 --> 00:02:51,290

We're not talking about, yeah?

50

00:02:53,870 --> 00:02:56,410

Yeah, yeah, just imagine those.

51

00:02:56,410 --> 00:02:57,970

Have you ever been in a distillery?

52

00:02:57,970 --> 00:03:11,310

Those huge vats that contain all of the ingredients that make up bourbon, can either be,

in Kentucky's has to be 51 % corn, which makes bourbon sweeter.

53

00:03:11,406 --> 00:03:21,206

than most spirits, but then you can experiment with the other part of the ingredients, and

that's 51 % in Kentucky.

54

00:03:21,806 --> 00:03:22,399

Yeah.

55

00:03:22,399 --> 00:03:26,463

So you say bourbon is 51 % corn.

56

00:03:27,084 --> 00:03:28,986

What else would you make bourbon with?

57

00:03:28,986 --> 00:03:29,917

Wheat or rye?

58

00:03:29,917 --> 00:03:31,916

Or is that, that's whiskey instead, right?

59

00:03:31,916 --> 00:03:39,354

no you the other half can be all kinds of other things that go into the mash and It can be

rye can boot weight.

60

00:03:39,354 --> 00:03:51,663

I was reading something about wheat That that's one of the things I mean you mentioned

buffalo trace that some of the really fine bourbons have wheat in them and beyond Yeah

61

00:03:51,663 --> 00:03:56,337

that I'm not a bourbon aficionado, but I'm learning from the Kentucky girl herself.

62

00:03:56,337 --> 00:03:58,301

So you could have to fill me in on this one.

63

00:03:58,301 --> 00:03:59,331

it's crazy.

64

00:03:59,331 --> 00:04:03,914

It known you know, Kentucky was kind of the place where it could be happening.

65

00:04:03,914 --> 00:04:05,445

And I'd say that for two reasons.

66

00:04:05,445 --> 00:04:14,389

One, corn, or as corn state, fertile land and limestone water, which is also by the way,

good for horses.

67

00:04:14,850 --> 00:04:18,171

So think about it makes good strength and good.

68

00:04:18,512 --> 00:04:22,394

Well, you know, that's kind of interesting, because I'm not known for my strong bones.

69

00:04:22,446 --> 00:04:24,047

but I drink the water here.

70

00:04:24,047 --> 00:04:27,267

But here's the other part of the story, moonshiners.

71

00:04:27,267 --> 00:04:30,828

Now, I'm going to say it because this is my heritage.

72

00:04:30,828 --> 00:04:40,491

I came from the Irish and the Irish came over here and the potato famine and frankly,

Nancy, I think there were probably some outlaws in the bunch, right?

73

00:04:40,491 --> 00:04:47,393

So they went from the coast and they kept going over the mountain range, over the mountain

range and they arrive in Kentucky.

74

00:04:47,393 --> 00:04:48,673

And what did they do?

75

00:04:48,673 --> 00:04:51,074

They set up illegal stills.

76

00:04:51,294 --> 00:04:52,675

all over the place.

77

00:04:52,675 --> 00:04:57,907

And even to this day, moonshiners, and it got kind of a mystique about it.

78

00:04:57,907 --> 00:05:03,759

It was the revenuers versus the IRS versus the moonshiners.

79

00:05:03,759 --> 00:05:13,723

And then there's all kinds of elaborate stories, including one that I just love to hear,

one of my upstanding political citizens that I worked for at one time, just a dear guy.

80

00:05:13,783 --> 00:05:21,186

And he was like, my vantage, but he would talk about as a child in Northern Kentucky,

which is known as a den of sin anyway.

81

00:05:21,238 --> 00:05:26,922

They would have the gambling machines and the stills and all that kind of stuff going on.

82

00:05:26,922 --> 00:05:34,386

And they would just make it almost portable and push it to the back room when the feds

came along to kind of cut.

83

00:05:34,386 --> 00:05:35,467

So yeah, cops.

84

00:05:35,467 --> 00:05:37,218

And he grew up with that.

85

00:05:37,218 --> 00:05:42,891

It's like, you know, sort of people who are kind of illegal by choice.

86

00:05:42,891 --> 00:05:44,812

And that's how.

87

00:05:46,133 --> 00:05:47,860

Do you have a moonshine story?

88

00:05:47,860 --> 00:05:50,322

I do have a moonshine story.

89

00:05:50,322 --> 00:05:56,025

honestly, didn't really, I was a, I wouldn't say a teetotaller as a kid, but I didn't

really drink.

90

00:05:56,025 --> 00:06:00,599

mean, kids in high school drank where I grew up.

91

00:06:00,599 --> 00:06:04,337

I think most, you you'll smoke a cigarette behind the barn.

92

00:06:04,337 --> 00:06:07,413

I have a beer behind the barn, whatever that is behind the barn.

93

00:06:07,413 --> 00:06:10,365

won't go there, but I was in the barn with the horses.

94

00:06:10,365 --> 00:06:11,186

That was me.

95

00:06:11,186 --> 00:06:13,447

I could care less about anything else.

