Sunday, February 29, 2004
Bourbon trail in Kentuckyoffers tours of distilleries
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) -- If you're a bourbon connoisseur, you'll want to visit the Kentucky Bourbon Trail.
The amber liquor has been made in Kentucky for more than two centuries, dating back to the Scotch-Irish homesteaders in the area. Bourbon was first produced there sometime around 1775 as a corn-based moonshine aged in barrels charred on the inside. A half-dozen distilleries continue the tradition and offer complimentary tours as well.
At Heaven Hill, in Bardstown, you can learn about a family-owned company founded shortly after Prohibition.
A tour of the famous Jim Beam facility, in Clermont, includes a tasting, video about a master distiller, and tours of a house and one of the oldest stills in the country.
Makers Mark Distillery in Loretto has been named a national historic landmark as the oldest working distillery on its original site.
At Four Roses in Lawrenceburg, tours begin with the grain silos and follow the process through the cooking, distilling and fermentation. Buffalo Trace near Frankfort is nestled in Kentucky's rolling green hills on a scenic byway once traveled by herds of buffalo. At Wild Turkey in East Lawrenceburg, you can watch new bourbon being poured into handcrafted oak barrels, then left to age in old timbered warehouses.
And if you're passing through Louisville, the Old Seelbach Bar in the Seelbach Hotel usually stocks 50 bourbons. Sometimes a tasting menu is available.
For help in planning a trip to Kentucky, visit www.kybourbon.com or call (800) 225-8747. Note that hours and days for bourbon tours vary from place to place, and those that are open on Sunday are not permitted to serve or sell liquor.
New Jersey guide noteslesser-known attractions
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) -- New Jersey's effort to attract more visitors and their tourism dollars this year includes a focus on some of the more obscure attractions in the Garden State.
Everybody knows about the shore and the Atlantic City casinos, so the 2004 New Jersey Travel Guide attempts to draw attention to sites such as the USS New Jersey in Camden, the Newark Museum and the Liberty Science Center in Jersey City.
The 152-page guide also touts wine tours, hermit crab races and America's longest-running rodeo in a new section called "101 Things to Do."
"Tourism remains the lifeblood of New Jersey's economy and a linchpin for our future economic progress," said William D. Watley, chief executive officer of the New Jersey Commerce and Economic Growth Commission, which publishes the guide.
Copies of the guide are free by calling (800) VISIT-NJ or online at www.visitnj.org.
Amtrak route detoursto fix historic tunnel
DENVER (AP) -- Amtrak's California Zephyr will be detoured away from one of the most scenic passenger rail routes in the country for about a month this summer while repairs are made on the historic Moffat Tunnel.
The 6.2-mile-long tunnel, which opened in 1928, punches through the Continental Divide in the mountains 50 miles west of Denver. Amtrak will detour north from Denver to Cheyenne, Wyo., and then west across Wyoming to Salt Lake City.
Normally, the Zephyr winds through numerous shorter tunnels in the foothills west of Denver, climbs to the Moffat Tunnel at 9,242 feet above sea level and then follows the Colorado River west through steep, narrow canyons until crossing into Utah and heading north to Salt Lake City.
Railroad officials have not set the exact dates of the closure. Some coal trains might use the tunnel at night during the rail repair work.
The Ski Train, an excursion train that runs between Denver and the Winter Park ski resort in winter and summer months, will be suspended during the repairs. Winter Park lies just on the west side of the Moffat Tunnel.
Residents of Winter Park, Glenwood Springs and other resort towns along the route say the closure will be hard on the travel business.
The Moffat Tunnel is named for David Moffat Jr., the Denver & amp; Rio Grande Railroad president who pushed its construction.
The tunnel saved about 150 miles and at least four hours of rail travel time.
Museum features itemsof art from Osage tribe
ST. LOUIS (AP) -- The St. Louis Art Museum is hosting an exhibit starting March 13 called "The Art of the Osage." The show is billed as the first major exhibition of the art and culture of the Osage tribe, which at one time flourished throughout the Midwest in the areas around the Missouri, Mississippi, Osage and Red rivers.
"Art of the Osage" features more than 100 objects from 1750 to the present day. The exhibit includes utilitarian objects such as cradle boards, hunting implements, toys and clothing, as well as decorating objects such as wedding costumes, beaded bags, dancer's batons, feathered headdresses and hair ornaments. The museum describes the aesthetic of the Osage as "purposeful beauty."
The show will be on view through Aug. 8. The museum is located at 1 Fine Arts Drive. For details, call (314) 721-0072 or www.slam.org.