The Last Leg

It seems that no matter how long the “adventure” is – the last two or three days become almost unbearable in the desire to GET HOME!

We had a most enjoyable four nights in Nashville and got to spend some quality time with niece Christy. We also had a delightful evening with her and Chris, but he was in the final throws of studies for the CMA (Certified Managerial Accountant). We’d had some time with him at the Reunion and will be back through in September, so tried to give him as much relief from “family pressure” as we could.

In our pursuit of the “best” bourbon, we made the trek to Thompson’s Station, southwest of Nashville to H Clark Distillery. What an education we received from Travis! Heath Clark is an attorney in Nashville who had a passion (many thought it an obsession) to start a distillery in Tennessee. After years of talking about it, his partners told him to “put up or shut up” and so, he set off to find a way to make it happen.

Forever, there had only been two distilleries in Tennessee — Jack Daniels (1864) and George Dickel (1878). In 1997, Prichard’s Distillery opened in the same county as George Dickel, but no other distilleries had been able to conquer the barrier to entry. Clark decided to figure out why others had not been able to “break through.” The law at the time required that approval for building a distillery had to begin at the local level, meaning it had to gain voter approval at the most local (city/county) level and every time a referendum was placed on the ballot, it was voted down by the locals.

Knowing that he would likely have the same outcome in Williamson County, he decided to approach it at the state level. He garnered support from state senators who ultimately presented a bill before the State Legislature. The bill argued that 1) if a county or local entity was dry, it would not be affected by the change in law; however, 2) if the local entity had already approved the sale or consumption of alcoholic beverages, they had already established that they had no objection to alcoholic beverages and, therefore, a company could rightfully build a production facility in their county. That bill passed the Tennessee Legislature on June 25, 2009. Today, ten years later, the Tennessee Whiskey Trail includes 25 distilleries – and, of course, not all distilleries participate in the Whiskey Trail!

Travis, the distiller, is a walking encyclopedia of bourbon-making and is completely self-taught. It is such a joy to listen to him, as his passion and appreciation for the art (and the results!) is all encompassing.

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Our evening with Christy & Chris began at Monell’s at the Manor, which is a delightful restaurant close to the Nashville Airport – where it is GUARANTEED that you will overeat! Served family style, you are seated at long tables where you get to meet lots of friendly folks you didn’t know and enjoy amazing food that just keeps coming as long as you keep eating! Captain Bill & I work hard at avoiding fried food, but there was NO WAY we were going to avoid the most amazing fried chicken, along with every conceivable side dish, two other main courses, biscuits and home made dessert! The ambiance and the company was so comfortable with no rush and lots of laughter. We topped off the evening with a return to Christy’s home.

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Having toured Nashville extensively last fall with Nancy & Judy, we chose to revisit a couple of high spots – one of them being Nelson’s Green Brier Distillery, as it had such an amazing history. Charles Nelson immigrated to the United States in 1850 from northern Germany with his parents and five younger siblings. Tragedy struck on the voyage to America when the ship encountered intense storms and gale force winds and his father went overboard, sinking directly to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean weighed down by the family fortune sown into special clothing he had made to hold it! The rest of the family survived, but arrived in America with only the clothes on their back and 15 year-old Charles found himself man of the house!

Over the next twenty years, he made candles, moved the family to Cincinnati, entered the butcher business, and acquainted himself with a number of fellow craftsmen who educated him in the art of producing and selling distilled spirits, particularly whiskey!

By 1870, he had moved to the Nashville area and opened a grocery store which flourished from sales of his three best-selling products: coffee, meat & whiskey. He quickly learned that focusing on the whiskey would be his best bet, so he purchased the distillery that was supplying his whiskey! The Greenbrier Distillery opened in 1870 and operated until 1909, when Tennessee instituted statewide Prohibition, long before the rest of the nation. Charles had died by then, but had left the business to his very astute businesswoman wife, Louisa, who had moved all her production to Kentucky! She was able to remain in business for several more years, during which time she paid the salaries of all her Tennessee employees until they found other employment!

Fast forward 100 years, brothers Charlie & Andy Nelson come to Nashville Tennessee from their home in California for a family reunion. Out of sheer luck, they stumble upon this highway marker outside of town as they go to a local butcher with their father, Bill Nelson. Because of multiple generation’s denial & embarrassment of “moonshiners” and “bootleggers”, the family history had all but been lost. Through much digging and research – and the gifts of the local historical society – they knew they had found their heritage and their destiny!

The historical society had the original recipes documented by the master distiller and they even had two bottles of the Greenbrier Whiskey. One hundred years later, the great-great-great grandsons of Charles Nelson reopened Nelson’s Greenbrier Distillery and have been winning awards and recognitions from the day they opened their doors in Nashville.

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We thought we would take a break from distillery tours and headed to Fontanel – the 33,000 sq ft log cabin of Barbara Mandrell. Unfortunately, it had recently been acquired by new investors as was closed for renovations. BUT, on the same venue was Prichard’s Distillery! Captain Bill claims he didn’t know!! As mentioned earlier, Prichard’s opened in 1997 in Kelso County (same county as George Dickel), but it has its roots in the Prichard recipes and techniques of the 1800’s. All of the distilling is currently done in Kelso County and the Fontanel location is simply a touring opportunity. Jeff was delightful and we spent an enjoyable hour with him.

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While we enjoyed our days in Nashville, our liquor cabinet was full of great bourbon and we were getting anxious to get home. However, unlike with the boat, changing or cancelling reservations is most difficult, so keeping to your original schedule is just easier! We headed out on Thursday morning, bypassing most of downtown and therefore most of rush hour traffic and made our way to Anchor Down RV Resort in Dandridge, TN. This location always gets 5 Stars – I have never seen or heard a single complaint about the facility and reservations must be made a year in advance! And we were not disappointed!

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After a delightful afternoon and evening, we pulled out at 6:00 am June 28- for an 8:00 am appointment at Ken Wilson Ford Heavy Truck Department in West Asheville. They had replaced our Fuel Gauge last fall and it “needed calibration”. Three hours later, we were unloading the refrigerator and essentials into the toad and leaving Contessa – she needs new gauge & fuel sensor!

It really worked well to leave Contessa, as Kent & Donna arrived from Desert Shores on Sunday, June 30 – so they could use our site without us having to jockey around the coach. We had a delightful week with them as we celebrated our Nation’s Independence and Our Friendship!

So, Contessa should be home next week. The Captain & the Admiral will enjoy being home in the mountains for the remainder of the summer – and then, in late September, Contessa and The Toad will get Hitched Again!