On the Road Again with Merle

[Nature Boy]

Well done, mqqn ! A very enjoyable tour of your neck of the woods!

Does Merle have a favorite of the current JD offerings? My dad brought back a few bottles of Jess Gamble from Lynchburg, and we thought it was pretty good stuff.

 

[mqqn]

Well done, mqqn ! A very enjoyable tour of your neck of the woods!

Does Merle have a favorite of the current JD offerings? My dad brought back a few bottles of Jess Gamble from Lynchburg, and we thought it was pretty good stuff.

Thank you, We had a great time!

Down here a lot of us prefer the Green Label.
However, that is , sadly, being discontinued. It has only been available in NY,TX,PA,NJ and TN for the past several years.

Others like the Gentleman Jack, but that is a little sweet for me and you lose some barrel with the second charcoal mellowing.

My wife and I generally will be sipping the Single Barrel when Green goes away. The SBS is 94 proof.

If you are really hankering to throw rocks at your grandma, the Barrel Proof is good, around 130 proof.

The worst JD I ever tasted was marvelous. ;p)

Best

mqqn

 

[btb01]

While Merle is in transit between hosts, I thought I’d interject with a quick update to let everyone know that we’re nearing the end of the first US leg of the tour, and Merle will soon be going international!

Here is list of international hosts as it currently stands:

waynorth in Canada

Jack Black
Johnnythefox
and Magizm7 in the UK

Jolipapa in France

and meako in Australia

If there are any other international members who meet the criteria and would like to participate, I would love to expand that list. Just let me know!

US latecomers are still more than welcome to join in as well, and will be added to the second US leg after Merle returns from his international travels.

 

[Johnnythefox]

We do some work for the tulsa international bus plant. During WW2 they built bombers here, and the building is a foot shy of a mile long. I hear they grew crops on the roof to disguise it from spying enemy aircraft. After the war I believe they made commercial planes for a while but now it’s all school buses. The facility is close in proximity to the tulsa air port, with smaller runways behind the plant to the west.

View attachment 1798938View attachment 1798939View attachment 1798940

Did I miss a bit,can you tell us what it is you do?
great posts by the way.

 

[Johnnythefox]

Merle and I went to Lynchburg this morning for Old Man Breakfast at Woodard's Grocery which also has a small cafe/diner inside where Lynchburg locals go for a good and cheap breakfast.

We were joined by one of the Jack Daniel tour guides -

Jason liked Merle -

I drove the mile or so up to the JD Visitor Center and took Merle for a stroll -

Lexi in the White Rabbit Bottle Shop got to meet Merle and vice versa -

And this gentleman and Squire, Martin, had won a trip from the UK to visit Lynchburg. Merle and I will be eating lunch with Martin tomorrow at Miss Mary Bobo's Boarding House. Pictures will follow!

My old truck at the Squire Parking at the Motlow House

Merle inspecting the Squire wares displayed inside the Squire Room at the Motlow House -

And also reviewing part of the current product lineup. Detailed viewers will see the ugly mug of a 40 year Squire in this pic as well -

This Squire was talking to me, so I introduced him to Merle.

View attachment 1804237

Merle met Mr. Goose Baxter, who is an ambassador for the Tennessee Squire Association. When you visit as a Squire you can sit and have a nice chat with Goose. I often drive or ride over just to have a little relaxing chat with Goose and a cup of coffee. Goose really liked Merle and told me stories of Jack Daniel knives offered over the years.

View attachment 1804238

Miss Kathy keeps the show running, sending out orders and selling merchandise to walk-in traffic. She is a sweetie!

View attachment 1804236

This fellow is a friend of mine from Virgina who is down for the Wyooter Hunt tomorrow evening. Jimmy works at a beef jerky store, and he also is a professional Santa during the season.

Merle and I enjoyed some chicken street tacos later in the evening -

View attachment 1804239

Charlene my good friend had bought me this balloon display and made me a pineapple angel cake for my 40th Squire Anniversary bless her heart. Merle liked her.

That's about it for today - I see how much work my elders in this thread did to get so many great and interesting pictures!

I hope you all are enjoying your week as much as Merle and I!

best

mqqn

For us across the pond divided by a common language.

can you tell me what is a service dog is it for the blind or military?

