NashVegas Baby!!!

We were in Nashville over Memorial Day weekend and it was packed! We were excited to hang out in downtown Nashville at night and were looking forward to bar hopping and listening to country western music. We went downtown both Friday and Saturday nights.

Our hotel had the best shuttle service with a wonderful driver - Jerry. He picked us up at the hotel and dropped us off right downtown which was about 20 minutes away from our hotel. He pointed out the sights along the way and had great jokes too. He welcomed his guests by finding out where they were from and then calling them by their hometown or state or country. He remembered us every time we got on his shuttle, and called us "Utah". He told the entire shuttle about our journey and we were a little famous during every shuttle ride. The return ride was a hoot because everyone was ready to sing and still party either they had too much to drink or just high on the excitement of Nashville. Jerry had a Darius Rucker CD that he cranked up and we all sang wagon wheel at the top of our lungs. It was a blast!




Once downtown, we went to several bars with no cover charge and every bar had scheduled a band or two or three! We first went to the the world famous "Tootsie's Orchid Lounge" and just people watched. Behind "Tootsies" is "Tootsie's Alley" which is the same alley as the Ryman Auditorium Stage Door and back in the day, musicians would finish up at the Ryman and then go hang out at Tootsies. I think it would have been so cool, to see the Grand Ol' Opry stars relaxing after their gig!










Nashville at night is wild! There are at least 50 bars downtown all with bands. Bands play all day and virtually all night long and the bands audition to play at the bars. Some of the bars had huge lines with lots of people trying to get in and other's had no line at all. There's also a Margaritaville, BBKings, Hooters and Hard Rock Cafe all downtown but most of the bars weren't corporate or franchises, they seemed to be locally owned.

While we were at Tootsie's, they had 3 bands scheduled for the night. At another bar, we saw two different bands and right next door was a karaoke bar called "Wanna Be's". On one of the corners was a three-story bar named "Honky Tonk" with decks on every floor and a different band on every floor. That place was packed! We also went into a bar with two bands, called "Trailer Park". Perfect name because the floors were sticky and the people, (not us of course) all looked like they would fit into a trailer trash park.



Beer is the beverage of choice, because it's so cheap and everyone drinks Bud, Bud Light or Coors. Other favorites included Fireball and Jaegermeister with Red Bull. Red Bull, perfect to keep you dancing all night!

In addition to all the music inside, there are street musicians everywhere. Some good and some horrible. There's lots of people just hanging out, a few panhandlers and lots of cops. Although you have to be 21 years old to get into the bars, there were lots of parents with kids and teenagers everywhere.

What I didn't remember from my previous visits or expect was the huge crowds. The entire area was packed with people of all ages out having a good time. Randy was a little disappointed at this bar but he still had a good time.


What really surprised us was that downtown Nashville is a mecca for bachelorette parties. We saw at least 100 groups of giddy girls celebrating the brides upcoming nuptials. We saw a few bachelor parties too, but the girls outnumbered the boys. The main theme of most of these parties was to be noticed and get drunk! I'm not kidding, we saw a lot of young girls who could barely walk. I didn't get good pictures but here's a couple to give you an idea.






On Saturday night we hung out at a dueling piano bar and sat outside on their deck. This was the only place we found that had a cover charge, but it was worth it. The guys at the piano were pretty good and they played a great mix of music. It was also a good vantage point for watching the crowd. We even saw about 20 military guys in full dress uniform and a group of bikers that cruised down Main Street, parked for about 20 minutes and cruised out. They were definitely out to be seen.

That night, it was so crowded they closed down the street. With all the crowds, entertainment and sheer craziness, it reminded me of Las Vegas so I called Nashville "NashVegas"!







Randy is a people watcher and he loved the energy and craziness of downtown Nashville. For two nights I hung out with him, people watching and enjoying the music, but if I never go back again - I'll be OK. Even though the energy is wild, I'm not big on crowds, and hanging around people who just want to get drunk...isn't my thing.

