What's Brewing at Jack's...

I'm sitting in Andrew's car as he drives us back to Franklin, TN for the second day of his brothers basketball tournament. A lot of driving for some kids playing ball, not my kind of support, but just going with the flow here. Still thinking about the getting together I had with Peter, my cousin, back in Huntsville, AL. He is a stranger to me, yet we do have a past, it is because of him that I'm here in the States. We both left Switzerland at the same time, he went to California to be a Nanny for a family in Orinda. Me, I went to work on a ship to cross oceans and breath the sea-breeze. After 7 month I got back to Switzerland and so did Peter, all by coincidence. The we got drunk at a bar and he talked me into coming back with him to the States. I had 500 bucks when I arrived at 2 in the morning some 23 years ago. Peter and I had a hell of a time, first I just walked in his shadow, "I'm Peter's cousin" was all I had to say and I got to know lots of people, even though my english was pretty bad I managed, mostly entertaining everybody with my funny pronunciation, just like I still do!!!
Years go by and Peter got the taste of some addictive drugs and thats what he still does, instead of in California he does it here in Alabama. He moved here, after his ex-wife, Devona, moved back to her parents place here in Huntland, Tennessee. Things didn't go to well and he found a job at the Red Lobster in Huntsville, Alabama. And he still works here, that is kind of the amazing thing.
Andrew and I drove first back on I-565 to get to I-65, just the way I came in yesterday, now to continue driving north. At exit 22 we have to fill up the tank, I get some coffee and a Snicker's bar for complete satisfaction and staying awake for the rest of the day. By the time we're almost in Franklin, just a tad south of Nashville, we got the phone-call from Andrew's mom, Devona, that Taylor's team is done for today and she is heading back home. Boy we could have saved us that trip if she had the phone on her during the game. But so it is, we make plans to meet at a Cracker Barrel Restaurant down the Interstate. Andrew and I get there first, we get a table and before we could even order Devona is joining us. I order a cup of coffee, more hot brown water than I care for, and a pice of apple-pie a-la-mode, with vanilla ice-cream that is, the only way to eat ice-cream I would say!!!
Now we're traveling in 2 cars back to the vila in Huntland, Devona driving her new truck while Andrew races ahead with me inside in the PT Cruiser. Taylor never made it, he stayed back in Franklin with a buddy of his.

Andrew back at the "Farm", evening light and a rainy sky with a tree in the back provide the scene...


Forget about dinner, I'm on a strict diet, and there is no food in the house anyway, so Andrew and I head over to the nearby video store and rent "Australia", a almost 3 hour long movie of another sad piece of history in the white mens world, of corse there is romance and lots of cattle involved, all of that with a happy ending for the white folks and a sad ending for the natives... It's time to hit the hay!!!

Dream or not, I did sleep pretty good, lets see what's for breakfast this morning. Devona had to send Andrew out to the store to get some Cinnamon-rolls in a tube, then whatever time they need in the oven, to brown, and what ever else they do to taste somewhat okay. But once they are out and served on the table, they are somewhat okay, I did drink it with a cup of coffee which I usually never do before 3 in the afternoon, but with Cinnamon-rolls it is required to have coffee I would say. Then the more serious part of the day starts, Devona has to go back to Franklin for more Basketball games of Taylor, Andrew joins her on this journey so he can drive the "Big" car, I forgot what it is, something like a Dodge Durango, who cares. Anyway, off they go and I can spend more time on the dang computer writing about it all. Actually before Devona and Andrew went off the wild world of Basketball we looked through her wedding-album from 1992 when she got merit to my cousin, Peter.

I stole a few shots from her wedding-album by snapping some with my camera...

From left to right: Me, yes!!, Christina, that is Peter's sister or my cousin, then Devona, the one I'm visiting now, then Peter and his mom Susi... all that was on Nov. 1st 1992!!!

After 2 hours of work on the computer I hit the road myself, first I drive back across the Alabama state-line, I saw this cool looking store there I wanted to take some pictures of.

Bates Grocery, along Winchester Road in Steele Crossing, AL...


On the way there I also took some other cool pictures of the Elora Post Office and some other good looking buildings along the way. But my real destination is...



Yes I always wanted to see how Jack is doing, not that I meet him too many times in person, but sure do hear a lot of him, so I do from his brother Shit, but that is a whole different story, here I'm talking about...


Yep, I finally get to tour the Jack Daniel's Distillery here in Tennessee!!!

The Visitor Center...


I sign-up for the tour and get a card with the Number 3 on it, I have to listen to the announcement and when #3 is called I better get to the meeting-point. In the bathroom I find a little amusement...



The tour starts by watching a 20 minute video clip of the history and the process, then we all pile into a van and get driven 5 minutes up the hill to the place where the charcoal is made for the filtering. Here we step out of the van and the driver is taking a group photo of us, it is hilarious the way these guys work here...

Group photo before the walking tour starts on top of the hill...

The guy kneeling down on the left is our tour-guide!!!

For more details you have to do the tour yourself, or check-out Jack's website there is a whole lot of information on there if your over 21 years of age.
So we see where the charcoal is made, then we walk down to the cave where the spring water flows out of the rock, pretty neat. We get to hear stories form the old days and about this or that, you have to come back later when I have to little video clip posted to listen in on that, it is quite hilarious just to listen to the guy, never mind watching him. We hang out in the original house that was used as an office, from then on we were not allowed to take any more pictures inside of buildings, because of the high alcohol content in the air. They think we would all blow up if a flash from a camera would go of, maybe maybe not, it is to keep it a secret how this holly water gets made. A very interesting process all the way through, all I wanna say is that by the time we went into the building that houses the boilers for the distilling process, I wanted a shot of this stuff. Now comes the funny part, the distillery is in a "dry" county and is not alowed to serve or sell this stuff, now what's up with that. The tour-guide made us believe that when you a taste-master you're not allowed to swallow after tasting, that you have to spit it out, otherwise you get degraded to a tour-guide for the rest of your career at Jack!!!

Take fresh spring water...

Add a few more ingredients...

Get them through all these buildings...



You might get a bottle of Jack by the end of the process... just not here at this place...

3 o'clock happened as I was walking form one building to the next...