Unbridled spirit
THE Kentucky Derby. Always held on the first Saturday in May.
It’s a few years since I’ve presented myself at Churchill Downs for the race. But I do intend to return fairly soon, as the Commonwealth of Kentucky, what the state is pleased to call itself when on official business, is not just about horses.
It is, significantly, the epicentre of bourbon production.
The story of bourbon is tied up with prohibition — the USA’s attempt to go on the wagon. But the story also takes in history, folklore and commerce.
Many tours are available, but my advice is: just go on one ‘bourbon experience’ — there’s only so much a person needs to know about whiskey before they risk becoming the ultimate dinner-party bore.
Should bourbon be your main motivation for heading for Kentucky, I can recommend one tour in particular.
The Woodford Reserve in Versailles southeast of Louisville, is the home of bourbon. In their distillery tour you’ll be told that bourbon differs from Irish whiskey in that it must be made mostly from maize — or corn as they call it in these parts.
Woodford is amazingly generous with their samples. I didn’t even have to say: “Gimme a bourbon, barkeep.” My glass kept filling up. Along with a heady atmosphere caused by the fumes from the great copper vats meant that soon the exact details of sour mash fermentation were going over my head.
On my fourth — or maybe my fifth tipple I declared, “Jimmy cracked corn, and I don’t care.” I may even have tried to sing it.
Which takes us with the seamlessness of a yard of linoleum to country music. Kentucky is the home of Bill Monroe, the ‘Father of bluegrass’. At the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame & Museum in Owensboro they have exhibits, posters, costumes, live instrument demonstrations, and many impromptu sessions. Plenty of hot diggerty.
You’ll learn how bluegrass has ancient roots in Scottish, Welsh, English and Irish music, but its name comes from the great pasturelands of Kentucky.
You might also hear about country singer Randy Howard, well known for his mix of outlaw-country, traditional-country and southern gospel.
Sadly he was shot dead by a bounty hunter in 2015. That’s a country ballad in itself – but arguably living your art in somewhat extreme fashion.
Nobody minds a bit of lyin’ and cheatin’ and runnin’ about. But having a shoot-out with a bounty hunter for not turning up in court on a drunk-drive charge is another matter entirely.