My Old kentucky Home
Growing up in Kentucky was something special. The open spaces, the majestic horses and the tranquil comfort of the natural air was only a short stroll away.
Down on the farm we raised Black Angus cattle, a couple of horses, a few rabbits and even a couple of be hives. Feeding the bees was probably my least favorite chore.
In the heart of Lexington is the University of Kentucky. The Kentucky Wildcats have won 7 NCAA Men's Basketball National Championships, second only to UCLA. They won their last trophy in 1998 under Coach Tubby Smith.
Dad sold our farm in 1987 to Overbrook Farm. Their horse "Grindstone" won the Kentucky Derby in 1996
Kentucky History
From Churchill downs to the Appalachia trail, the state song “My Old Kentucky Home” written by Stephen Foster in 1850, can be heard loud and proud.
Kentucky was the 15th state to join the union in 1792, although technically it is a commonwealth. One of only 4 in the United States today. The other 3 being Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts.
As a child, my parents took my brother and I to go see “The Stephen Foster Story”, a stage production in Bardstown KY. www.stephenfoster.com
You can see the latest Corvette roll off the assembly line in Bowling Green, Ky, or see all the gold in Fort Knox in Fort Knox, KY (though to be honest, they probably won’t let you in)
Illinois may be the “Land of Lincoln” as they claim on their License plates, but our 8th President was born in Hodgenville KY, about 50 miles from Christian County KY, birthplace of Jefferson Davis. The first and only President of the Confederate States of America.
The Kentucky State Quarter, issued in 2001. Features a landscape of a horse farm and the title of the state song "My Old Kentucky Home".
History of Bourbon:
Bourbon, a tradition of Kentucky, or Kentucke as it was called in the early frontier days when it was an extension on the Virginia colony. Whiskey from the region of Bourbon County, named after the famed French royal dynasty, eventually became known as simply, Bourbon.
Distilling corn into whiskey was a method for farmers to preserve their corn which was much more perishable in its raw form and made it easier to defend from Indian attacks during transport.
Bourbon Whiskey became so popular, that it was frequently exchanged as currency in lieu of money.
In the year of 1791, United States Treasurer Alexander Hamilton enforced an excise tax on whiskey in western Pennsylvania, which didn’t exactly thrill the early farmers and distillers of the day.
When the government tried to enforce the whiskey tax, the citizens of Western Pennsylvania graciously responded by tarring and feathering four of the tax collectors. The government returned in kind and sent an army of 13,700 men led by George Washington to quell the rebellion. Washington showed his diplomatic skills by offering real estate incentives to pioneers that moved to the southwest region of Virginia, west of the Allegheny Mountains.
Before the Hydrometer came along, distillers would employ the ancient method of “Prooving” to approximate the alcohol content. A distiller would pour Bourbon into a dish containing gunpowder and ignite it. If the container caught fire, then the Bourbon was above proof, if not, it was considered under or below proof.
On May 4, 1964, the United States Congress recognized Bourbon Whiskey as a distinctive national product unique to its native land.
That it is the sense of Congress that recognition of Bourbon Whiskey as a distinctive product of the United States be brought to the attention of the appropriate agencies of the United States government toward the end that such agencies will take appropriate action to prohibit the importation into the United States of whisky [sic] designated as “Bourbon Whiskey”