96

00:06:13,641 --> 00:06:18,843

But when I went to college, of course, I was thrown in that den of thieves.

97

00:06:22,926 --> 00:06:32,781

Well, no, I have to admit my first experience was helping a senior, woman take her trunk,

her steamer trunk up four flights of stairs.

98

00:06:32,781 --> 00:06:34,142

And she said, you're going to help me?

99

00:06:34,142 --> 00:06:35,433

And I said, yeah, got nothing else to do.

100

00:06:35,433 --> 00:06:36,153

Why not?

101

00:06:36,153 --> 00:06:43,517

So she offered to buy me a beer that evening at the local, well, it's the pub in the

basement of the main hall of the school.

102

00:06:43,517 --> 00:06:45,778

And I thought, can I do this?

103

00:06:45,778 --> 00:06:49,020

So after like a couple of sips of beer, thought I was drunk.

104

00:06:50,301 --> 00:06:54,224

But later on, all right, I could, I could drink a little bit more of the beer.

105

00:06:54,224 --> 00:06:59,686

The guys would do moonshine chasers with that were lit.

106

00:06:59,686 --> 00:07:02,088

So they had the fire on the top and they like lit.

107

00:07:02,088 --> 00:07:02,979

I never did that.

108

00:07:02,979 --> 00:07:06,551

I never did that, but I was like, okay, you guys can do that.

109

00:07:06,591 --> 00:07:08,692

And garbage pail parties.

110

00:07:08,692 --> 00:07:10,230

You want a garbage pail party is.

111

00:07:10,230 --> 00:07:14,566

I've heard of that, but tell me more so I can avoid it.

112

00:07:14,826 --> 00:07:19,537

whatever kind of garbage they can possibly, know, a mad dog 2020, if anybody remembers

that.

113

00:07:19,537 --> 00:07:21,047

my God, don't even go there.

114

00:07:21,047 --> 00:07:27,689

So I'm going to sound like a total non-teatotaller to this show, but I'm beginning to

wonder.

115

00:07:27,689 --> 00:07:31,350

Yeah, my coffee is, my coffee is a virgin coffee right now.

116

00:07:32,711 --> 00:07:40,013

And you throw all sorts of garbage, literally garbage you can put in the garbage can and

Kool-Aid and you name it.

117

00:07:40,013 --> 00:07:42,153

And it always tasted like Kool-Aid.

118

00:07:42,153 --> 00:07:43,595

So guess what?

119

00:07:43,595 --> 00:07:44,937

Garbage can parties.

120

00:07:44,937 --> 00:07:46,859

A lot of stuff went in there.

121

00:07:47,203 --> 00:07:50,365

And you can drink too much because it's like Kool-Aid, right?

122

00:07:50,365 --> 00:07:55,562

Well, yeah, yeah, was the next morning that I learned what a hangover was in college too.

123

00:07:55,562 --> 00:07:59,878

So I don't do that anymore.

124

00:08:00,460 --> 00:08:06,522

No, no, no, Hey, my moonshine story is moonshine is made all over the world, by the way.

125

00:08:06,622 --> 00:08:08,562

People make illegal liquor.

126

00:08:08,562 --> 00:08:11,263

Now, it can be very dangerous if you don't know what you're doing.

127

00:08:11,263 --> 00:08:18,005

But in Romania, I went I did a trip, a mission, not a mission trip, but like a business

trip to Romania.

128

00:08:18,005 --> 00:08:21,546

And I took a group with me and they treated us like royalty.

129

00:08:21,546 --> 00:08:22,658

And they would put

130

00:08:22,658 --> 00:08:24,660

their moonshine in Coke bottles.

131

00:08:24,660 --> 00:08:29,644

They would empty the Coke bottles and they had their moonshine in plastic Coke bottles.

132

00:08:29,644 --> 00:08:36,510

And when we were leaving, they insisted that we take some of their moonshine with us in

the Coke bottles.

133

00:08:36,510 --> 00:08:40,672

And we're like, well, you know, I don't we don't know.

134

00:08:40,973 --> 00:08:42,735

Well, here's what happened.

135

00:08:42,735 --> 00:08:46,838

We packed it away, you know, tightly packed it away in our luggage.

136

00:08:46,938 --> 00:08:51,724

And it gets to Cincinnati's airport, which is a big airport and

137

00:08:51,724 --> 00:08:59,918

We get our luggage off the thing, the whatever they call it, and we get the luggage off

and here come the dogs.

138

00:09:00,359 --> 00:09:08,963

Here come some authorities with dogs and we're just, there's about five of us, kind of

people that don't want our names in the newspaper for, you know, transporting illegal,

139

00:09:09,104 --> 00:09:10,905

yeah, smuggling in alcohol.

140

00:09:10,905 --> 00:09:20,270

And we were holding our breath as a beagle walked up to our luggage and begin, you know,

doing the sniff and then walked away.

141

00:09:20,305 --> 00:09:21,627

Yahoo!

142

00:09:23,575 --> 00:09:26,028

Obviously a dog with a bad sniffer.

143

00:09:26,028 --> 00:09:28,258

That's as close to illegal as I've gotten.