However, even with all the craziness, it was still exciting to be downtown knowing that lots of old time country artists were once singing in these bars or hanging out after playing at the Ryman. I wonder what Patsy Cline, Hank Williams Sr., Kitty Wells or Buck Owens, would think of Downtown Nashville now. It's a little different today than it was in their day.

Dyersburg, Tennessee

Around May 20, after our Distillery Tours we headed west to Dyersburg to visit with our Utah friend Alex Maxedon otherwise known simply as "Max". Last year Max moved back to Tennessee and we were excited to see him.

Max picked us up early in the morning and took us to a country store/diner for a country breakfast. I'm still amazed at how many rural areas there are one you get off the major highways or Interstates. Without Max's knowledge we would have just driven right by the Lock Gro (short for Grocery)Strore AKA Millsfield Country Club. We had a hearty breakfast of sausage patties, eggs, biscuits and country gravy. A heart attack on a plate and totally worth it.

                                                 




After breakfast, the boys dropped me off and I spent the day at the hotel writing, doing laundry and even walked to the local Kroger. After almost a month on the bikes, down days are kind of nice.

Randy spent the day with Max touring his 400 acre farm where they are planning to reintroduce quail. Farming and tilling the fields have made it tough for quail to survive in the area and Max and his brother want to create a hunting retreat on his farm for quail, wild turkeys and deer.  When Max first saw this property he told me there were 88 wild turkeys right in front of him, which technically you could call his "front yard". He knew that it was the land for him. He and his brother are building a huge house, a shop and have already finished a dog run, that looks nicer than most people's houses. It is going to be a wonderful hunters retreat when it's finished. Max also taught me that in his area, you never refer to your land as a ranch - it's a "farm"and the garage is a "shop". This city gurl is learning a lot on this trip.









The evening found us cruising through rural Dyersburg where we ended up at Boyette's near Reelfoot Lake. Boyette's is famous for their fried catfish and we indulged in a fabulous meal that ran us about $11. Fried food heaven... plates full of catfish, onion rings, french fries, hushpuppies, white beans, green beans, coleslaw and biscuits. The catfish was fabulous and the white beans and coleslaw equally delicious. I'm sure I ate a week of calories and when I get home I need to detox!





After dinner we did a quick walk to Reelfoot Lake State Park, which was gorgeous. It was formed in the early 1800's by a series of major earthquakes. The lake was huge and I had no idea that the area would be so full of cypress trees just growing out of the water. I'm think the locals probably take it for granted but for us it was breathtaking. We walked the boardwalk down to the lake, watching fish jump, turtles swim and cottonwood snakes slither through the water.






Afterwards, Max drove us back to his property. I was amazed that just 15-20 miles out of town feels like we are in the middle of nowhere. There were farms everywhere and country houses and trailers of all shapes, sizes and condition. Some were very fancy and fine while others were run down and overgrown with kudzu vines. People were relaxing on their front porches winding down from the day, dogs were chasing our truck and farmers still working in the fields. Such a different life from our lives in Salt Lake.

The sunset over the farmland in Tennessee was spectacular. Sunset is my favorite time of day and I couldn't get over how beautiful it was.






We loved meeting up with Max and can't wait to go back when his house is finished to stay with him in the country. Max hates Tennessee whiskey and we promised him we'd bring him a bottle of Crown on our next visit. We did leave him with the last of our High West, whiskey for him to enjoy.



Being all across America and seeing so many rural areas, I'm finding that I like the quiet of country life, and sometime in my life, this city gurl may want to experience country life, at least for a little while.

Chattanooga, Tennessee

Chattanooga was simply a stop on our way to our next destination. However, it turned out to be a fun place to visit and our visit was very short!

We arrived early evening and was excited to find out our hotel had a pool. Only to discover that it was empty. The pool was being renovated and they had just painted it that day. How dare they tempt us like that!

Instead of swimming we ventured out in search of the local brew pub. We stumbled upon the "Choo Choo Hotel" which was awesome. It's the old Chattanooga Train Station renovated into a hotel. Great discovery! The lobby has many of the original features and in back they have lots of trains. It was like stepping back in time...how cool would it be to travel by train? Much different than riding our bikes!














