No, I am not talking about baseball (something I love) nor hot dogs and apple pie (both of which I love too) but rather Bourbon, specifically the ‘real thing’ coming out of Kentucky. Folks are unaware that, despite what you may think, Bourbon doesn’t have to be made in Bourbon County nor even in the Bluegrass state to carry the moniker of this beloved whiskey.

I was in Louisville a while back and had a great time- visiting friends, doing a great book signing event at Proof on Main in the outstanding and uber chic 21c Museum Hotel, a de rigueur stop at the Louisville Slugger baseball bat factory and museum, gorging on western Kentucky BBQ (you must hit the Frankfort Avenue Beer Depot), and, of course, doing a small stop on the Bourbon trail, something I hadn’t done in years. Continue reading »

I will admit it- I am curiously obsessed with quirky vending machines. The first time I traveled to Tokyo in the early 1990’s, I was amazed by much: amazing people, new customs (and needing to know when and how to bow, etc.), pristine streets, cool fashion (the emerging of the hip clothing on the streets of Shibuya, Harajuku, Daikanyama, Aoyama Tokyo-fashion districts), the rage of pachinko machines, and the street side vending machines selling everything from sodas to beer to odd beverages like the unusually named Pocari Sweat. Never got the courage to get a can of the aforementioned Sweat but enjoyed lots of other libations in these neat machines that were, and still are, omnipresent. Continue reading »