144

00:09:28,258 --> 00:09:29,609

So there you go.

145

00:09:29,609 --> 00:09:31,089

I'm pretty boring.

146

00:09:32,989 --> 00:09:36,270

You know, it really didn't and I didn't think it was that good.

147

00:09:36,270 --> 00:09:37,641

It was just real strong.

148

00:09:37,641 --> 00:09:41,962

I'm not a big, my husband is a bourbon aficionado.

149

00:09:41,962 --> 00:09:43,552

I'm really not.

150

00:09:43,552 --> 00:09:50,134

Now it's sweeter than a lot of bourbons, you know, that have been a lot of whiskeys and

things like that.

151

00:09:50,134 --> 00:09:57,718

because bourbon is whiskey, but not all whiskies are bourbon because bourbon, 95 % of it

made in Kentucky.

152

00:09:57,758 --> 00:10:04,402

And it has to have that ratio, a certain ratio of ingredients in order to be called

bourbon.

153

00:10:05,493 --> 00:10:13,929

Well, that's kind of interesting, but I always thought that in order to be called bourbon,

it had to be made in Kentucky, not anywhere else.

154

00:10:13,962 --> 00:10:14,482

Mm-hmm.

155

00:10:14,482 --> 00:10:20,802

Well, 95 % of it, I think, you know, I mean, who can like stop it is what I wonder.

156

00:10:21,582 --> 00:10:26,182

I don't know, does Kentucky, I don't know, you know, when you think about it, does

Kentucky have the right to stop it?

157

00:10:26,182 --> 00:10:34,262

Other than Kentucky bourbon and being 95 % has that mystique about it, has the story

behind it.

158

00:10:34,262 --> 00:10:40,551

As you were mentioning, the Buffalo Trace story, which is a phenomenal story and

159

00:10:40,551 --> 00:10:49,874

bit about Buffalo Trace because I just heard about this over the weekend when I was at

the, the 50 over 50 podcast awards, which way we're winners.

160

00:10:49,874 --> 00:10:50,484

Yay.

161

00:10:50,484 --> 00:10:58,237

I guess we'll have to have a bourbon, but, but I didn't know about it and was sitting in

the after party.

162

00:10:58,237 --> 00:11:02,448

They had the after party in this kind of interesting, great little place.

163

00:11:02,448 --> 00:11:05,999

And it's, had, was, well, they sold alcohol there.

164

00:11:05,999 --> 00:11:06,473

So.

165

00:11:06,473 --> 00:11:09,025

I'm looking at this bottle and thought that's kind of interesting.

166

00:11:09,025 --> 00:11:11,580

And I pick it up and said, it's from Kentucky.

167

00:11:11,580 --> 00:11:16,808

And there was a fellow there who said, yes, that's a very well-known particular brand of

bourbon.

168

00:11:16,808 --> 00:11:23,867

And he explained that it was, I guess there's a Buffalo trail that goes through, I don't

think of Buffalo's in Kentucky.

169

00:11:23,894 --> 00:11:25,336

yes, buffaloes.

170

00:11:25,336 --> 00:11:31,501

That's what the settlers first saw when they arrived, Daniel Boone, all the mystique

surrounding Daniel Boone.

171

00:11:31,501 --> 00:11:40,228

But what the buffalo trace was the Kentucky River runs through our state capital,

Frankfort, Kentucky, which is about 45 minutes from Lexington.

172

00:11:40,389 --> 00:11:48,175

And the trail is where the lowest point of the Kentucky River, which runs right through

Frankfort, it floods all the time.

173

00:11:48,236 --> 00:11:50,978

And the buffalo would go right through where the

174

00:11:51,064 --> 00:11:58,597

plant now is, the manufacturing facility, the storied buildings of Buffalo Trace.

175

00:11:58,597 --> 00:12:00,297

I can't wait to show it to you.

176

00:12:00,297 --> 00:12:03,218

mean, it's really quite a beautiful setting.

177

00:12:03,218 --> 00:12:07,960

And the history in the 1700s, and then it's changed hands several times.

178

00:12:07,960 --> 00:12:11,561

It was family oriented, as so many distilleries are.

179

00:12:11,561 --> 00:12:14,990

It's like a family thing to...

180

00:12:14,990 --> 00:12:21,075

guess it adds a new twist to the term, you've been buffaloed, right?

181

00:12:21,194 --> 00:12:22,074

Yeah.

182

00:12:22,495 --> 00:12:23,096

yeah.

183

00:12:23,096 --> 00:12:25,698

I mean, really, seriously.

184

00:12:25,698 --> 00:12:31,142

But out of that came probably the most famous bourbon of all the most expensive is

Pappy's.

185

00:12:31,262 --> 00:12:33,143

Pappy Van Winkle.

186

00:12:34,665 --> 00:12:41,121

well, just just to say it is and I don't want our listeners like to think all we're doing

is giving them a super history of bourbon.

187

00:12:41,121 --> 00:12:43,573

But let's give them a super history of bourbon.

188

00:12:43,573 --> 00:12:44,773

Pappy's.

