Ah, Kentucky (and West Virginia)

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Ah, Kentucky (and West Virginia)

Unread postby Mike » Mon May 08, 2006 5:42 pm

A friend and I just spent three days in SE Kentucky and SW West Virginia visiting the coal mining areas of the two states. It was a great trip and we visitied several museums, talked to some retired miners, and had a guided tour of a closed mine in the city of Beckly, WV.

I would recommend a trip to this area to experience first hand the lives and times of America's coal miners. Bob at the Coal Mining Museum in Benham, KY and LeRoy at the Beckly Exhibition Coal Mines in WV brought it all to life. Each of them spent many years in the mines and are extremely knowledgeable about coal mining...........and very likeable and entertaining too!!

Most of that area of KY and WV is dry, but there are some 'moist' areas. 'Moist' areas are cities which lie within dry counties but allow alcohol sales within the city. One of these cities is Cumberland KY. We happened upon 'Tuckers Whiskey Dispensery' in Cumberland. It is closing after many, many years and had all stock marked down by 20%. They happened to have two bottles of the mid-nineties 12 YO Wild Turkey, priced at about $50 each. With the closing discount they were $40, so I bought both bottles. The owner of 'Tuckers', who is 91 years old, was away, but we were graciously assisted by the local part-time high school algebra teacher. I also bought a bottle of Old Charter Proprietor's Reserve 13 YO ($22), and a bottle of Old Fitzgerald Bottled in Bond (1 liter) for about $15.

Across the street was another beer and liquor store where I bought two bottles (with two glasses in each package) of Four Roses Single Barrel ($31 each), and a bottle of Buffalo Trace ($19).

We had an interesting and rewarding trip. We met lots of friendly people, ate some good food, drank some first class bourbons (which I will review soon), and spent a night in an old school house in Benham (converted into a hotel).

On the return trip to the Atlanta area, we spent the night in Asheville, NC. We enjoyed some Celtic music at 'Jack of the Wood' brew pub in downtown Asheville where they offer some excellent cask-conditioned ale.
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rage at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light. - Dylan Thomas
Mike
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