Dad visit

Last weekend my dad and step-mother came up for a quick weekend visit.  They hadn't been here before, so it was fun for them to finally see where I live.  We had two very yummy dinners (aren't parents great for that?) and wandered around town and campus.  My step-mother really likes astronomy, so we went to the observatory both nights they were here and got to see a lot of neat stuff, including some things I hadn't tried to see before.  I am pretty impressed with how dark the skies are here (or perhaps how awesome my telescope is).  For a little excursion we went to the local bourbon (and other stuff) distillery.  It was really interesting seeing how it is all made, and the tasting was pretty yummy too.  I also learned that New York used to be known for their bourbon (outside of Kentucky, I suppose), hence the drink Manhattan.  But after prohibition nobody started it up again because New York had a dumb law that you had to pay something like $60k/year to make/sell/something liquor.  That changed and a few years ago this place started.  They turned a million dollar profit after two years (and they are a tiny little place that uses local ingredients, so that is crazy to me).  They are about to start an international distribution, and they say that some other places are popping up in New York to copy their success.  Their bourbon is expensive, so I wouldn't normally buy it, but my dad bought me some.  Yay, Dad.

When the yeast is doing its thing there gets a gross crust on top, and the container gets warm to the touch.

The stills

They hand dip the top in wax, but have to be careful not to make drips because those are copyrighted by Maker's Mark.  How funny!