189

00:12:44,774 --> 00:12:48,176

Pappy Van Winkle invented this bourbon.

190

00:12:48,176 --> 00:12:50,498

But what made it most famous?

191

00:12:50,706 --> 00:12:52,287

is it's old.

192

00:12:52,287 --> 00:12:57,591

And at one time, they would throw the bourbon away when it got to be a certain age.

193

00:12:58,252 --> 00:13:06,119

Then they found out people actually liked it and it became even smoother and in suing

years that it would be stored.

194

00:13:06,119 --> 00:13:18,529

now, now they there was this great video on the website that talks where they the

successors, the family, the Van Winkle's, but but think about the Van Winkle legend.

195

00:13:18,529 --> 00:13:20,415

I mean, for a person to be born,

196

00:13:20,415 --> 00:13:21,056

asleep.

197

00:13:21,056 --> 00:13:26,646

Winkle and Rip Van Winkle slept for 20 years after drinking a bottle of Hooch.

198

00:13:26,646 --> 00:13:28,830

I don't know what it was.

199

00:13:31,032 --> 00:13:33,333

Yeah, for 20 years, I don't know.

200

00:13:33,333 --> 00:13:37,566

But but it does have that sort of wonderful kind of feel to it.

201

00:13:37,566 --> 00:13:42,818

You know, if you can afford a $30,000 bottle of bourbon.

202

00:13:43,479 --> 00:13:48,501

Typically, typically, I mean, people line up in lotteries to get this stuff.

203

00:13:48,501 --> 00:13:51,721

I can think of other things to do with $30,000.

204

00:13:51,721 --> 00:13:55,381

I'm sorry, Pappies.

205

00:13:55,801 --> 00:13:56,621

Yeah.

206

00:13:56,920 --> 00:14:05,444

it, you know we went through prohibition and that was the 18th Amendment and it was passed

in 1919 and that was the big movement.

207

00:14:05,444 --> 00:14:12,346

There was a lot of stuff going on, the Temperance League, the Christian Ladies Society,

all of those things made that happen.

208

00:14:12,346 --> 00:14:21,600

But Buffalo Trace was able and allowed to manufacture medicinal bourbon.

209

00:14:22,837 --> 00:14:23,897

wait a second, wait a second.

210

00:14:23,897 --> 00:14:25,248

I'm going to stop you there.

211

00:14:25,248 --> 00:14:28,750

So COVID, not too long ago, right?

212

00:14:28,951 --> 00:14:33,934

And all the medicinal moonshine that was used to wash your hands and stuff.

213

00:14:33,934 --> 00:14:34,354

okay.

214

00:14:34,354 --> 00:14:37,677

So it was, it was really basically, it was alcohol.

215

00:14:37,677 --> 00:14:44,241

And yeah, it's, I wonder how many people drank that instead versus going to the store.

216

00:14:44,302 --> 00:14:47,102

Pretty clever, isn't it, to be able to manufacture.

217

00:14:47,102 --> 00:14:59,742

So they were one of the, I think there were four distilleries that were able to, like when

the amendment was repealed by the 21st Amendment in 1933, they were one of the few that

218

00:14:59,742 --> 00:15:00,462

survived.

219

00:15:00,462 --> 00:15:03,202

I think there were four distilleries after all of that.

220

00:15:03,202 --> 00:15:05,632

So anyway, just a brief, brief history.

221

00:15:05,632 --> 00:15:18,026

well, let's take a little break on that history because we're going to come back with a

lot more because, after all, there is family history to Moonshine and Bourbon.

222

00:15:18,787 --> 00:15:19,298

Hang tight.

223

00:15:19,298 --> 00:15:20,519

We'll be right back.

224

00:15:35,615 --> 00:15:44,738

So Sylvia, we've been talking a little bit, a lot about bourbon and well, I don't know how

much you drink, but well, we won't go there.

225

00:15:44,738 --> 00:15:45,662

I'm a wino.

226

00:15:45,662 --> 00:15:48,372

I will establish right here and now I'm a wino.

227

00:15:48,372 --> 00:15:49,345

I love my wine.

228

00:15:49,345 --> 00:15:51,528

Yeah.

229

00:15:51,528 --> 00:15:59,995

the note of wine, you know they actually mix wine and bourbon and then you've got a lot of

wine now that's being aged in bourbon barrels.

230

00:15:59,995 --> 00:16:01,557

So I like that.

231

00:16:01,557 --> 00:16:03,058

It's really good.

232

00:16:03,839 --> 00:16:04,799

Yes.

233

00:16:05,220 --> 00:16:06,872

And the more you drink, the more stories you have.

234

00:16:06,872 --> 00:16:08,846

So hence family tree food and stories.

235

00:16:08,846 --> 00:16:12,169

does loosen up the stories when you think about it.

236

00:16:12,169 --> 00:16:22,978

You know, you think about spirits and technically and scientifically what spirits are is

the vapor that rises in the distilling process and the fermentation process.

237

00:16:22,978 --> 00:16:27,722

But what I love, the better definition that I love is spirits is that

238

00:16:27,842 --> 00:16:32,988

Drinking that bourbon or that whiskey kind of unleashes your spirit.