Across the street was the Terminal Brewhouse our dinner destination. We had one of the most fun food experiences at the Terminal. Our waiter was fabulous, friendly and plain nice. The place with packed with tourists and locals and had an energy about it that just felt right. They also had a great rooftop deck but we opted to eat inside.



We ordered a couple of their local beers and pot roast nachos. Yes, you read it right....nachos made with pot roast. AMAZING! This was supposed to be an appetizer but it was so big it sufficed as dinner. Imagine, crunchy tortilla chips, smothered in spicy beer cheese sauce, peppers, tomatoes and pot roast. YUMMY and filling. My mouth is watering just writing about these!



The Terminal Brewhouse also had a map with stickers from other breweries and we were excited to see a Rooster's Brewery sticker on the map. Rooster's is one of our favorite breweries and is located in Ogden, Utah. We love it and Randy is part of their mug club. I posted this picture on facebook and tagged Rooster's owner Kym Buttschardt. A little piece of home so far away reminds us that it is indeed a very small world.





Afterwards we took the free trolley back to the hotel. I wish more cities offered this service instead of having to depend on cabs. The driver was great and wouldn't take a tip, it's against policy and he dropped us right at our hotel.

Chattanooga was a fun city, with a good vibe about it and like many of our stops we were disappointed to not have more time to visit it. On our list for another trip!

Whiskey Gurl Tours Daniels and Dickel

Many of you may not know that I enjoy sipping whiskey. I've been fan of Jack Daniels for quite awhile and even had a No. 7 derby cover on my Harley Deluxe and one of my amulets on my key chain is a No. 7 wooden nickel. In the past year or so, Randy and I have visited a few bars that specialize in whiskey and have sipped a few. We've enjoyed trying different types and brands. I still enjoy Single Barrel Jack Daniels but I've found many other whiskey's that are tastier.

In planning our trip, we knew we wanted to visit the Bourbon Trail in Kentucky and the Jack Daniels Distillery in Lynchburg, Tennessee. We hadn't really planned out anything specific but we were in Tennessee first, so we headed out to our first Distillery tour, George Dickel in Cascade Hollow followed by Jack Daniels in Lynchburg.

They both produce Tennessee whiskey which is different than Kentucky whiskey or bourbon. We learned that bourbon is always whiskey but whiskey isn't always bourbon. It depends on the ingredients and ratios used to make the mash and it's all regulated by the Federal government and Tennessee law. Tennessee whiskey is filtered with sugar maple charcoal - it's done that way by law and it's supposed to remove impurities in the whiskey.

The entire distilling process seems complicated but pretty much the same for all whiskey. Simply, they cook the grains, (corn, rye, malted barley) creating a mixture called "mash", add yeast, let it ferment, then transfer to the copper stills where it is heated (like huge pressure cookers), and the alcohol is collected from the vapor and then the alcohol is aged in charred oak barrels.

Here's a picture of the basic process - except between step 4 and 5, before it's barreled, Dickel & Daniels filters the whiskey through a maple charcoal to remove impurities. This part of the process is what makes Dickel and Daniels "Tennessee Whiskey".



They both age the whiskey in charred oak barrels for at least 3 years and the longer the better. Both had barrels of whiskey that were aged for 15 years +. The color of the whiskey before aging in charred oak barrels, is white like moonshine. When whiskey is aged it becomes a light ice tea or light golden maple syrup color - it's beautiful. When served in a pretty glass...magical.

Dickel mash is a ratio of 8 % rye, 8% malted barley and 84% corn and Jack Daniels uses a a ratio of 8% rye, 12% malted barely and 80% corn. Also, just like sourdough bread starter, both Distilleries have a yeast starter is from the original yeast from back in the early 1800's. To preserve and protect their starter, Dickel stores it at 7 different vaults all over the country. Diickel also spells their whiskey "whisky" leaving out "e" which is the Scottish spelling. Dickel believes their whisky to be as fine as aged Scottish whisky, which at the time was considered the best in the world.

