Lynchburg

Kate and I went on a delightfully random adventure Monday. We drove to teeny tiny Lynchburg, TN to tour the Jack Daniel's distillery. It was such a fun day! Kate managed to get us reservations at Miss Mary Bobo's for lunch; if you ever find yourself in Lynchburg, this is a must-do. But call ahead; I think we were lucky to get in at the last minute.
Our group ate in one of the cellar rooms, and I'm kicking myself for not taking a picture. The room was very rustic...fireplace, exposed brick, all that good stuff. There was an older couple at our table from Seattle. It was kind of funny to see their culture shock; the sweet lady had lots of questions about the food and the "breathtaking humidity" (her words). The food was amazing (and low-calorie, I'm sure): fried chicken, meatloaf, creamed corn, cornbread, fried okra, butter beans, squash casserole, and "Jack apples". Oh, those apples. They were baked apples with Jack Daniel's poured on top. I think Kate got in two bites, while I managed about three. To get the same effect at home, take a bite of a baked apple and wash it down with a mouthful of whiskey. It was literally painful to eat them...ick. A lady at the end of our table (a teetotaler, she reminded us several times) might as well have licked the bowl. Homegirl LOVED her some Jack apples. She told us that the alcohol doesn't count as long as you chew it. Sure. Dessert was fudge pie with whiskey whipped cream. Definitely worth a stop if you're ever nearby!

Next up was the distillery tour. We were excited, and even more so when we found out the tour was free. As in, zero dollars...woohoo! I hate that I didn't take more pictures, but it was so dadgum hot I spent most of my energy trying to stay alive. When we got to the natural springs, you could literally feel the temperature drop. It was so nice and cool and shady.
Kate and I had a hard time peeling ourselves off of the wonderfully cool rocks to go into the non-AC room where they boil giant vats of mash. But suck it up we did! It was interesting to get to see (and smell!) the whiskey at different stages of production. The smell after the first stage literally brought tears to our eyes. Our tour guide told us that "the product" at that point was pretty much moonshine. My hat's off to anyone willing to swallow that! Kate and I agreed that the smell during the later parts of the process reminded us of the student section at a football game :) This was such a fun little day trip...we're trying to figure out where to go next!