Kentucky calling
To really enjoy the bourbon experience of Kentucky you must immerse yourself in the character and culture of the state itself. Our man does exactly that
The moment that the madness of Kentucky started to make total sense â and the rebelliousness, unpredictability, friendliness, and contrariness formed in to a coherent whole â came on one hot summerâs lunchtime at the Makerâs Mark distillery.
We had eaten well and were relaxing. The jet-lag was still kicking in, the lunchtime bourbons were warming their way through the veins and the burning Kentucky sun was washing over us in waves when the distilleryâs founder Bill Samuels suddenly appeared on the verandah we were relaxing on brandishing a gun.
For anyone acquainted with Bill Samuels such a turn of events wouldnât be that far out of the ordinary. And if you have experienced Kentucky in the summer, when âcrazyâ is part of the décor, then such an incident wouldnât seem strange.
Perhaps it was the bourbon, perhaps just the bizarreness of it all, but the gun didnât trouble any of us, even though itâs quite possible that Mr Samuels had taken umbrage at our decidedly Democratic leanings.
Indeed he had just told us that âRosieâs boyâ wasnât that welcome on his homestead â Rosie being the acclaimed-singer Rosemary Clooney and her âboyâ being a nephew going by the name of George â and far too far to the left of Bill Samuels for comfort.
The gun, it transpires, belonged to Jesse James, who is a direct relative of the Samuels family, having ended his career as a criminal alongside his brother Frank first in the Quantrell Gang, then in the Kent.....
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By Dominic Roskrow
Section : Visitor Guides
Page number : 36