239

00:16:32,989 --> 00:16:34,449

Think about it.

240

00:16:35,231 --> 00:16:40,337

You you get a little, you know, stories flow, right?

241

00:16:40,337 --> 00:16:42,800

Just like good liquor.

242

00:16:43,485 --> 00:16:52,267

Right, instead of saying, the spirits or let the stars be with you, let the stars be

aligned, we'll just let the bourbon be with you, right?

243

00:16:52,267 --> 00:16:53,077

I love that.

244

00:16:53,077 --> 00:16:55,200

Spirits, and it's named that for a purpose.

245

00:16:55,200 --> 00:16:59,453

And I prefer the magical part as opposed to the spirits.

246

00:16:59,453 --> 00:17:06,033

Well, there's a lot of magic, but in bourbon is really got a very interesting follow

around the world too.

247

00:17:06,033 --> 00:17:15,413

Now in Japan, there's like crazy, like, well, sorry if anybody who's Japanese and listen

to this, but I think some of the traditions and things that they do over Japan are a

248

00:17:15,413 --> 00:17:20,373

little wackadoo, but maybe that's for more state.

249

00:17:20,373 --> 00:17:26,442

Well, it depends on whether we're more state or not Americans, but they are crazy over

bourbon, right?

250

00:17:26,442 --> 00:17:30,708

I mean, it's quite an import of Kentucky bourbon.

251

00:17:30,708 --> 00:17:32,430

I mean, it's just amazing.

252

00:17:32,430 --> 00:17:34,913

And the most popular one, what do you think, Nancy?

253

00:17:34,913 --> 00:17:39,163

What's the most popular bourbon sold nearly everywhere bourbon is sold?

254

00:17:39,163 --> 00:17:45,468

Well, I'm going to say maker's mark because it's it's so obvious that you've got that

plastic was not even plastic.

255

00:17:45,468 --> 00:17:49,170

It's wax on the top and every dip is a little different.

256

00:17:49,170 --> 00:17:56,215

And, know, I've got a story on that one that people may not know, but it is the wife of

the original founder.

257

00:17:56,215 --> 00:17:59,338

Well, well, let's see if she's actually called the founder or not.

258

00:17:59,338 --> 00:18:01,289

Is it what's her name again?

259

00:18:02,670 --> 00:18:03,591

Sam yells.

260

00:18:03,591 --> 00:18:06,648

Well, I think it was I don't remember her first name.

261

00:18:06,648 --> 00:18:08,363

named Samuels among them.

262

00:18:08,363 --> 00:18:09,666

So, Ms.

263

00:18:09,666 --> 00:18:10,768

Samuels.

264

00:18:11,832 --> 00:18:13,930

Yeah, southern lady.

265

00:18:13,930 --> 00:18:15,070

Right, right.

266

00:18:15,070 --> 00:18:19,174

But anyway, she was the one who came up with the wax on the top.

267

00:18:19,174 --> 00:18:23,637

And in 1958, it was a marketing ploy to make them stand out.

268

00:18:23,637 --> 00:18:28,761

So my husband actually calls because I started my career in advertising at J.

269

00:18:28,761 --> 00:18:30,062

Walter Thompson.

270

00:18:30,363 --> 00:18:33,385

And so he refers to me as marketing slime.

271

00:18:34,185 --> 00:18:35,986

So Ms.

272

00:18:35,986 --> 00:18:38,287

Samuels was marketing slime.

273

00:18:39,568 --> 00:18:41,328

Well, we'll call her a slimeette.

274

00:18:41,328 --> 00:18:43,349

We'll call her a slimeette, right?

275

00:18:45,350 --> 00:18:50,992

But yeah, was to make it stand out and make it look more upscale than it might have

actually been at the time.

276

00:18:51,493 --> 00:18:57,956

so I guess Maker's Mark is an illusion of expense.

277

00:18:57,956 --> 00:18:59,736

And so they just put a price tag on everything.

278

00:18:59,736 --> 00:19:01,457

It's rather interesting, I think.

279

00:19:01,487 --> 00:19:05,068

Bernie is, my husband is a bourbon snob.

280

00:19:05,189 --> 00:19:11,793

So he goes places and he loves to interrogate the barkeepers about what kind of bourbons

do you have?

281

00:19:11,793 --> 00:19:19,117

And of course outside of Kentucky, not that many, but it's quite a fascinating industry.

282

00:19:19,117 --> 00:19:24,079

One of the things when you said advertising, the bottles are beautiful.

283

00:19:24,640 --> 00:19:27,302

They may not have the red top, but they're gorgeous.

284

00:19:27,302 --> 00:19:28,032

I mean, that's

285

00:19:28,032 --> 00:19:30,833

A lot goes into designing those bottles.

286

00:19:30,877 --> 00:19:31,798

It's marketing.

287

00:19:31,798 --> 00:19:39,647

really is truly not well, the craft of the product, obviously, but there's a lot more

going into the craft of the product as well.

