Lexington, Kentucky: Part Two

     When I think of Kentucky, I think of horses. When Steve thinks of Kentucky, he thinks of bourbon. Lucky for him, the Louisville/Lexington area boasts a "Bourbon Trail" (and a brewery trail) with several well known distilleries open for tours and tastings. Before drove home, we wanted to see downtown Lexington, so we chose to visit the Town Branch Distillery since it was one of two distilleries located in the heart of downtown. The name, Town Branch, comes from the creek that runs under the city of Lexington. The water from the creek was the source of the original distillery whenever that first Kentuckian, whoever he was, began distilling over two hundred years ago. Along with the history of the distillery and the attractive buildings, I appreciated how the use of copper pipes, wooden barrels, and stone walls elevated  function to an art. I am not a bourbon drinker, so much of the tasting was beyond me, however, the amber colored bourbon in those sparkling glass bottles made me wish I liked it. Since I would be driving, I reserved my tasting for one product in particular- the coffee bourbon. It was a delight! Those few little sips turned me into a bourbon drinker after all.

Our guide mixed equal parts of syrupy, coffee bourbon with hot water. Then he carefully poured heavy cream on top. It was a blissful little drink, warm and creamy and not too sweet.

Downtown Lexington, KY was a mix of old meets new. There was a beautiful opera house up the block from here, a convention center, and many eateries.