No strollers, in England that's a walking aid for the infirm?

Also what's a Squire,In England we should doff our hat to him.



Fanny pack by the way means something far,far different in England.

 

[Johnnythefox]

Hi Folks -

Today Merle and the crew visited Lynchurg and went on a tour of the Distillery, along with checking out the Visitor Center and also eating (seeing a pattern here?) at one of the excellent local BBQ places.

Inside the Visitor Center is a display of Art and Char Hancock. Art was born in Peoria Illinois, but somehow made it to Lynchburg and became a key employee with the Jack Daniel Distillery.

I showed Merle the carving and whittling display -

How about a full, sealed bottle from the late 1800s. The product is still clear.

Merle looking into the White Rabbit Bottle Shop where you can legally buy JD products in Moore County, which is a dry county. Well, I guess it is a little damp at this point....

A tour guide is assigned to each tour and you are loaded into a bus and taken up "the hill" to start the tour. Our guide was Jon, who is a town local and does a great job with his tours.

You are driven past one of the old "rick houses", what JD calls the barrelhouses.

A view of the grain mill area from up on the hill - I am trying to give you a feel of what you will see during a walking tour.

This is the ricking operation where carefully stacked white maple is burned to create the charcoal for the JD Charcoal Mellowing process.
The maple is taken from managed forest within a 90 mile radius of Lynchburg.

The EPA mandated the smoke collection units above the burn area. JD used to cut and stack the ricks, but now the stacks are delivered ready to go and all of the old sawmill works has been removed.

Jon talking to the tour next to the statue of Mr. Jack by the cave spring, visible on the right side of the picture.

Another tour ahead of us - just a good view of what you will see on tour -

The "Fatal Safe" in Mr. Jack's original office. Jack is reported to have kicked this old safe in anger one morning when the safe was not opening for him. Jack suffered from gangrene over the following years and six years after kicking the safe he finally succumbed.

Another view from the road while walking the tour. These pictures are taken in order, however pictures are forbidden in some areas, such as the mashing, the still, barrel houses and the charcoal mellowing area. This is reported to be for safety -

END OF PART ONE -

In a dry county is it OK to buy drink out of town and drink it on your own property?

How come its allowed to mandate that in the first place?

 

[mqqn]

btb01 - that is going to be one good international trip!! I look forward to those visits.

For us across the pond divided by a common language.

can you tell me what is a service dog is it for the blind or military?

No strollers, in England that's a walking aid for the infirm?

Also what's a Squire,In England we should doff our hat to him.



Fanny pack by the way means something far,far different in England.

In a dry county is it OK to buy drink out of town and drink it on your own property?

How come its allowed to mandate that in the first place?

Johnnythefox

1 - a service dog or animal is a medically provided animal that can assist a person with any number of physical or mental ailments. People who have service animals in the US are supposed to carry paperwork showing the animal is truly a service animal.

2 - A Squire by definition is a land owner, and I do believe that term originated in England.

what is a "squire" - Google Search

3 - The people of a county in the USA can vote to ether allow or deny the sale of alcohol. This is more prevalent in the south.
Moore County, TN, did this many years ago. Over time views change and in Moore County, TN, the JD Distillery asked for and was granted the ability to sell bottles at the Distillery as "souvenirs". Wine and beer has been sold in the county for as long as I can remember, I would add, so the law appears to refer to spirits only. One should not dive down the rabbit hole trying to "make head or tail" of laws in the USA lest one be pursuing a headache.

best

mqqn

 

[Fodderwing]

mqqn You are quite the ambassador. Thank you for a comprehensive enchanting visit.

 

[Peregrin]

What a great visit for Merle, mqqn !

btb01
I look forward to Merle's continuing World Tour, now he has his Passport, Barrett! That flight across the Atlantic can be pretty boring though!

 

[btb01]

No strollers, in England that's a walking aid for the infirm?

Here it’s the thing you push a baby or child around in. I think you’d call it a buggy or pram.

Fanny pack by the way means something far,far different in England.

I’m not touching that one!