288

00:19:39,647 --> 00:19:41,178

So what else is going on?

289

00:19:41,178 --> 00:19:49,280

Because bourbon goes back a long, long time and you've got a few more factoids like Jack

Daniels.

290

00:19:49,280 --> 00:19:54,983

yeah, Jack Daniels, Nathan Green, a slave, taught Jack Daniels how to make whiskey.

291

00:19:55,523 --> 00:19:57,904

And therefore he became the master distiller.

292

00:19:57,904 --> 00:20:00,346

That's a big deal profession, by the way.

293

00:20:00,346 --> 00:20:01,113

Lots of

294

00:20:01,113 --> 00:20:02,278

bourbon and whiskey?

295

00:20:02,278 --> 00:20:04,686

Because there is a distinction, correct?

296

00:20:04,867 --> 00:20:07,499

There is all whiskey or spirits.

297

00:20:07,499 --> 00:20:11,292

Bourbon is whiskey, but not all bourbon whiskey is bourbon.

298

00:20:11,292 --> 00:20:20,818

Now, beyond, I don't know super technical stuff, but I do know that bourbon has to be 51 %

at least corn.

299

00:20:20,858 --> 00:20:23,740

And then the rest can be creative around.

300

00:20:23,921 --> 00:20:32,142

You know, one of the interesting things when I drive into Frankfurt at certain times of

the year, you can smell a smell that smells like

301

00:20:32,142 --> 00:20:35,282

green beans that have cooked for too long.

302

00:20:35,282 --> 00:20:36,182

Yeah.

303

00:20:36,182 --> 00:20:46,582

And it's the smell of the mash that is kind of consists as wheat, rye, lots of other kinds

of ingredients.

304

00:20:47,882 --> 00:20:50,262

It's pretty interesting.

305

00:20:51,462 --> 00:20:58,182

And then you have a few of the myths that's right in some of the traditions.

306

00:20:58,462 --> 00:21:00,460

And one of those is you

307

00:21:00,460 --> 00:21:07,494

bury a bottle of bourbon upside down at the side of a wedding, dig it up on the wedding

day and serve it to the guests.

308

00:21:07,514 --> 00:21:09,335

So there's a new tradition.

309

00:21:10,456 --> 00:21:12,317

You know, I don't know.

310

00:21:12,357 --> 00:21:14,418

We can we could speculate.

311

00:21:14,539 --> 00:21:16,440

Maybe so it pours out more quickly.

312

00:21:16,440 --> 00:21:17,090

I don't know.

313

00:21:17,090 --> 00:21:19,483

Because people want it right.

314

00:21:19,483 --> 00:21:22,145

That's a that's a strange one, right?

315

00:21:22,486 --> 00:21:23,426

Wow.

316

00:21:24,387 --> 00:21:28,651

They do a lot of other things, but everything was geared towards fertility in the day and

age.

317

00:21:28,651 --> 00:21:32,904

But speaking of smelling, so it's interesting that it smells like green beans.

318

00:21:32,904 --> 00:21:34,765

I think that would actually turn me off.

319

00:21:34,765 --> 00:21:36,437

Although I do like green beans.

320

00:21:36,437 --> 00:21:39,199

But I never thought about like smelling.

321

00:21:39,199 --> 00:21:42,071

I don't I don't I don't sniff green beans.

322

00:21:42,071 --> 00:21:44,472

is over.

323

00:21:44,472 --> 00:21:48,613

And then, because in Kentucky, we also have the Bourbon Trail.

324

00:21:48,713 --> 00:21:53,064

And you can go to several different trails, depending on the part of the state you're in.

325

00:21:53,064 --> 00:21:57,876

And you'll go and you'll visit these various locations.

326

00:21:57,876 --> 00:22:01,397

Woodford Reserve, for instance, is another popular one.

327

00:22:01,437 --> 00:22:05,344

And remember our guest, Weta Michael, the chef.

328

00:22:05,344 --> 00:22:07,305

She is actually their chef.

329

00:22:07,305 --> 00:22:10,988

She conducts of the Woodford Reserve.

330

00:22:10,988 --> 00:22:15,781

These are usually located in very beautiful places in Kentucky.

331

00:22:15,782 --> 00:22:21,806

Off the beaten path, two lane, barely two lane roads leading to them.

332

00:22:21,806 --> 00:22:27,190

And it's just, to come here and do the trails is pretty awesome.

333

00:22:27,190 --> 00:22:33,534

And then you get led to restaurants that serve bourbon type marinades and.

334

00:22:33,820 --> 00:22:35,803

I wouldn't be able to find the road out.

335

00:22:36,064 --> 00:22:39,656

I know, that's the thing, that's the thing.

336

00:22:40,517 --> 00:22:49,763

So that is going on and the drinks, people wonder what kind of drinks are made with

bourbon.

337

00:22:49,904 --> 00:22:51,115

How about the old fashioned?

338

00:22:51,115 --> 00:22:52,746

Okay.

339

00:22:52,746 --> 00:22:54,533

my dad used to be an old-fashioned drinker.

340

00:22:54,533 --> 00:22:55,075

Yep.

341

00:22:55,075 --> 00:22:56,219

Old-fashioned in Manhattan's.

342

00:22:56,219 --> 00:22:56,651

I don't know.

343

00:22:56,651 --> 00:22:58,297

Do they put bourbon in Manhattan's?

344

00:22:58,297 --> 00:22:58,988

I don't know.

345

00:22:58,988 --> 00:22:59,978

don't know.

346

00:23:00,279 --> 00:23:04,000

Mint juleps and then a growing trend.

347

00:23:04,100 --> 00:23:05,641

Yeah, mint juleps.

348

00:23:05,641 --> 00:23:09,143

A growing trend is to have bottles personalized and given as gifts.

349

00:23:09,143 --> 00:23:11,003

I've gotten several over the years.

350

00:23:11,003 --> 00:23:13,224

You know, you get your maker's mark with your name on it.

351

00:23:13,224 --> 00:23:14,275

It's really cool.

352

00:23:14,275 --> 00:23:15,885

It's another marketing thing.

353

00:23:16,066 --> 00:23:17,478

I know that's true.

354

00:23:17,478 --> 00:23:22,749

I was unearthing old things in my closet and one of my moves and found an old bottle.

355

00:23:22,749 --> 00:23:25,900

Now I think about that Pappy's though it might have been very

356

00:23:26,050 --> 00:23:26,460

good.

357

00:23:26,460 --> 00:23:31,173

It might have been very expensive if it sat in my closet for 30 years.

358

00:23:34,895 --> 00:23:39,413

Now, women are increasingly drinking bourbon, right?

359

00:23:39,413 --> 00:23:44,053

Well, I mean, we have, we have our entrees into lots of things.

360

00:23:44,053 --> 00:23:47,833

And let's face it, guys, we really do rule the world.

361

00:23:47,833 --> 00:23:53,593

And whether you realize it or not, we just let you think you have more control than you

do.

362

00:23:53,653 --> 00:24:06,393

But yeah, although I don't think of bourbon and women in general, I think of bourbon and

the, you know, sort of the staunchy Southern, Southern gentlemen, sort of from Kentucky,

363

00:24:06,393 --> 00:24:07,225

Virginia.

364

00:24:07,225 --> 00:24:09,427

Yeah, know, sitting around.

365

00:24:09,427 --> 00:24:10,833

Yeah.

366

00:24:10,833 --> 00:24:12,073

fascinating man in the world.

367

00:24:12,073 --> 00:24:18,973

I think we have to go the most fascinating and brilliant and intellectually stimulating

woman in the world.

368

00:24:18,973 --> 00:24:21,113

We have to do them one or two up, I think.

369

00:24:21,583 --> 00:24:26,048

but women are forming society, bourbon societies, very popular around here.

370

00:24:26,048 --> 00:24:39,402

There are about 100 distilleries in this state and there was a big growth industry and

they're usually very tiny but hoping to get very large and sell their bourbons.

371

00:24:39,402 --> 00:24:43,486

There's still a world of market out there for bourbon.

372

00:24:43,486 --> 00:24:52,014

there was a distillery or there is a distillery up in Litchfield, Connecticut, not too far

from where we moved and called Litchfield distilleries.

373

00:24:52,014 --> 00:25:01,923

And the interesting thing is that it took them a long time before they could actually sell

their first batch because I guess it has to sit there and mature for a while.

374

00:25:02,904 --> 00:25:07,765

And then getting the oak barrels, very difficult to do.

375

00:25:07,765 --> 00:25:08,229

Yeah.

376

00:25:08,229 --> 00:25:16,529

can only use them once and then they turn them into other things like you see in

restaurants those the lids up on the

377

00:25:16,529 --> 00:25:17,662

now maturing wine in them.

378

00:25:17,662 --> 00:25:22,126

So you've got the bourbon barrel, you know, yeah, matured wine.

379

00:25:22,126 --> 00:25:28,012

whole industry just around bourbon and the tradition of bourbon.

380

00:25:28,012 --> 00:25:32,658

You've got the, I think it's Mystique.

381

00:25:32,658 --> 00:25:37,743

I think it's probably Mystique and it makes it more, well, they turn them into other

things.

382

00:25:37,743 --> 00:25:39,325

They turn them into other things.

383

00:25:39,325 --> 00:25:40,529

They use the wood.

384

00:25:40,529 --> 00:25:41,140

England roots.

385

00:25:41,140 --> 00:25:44,393

Don't we know waste not want not, you know, don't use the barrel once.

386

00:25:44,393 --> 00:25:45,935

How long can you look?

387

00:25:45,935 --> 00:25:48,267

like how many times can you wear your socks?

388

00:25:49,889 --> 00:25:52,316

At least twice you turn them inside out.

389

00:25:52,316 --> 00:26:06,692

So anyway, there's a world of bourbon and whiskey and all of those things that go into a

trend and a growing industry and family oriented to family traditions, you know, started

390

00:26:06,692 --> 00:26:16,501

some of them started in the 1700s and some of them are later, but they're usually very,

very small and family oriented and

391

00:26:16,501 --> 00:26:27,564

So, you know, it's an interesting industry that hopefully we can get more into as we take

a look at our family traditions and get them because they're family kind of business.