The tours were vastly different but the processes and whiskey smells were similar. In the Barrel Aging houses the vapors that escape are called "angels share" and it smelled heavenly like maple, oak and vanilla - delicious.

Also, both distilleries won't allow photos inside their buildings. Top Secret processes! Although, if you look online, there's a lot of "bootleg" photos. (no pun intended!)

Dickel's tour was intimate and we felt like we were invited into a special viewing of the process and a private tasting. We only had 12 people on our tour and was led by the guy who works the store, the post office and conducted the tasting. They only have 29 employees in the whole company, and only use computers for quality control tracking. Employees were everywhere on the tour, working and inspecting the process. They don't use computers for anything except quality control. Dickel believes that people, not computers, can taste and smell the nuances of the product. We even bumped into the Master Distiller and didn't even recognize him. He's the guy in the black shirt in this picture.















Our Dickel tasting was in the original Master Distillers home, a small cabin, which made the tasting more special and personal. The location of the Dickel Distillery was in Cascade Hollow and we rode through lots of countryside to get there. Nothing but land and a few houses surrounded the distillery.














Contrast Dickel with Daniels. Jack Daniels is in a bustling touristy town of Lynchburg. Lots of souvenir shops and restaurants. The Distillery is huge with over 400 employees and we had 25 people on our tour. They have a huge museum of artifacts telling the story of Jack Daniels. We only saw distillery workers in the charcoal making area and they looked creepy & grumpy!


Think about the movie Deliverance...redneck and scary. Maybe they were just having a bad day, but they didn't smile or acknowledge our presence. No other employees were anywhere on the tour but we did see lots of computers. Our tour guide was humorous and funny and it was generally a good tour but it felt a little like Disneyland, contrived and commercial. The Daniels Museum was very well done and I learned a lot about distilling and prohibition.












Here's a fun fact; Jack Daniels gives away their whiskey for free but you have to buy the bottle. That's how they get around the fact that they are located in a dry county. Just like Utah, they figure out a way around the silly liquor laws

Both locations send the finished whiskey elsewhere for bottling with the exception of Jack Daniels Single Barrel which we saw bottled, corked, labeled and boxed. That was fun to see the production.

Both Distilleries offered tasting at the end of the tour which we loved. We tried four whisky's at Dickel white or moonshine, single barrel, No. 12 and Rye. All were delicious and it was fun to try them side-by-side. I'm a fan of Dickel rye and Single Barrel both were delicious and smooth.


At Daniels we had No.7 Black Label, Gentleman Jack and Single Barrel and I liked Gentleman Jack and Single Barrel. The tasting at Daniels felt a little factory like and was conducted in a big meeting room and I didn't take any pictures of our tasting. I did like meeting our good friend Jack Daniels and had our picture taken with him.


Both men, George Dickel and Jack Daniels, were visionaries and we're fortunate that they weathered the prohibition storm and that we can enjoy their spirits today.

After touring and tasting both Jack Daniels and George Dickel, what I believe is that Dickel focuses on the quality and taste of the product and Jack Daniels focuses on the culture and history of the product. It was fun to visit both of them, learn about the distilling process and to taste the whiskeys. If you are ever in that area be sure to make time to visit them. If you only have time for one tour, choose George Dickel for a more personal and remarkable experience.

We purchased a bottle of Dickel Single Barrel signed by the master distiller.


We thought it was a great souvenier to remember our time in Cascade Hollow. At the Tennessee State HOG Rally we also purchased a Single Barrel Jack Daniels another way to remember our Jack Daniels Tour and the HOG Rally. I'm looking forward to tasting both side-by-side when we get home.


We didn't make it to Bourbon Trail in Kentucky, we decided to save that for another time. 

 However, from our tours and tastings, what I've learned is that if you only know Jack, you don't know Dickel and trust me after my tour and tasting, I know Jack and love Dickel!