The people of a county in the USA can vote to ether allow or deny the sale of alcohol. This is more prevalent in the south.
Moore County, TN, did this many years ago. Over time views change and in Moore County, TN, the JD Distillery asked for and was granted the ability to sell bottles at the Distillery as "souvenirs". Wine and beer has been sold in the county for as long as I can remember, I would add, so the law appears to refer to spirits only. One should not dive down the rabbit hole trying to "make head or tail" of laws in the USA lest one be pursuing a headache.

Benton County, where I grew up in Arkansas, was completely dry — no liquor, wine or beer. You could get a drink in a restaurant, but you had to be a member of a “private club” (which usually meant filling out a little card and paying a $5 membership fee, which was then deducted from the cost of your meal).

Washington County, just to the south, was not dry, and there was a big liquor store located just on the other side of the county line, called (of course) County Line Liquor. To the north was the Missouri state line, and there was another big liquor store just over the state line called Macadoodles.

Recently (in the last 10 years or so), they changed the law and allowed liquor sales in Benton County. Macadoodles already had a store in Washington County, and state law prevented them from having more than one store in the state, so they couldn't open one in Benton County. So the wife of the owner of Macadoodles started her own company, completely separate from husband’s company, and opened a liquor store in Benton County. The look and layout of the store is almost identical to distinct look and layout of Macadoodles, and the name of the store is Guess Who?

 

[beezwax]

While Merle is in transit between hosts, I thought I’d interject with a quick update to let everyone know that we’re nearing the end of the first US leg of the tour, and Merle will soon be going international!

Here is list of international hosts as it currently stands:

waynorth in Canada

Jack Black
Johnnythefox
and Magizm7 in the UK

Jolipapa in France

and meako in Australia

If there are any other international members who meet the criteria and would like to participate, I would love to expand that list. Just let me know!

US latecomers are still more than welcome to join in as well, and will be added to the second US leg after Merle returns from his international travels.

Barrett that passport for Merle is fantastic

 

[mqqn]

In a dry county is it OK to buy drink out of town and drink it on your own property?

How come its allowed to mandate that in the first place?

Yes, it is ok to buy outside and bring it in to your own property.
As a matter of fact, all JD employees get a pint bottle of Old Number 7 from the company on the first Friday of each month.



Best

mqqn

 

[JTB_5]

Merle landed safely in FL today, so I decided to let him have a slice of my daily life (at least an afternoon).

First, all of our rabbits needed some time to see Merle because they are curious and cautious creatures, which seems like a knife-type of personality, right?

Lucy seems intrigued. . .


An unnamed offspring of Lucy's is even more interested in Merle! Apparently young rabbits are like young children in this respect.


This is one we have decided to keep. His name is currently changing as the kids decide what they want to call him. Right now I think he's Picket (after the Green Ember character). He also seems pretty interested in Merle.


Merle enjoyed meeting Corrie, our runt male and first rabbit:


Jane wanted to try and open Merle's blade, but she's a bit crazy like that:


My wife went blueberry picking this morning, so I let Merle have a taste. I think he wanted more, but I was too selfish to share further.


Then Merle helped me make a snack: a slice of my wife's homemade sourdough with Irish butter.


Maybe I'm a bit crazy as well, but Merle wanted to help me cook dinner, so I let him start the grill. I think he got a bit carried away with the lighter fluid:


Merle seems a bit underaged to drink, but I had a beer while we waited for the fire to get hot.


How'd we do, Merle? "Just right" is what I think he said.

 

[JTB_5]

Merle and I are finishing up our evening after teaching a late night Pre-Algebra class to some international students. It is hard to stay sharp so late at night, but Merle is up to the task.

 

[Johnnythefox]

List of participants (updated 4/12/22)

US (first leg)
btb01
@Pàdruig
Peregrin
@Hyesouljah
@abbydaddy
beezwax
@paulhilborn
Nature Boy
@TheChunk91
mqqn
JTB_5

Canada
waynorth

International
Jack Black
Johnnythefox
Magizm7
Jolipapa
meako

US (second leg)
@Rookie82
@SVTFreak
@HEMI 49
@hornetguy
@glocktenman
@tejasandre
@Markeologist
@BigKurtHaze
@Wurrwulf
@TOM K.
@sitflyer
@sbh06
@bigfish64

If you have any questions, please let me know. I would like to avoid changes to the list/order if possible, but if your time with Merle is coming up and you have a schedule conflict that would require moving your visit to a later date, send me a PM and we'll figure something out.