392

00:26:28,019 --> 00:26:40,527

related stories, excuse me, come about through small production, whether it starts in the

kitchen or starts out behind the barn with a still, right?

393

00:26:41,667 --> 00:26:45,930

It's those home routes where everything kind of begins.

394

00:26:46,031 --> 00:26:48,893

And hence that's what we're all about.

395

00:26:48,893 --> 00:26:55,827

But I love the fact that there is a story with so much of about the things that we're

talking about here in these shows.

396

00:26:55,887 --> 00:27:02,100

And it's not so much that we're hawking this, but well, maybe a little bit.

397

00:27:03,601 --> 00:27:05,022

I think that's okay.

398

00:27:05,022 --> 00:27:09,284

But the stories make our life so much more rich in more ways than one.

399

00:27:09,284 --> 00:27:19,391

And just remembering where it is that thing that you were drinking perhaps came from makes

it just a little bit more special, right?

400

00:27:19,391 --> 00:27:26,717

let me tell you one more story about Kentucky, where all these industries are about

liquor, right?

401

00:27:26,717 --> 00:27:29,478

And creating whiskey and bourbon.

402

00:27:30,340 --> 00:27:35,344

Until very recently, more counties than not were dry.

403

00:27:35,344 --> 00:27:39,807

You couldn't get a drink in Kentucky, except in the big cities.

404

00:27:39,807 --> 00:27:43,230

That's changed a lot, and I worked a lot on that personally.

405

00:27:43,230 --> 00:27:48,418

In fact, I'd get invited in to promote liquor by the drink in small towns.

406

00:27:48,418 --> 00:27:51,579

because the churches would go after the politicians.

407

00:27:51,579 --> 00:27:55,401

So they would bring me in to be the advocate for it.

408

00:27:55,401 --> 00:27:57,842

Yeah, so anyway, all of that happened.

409

00:27:57,842 --> 00:28:06,906

But one of the funny things until recently, okay, Bourbon County, Bourbon County is

adjacent to Fayette County, which is where I am in Lexington.

410

00:28:06,906 --> 00:28:10,867

Beautiful little town, horsey town, Bourbon town.

411

00:28:10,867 --> 00:28:16,049

You couldn't get a drink in Bourbon County, but you could in Christian County.

412

00:28:16,370 --> 00:28:17,790

Don't you love that?

413

00:28:17,874 --> 00:28:18,663

Yeah.

414

00:28:18,663 --> 00:28:21,026

County versus Bourbon County.

415

00:28:21,026 --> 00:28:22,287

Anyway, that's all changed.

416

00:28:22,287 --> 00:28:24,710

You can now in Bourbon County, but it was.

417

00:28:24,710 --> 00:28:25,831

it's big business.

418

00:28:25,831 --> 00:28:31,636

And I think it makes sometimes sometimes it makes family parties a little bit more

palatable too.

419

00:28:31,636 --> 00:28:32,526

Right.

420

00:28:32,526 --> 00:28:38,782

yeah, maybe not as bad as Rip Van Winkle where you didn't have you don't have to go to

sleep for 20 years to get away from your family.

421

00:28:38,782 --> 00:28:39,662

no.

422

00:28:39,703 --> 00:28:48,811

Well, on that note, every story has, well, on that meal, well, wait a second, I'm gonna

say it's a blooper.

423

00:28:49,152 --> 00:28:54,016

On that note, every meal has a story and every story is a feast.

424

00:28:54,016 --> 00:29:02,976

And I think we need to come up with every drink and every glass has a story and every

story maybe has a spirit along the way or two.

425

00:29:02,976 --> 00:29:09,020

than food because they loosen you up and you start thinking about all those stories you

know about.

426

00:29:09,020 --> 00:29:12,272

And myths, you just kind of blow everything out of proportion.

427

00:29:12,272 --> 00:29:13,275

That's okay.

428

00:29:13,275 --> 00:29:18,134

Yeah, give yourself a little chin wag or two as they say in the UK.

429

00:29:18,918 --> 00:29:21,864

Take care, we'll see you soon and drink up.

430

00:29:21,864 --> 00:29:22,875

Bye bye.

431

00:29:25,389 --> 00:29:27,049

You what I want to do too?

432

00:29:27,049 --> 00:29:28,992

I want to do a little section at the end.

433

00:29:29,252 --> 00:29:43,324

Hey, if you like this show, we're going to ask you, hey, if you like this show, please

subscribe, share it with your friends and tell a story or two on why you actually like

434

00:29:43,324 --> 00:29:45,806

this show, because we'd like to hear from you too.

435

00:29:45,806 --> 00:29:47,408

And we'd love to hear your stories.

436

00:29:47,408 --> 00:29:52,752

So don't forget, listen to Family Tree Food and Stories and share it, like it and

subscribe.

437

00:29:52,752 --> 00:29:53,653

We'll see you soon.

438

00:29:53,653 --> 00:29:54,553

Bye bye.