I'll also keep this post updated as Merle's travels progress, so that anyone who's interested can see at a quick glance which members have already gone and where Merle is currently located.

= Merle has already visited this member.
= Merle is in transit.
= Merle is currently visiting this member.

This is a great thread really enjoying it,Ive learnt quite a bit

I dont think I can do it justice and its worrying me, I also may not be here when it lands.

Would you be so kind as to take me of the list,thanks.

 

[beezwax]

Welcome to Florida Merle! I have to admit I'm feeling a little "green" with envy seeing all these summery pics. Here at the opposite end of the country we still have deep piles of snow on the ground. I like winter but this one is like a dinner party guest that won't leave.

 

[btb01]

Merle landed safely in FL today, so I decided to let him have a slice of my daily life (at least an afternoon).

First, all of our rabbits needed some time to see Merle because they are curious and cautious creatures, which seems like a knife-type of personality, right?

Lucy seems intrigued. . .
View attachment 1815937

An unnamed offspring of Lucy's is even more interested in Merle! Apparently young rabbits are like young children in this respect.
View attachment 1815938

This is one we have decided to keep. His name is currently changing as the kids decide what they want to call him. Right now I think he's Picket (after the Green Ember character). He also seems pretty interested in Merle.
View attachment 1815939

Merle enjoyed meeting Corrie, our runt male and first rabbit:
View attachment 1815940

Jane wanted to try and open Merle's blade, but she's a bit crazy like that:
View attachment 1815941

My wife went blueberry picking this morning, so I let Merle have a taste. I think he wanted more, but I was too selfish to share further.
View attachment 1815943

Then Merle helped me make a snack: a slice of my wife's homemade sourdough with Irish butter.
View attachment 1815944

Maybe I'm a bit crazy as well, but Merle wanted to help me cook dinner, so I let him start the grill. I think he got a bit carried away with the lighter fluid:
View attachment 1815942

Merle seems a bit underaged to drink, but I had a beer while we waited for the fire to get hot.
View attachment 1815945

How'd we do, Merle? "Just right" is what I think he said.
View attachment 1815946

Nice photos, Joshua! Looks like you and Merle are off to a good start.

This is a great thread really enjoying it,Ive learnt quite a bit

I dont think I can do it justice and its worrying me, I also may not be here when it lands.

Would you be so kind as to take me of the list,thanks.

Hey Johnny, I can certainly take you off the list if you want, but I will say that I think you would do an excellent job, based on the motorcycle trips and hikes I’ve seen you post about in other threads, and I know we’d all love to see more of your part of England.

As for the timing, we can always wait until it gets closer and I can follow up with you then. It’s a bit tough to estimate, but I’d say it might 6-7 weeks before your spot on the list comes up, which would put it around the end of June.

That said, it is entirely up to you, of course. No worries either way.

(By the way, I tried to send you a PM, but your inbox was full.)

Welcome to Florida Merle! I have to admit I'm feeling a little "green" with envy seeing all these summery pics. Here at the opposite end of the country we still have deep piles of snow on the ground. I like winter but this one is like a dinner party guest that won't leave.

It almost hit 90° here in tropical Minnesota yesterday. Supposed to hover around 70° over the next week, should be lovely.

 

[beezwax]

It almost hit 90° here in tropical Minnesota yesterday. Supposed to hover around 70° over the next week, should be lovely.

Entirely superfluous emoji Barrett, the tone of "rubbing it in" is perfectly conveyed by your text alone

Johnnythefox +1 from me, I would love to learn and see more from your corner of the world! No pressure if you don't want to do it of course, but there's also no pressure if you DO do it

 

[JTB_5]

Yesterday Merle and I began with some reading:


Though he wanted some Soma, I kept him Savage-like.

Checked on the garden:


Went to work and came home for dinner. Merle was a glutton and ate before I could take a picture of the food:


We gazed up at the juvenile hawks living in our neighbor's oak tree:



We then went around enjoying the local flora. . .

 

[JTB_5]

Merle enjoyed getting familiar with some Florida flowers and trees:



Dewberries!

Apple tree and oak tree saplings:


Neighbor's fallen tree from a recent storm:


Sun setting with a big oak behind: