Louisville’s Old Fashioned and the Kentucky Bourbon Trail Welcome Center
An old fashioned is a straightforward cocktail: whiskey, bitters, simple syrup or sugar, ice, and a twist. This enduring recipe has a long history with possible ties to Kentucky.
“There was a whiskey cocktail in the early 1800s,” says Andy Treinen, president and CEO of the Frazier History Museum in Louisville. “That was basically a sugar cube, and they would put bitters on top of it, and then they would muddle it and you would be allowed to pour your own whiskey over the top to taste.”
Continue reading about the old fashioned and Kentucky Bourbon Trail and watch the video.
The Kentucky Spring Seat Saddle
In the late 1800s, Kentucky saddle maker Eugene Minihan created and marketed an innovative product that would give the horse-dependent population a more comfortable way to ride. In 2019 the Kentucky General Assembly dedicated it as the official saddle of the commonwealth.
“He is credited with coming up with what we call a spring seat saddle,” says saddle maker John Goble. “He learned that he could take a tree—the frame that a saddle is built on—cut a piece of the branch out, and replace it with a leather hinge, and the saddle would be flexible. Today they’re called flex trees. But he was the first guy, as far as we know, that came up with this idea.”
Learn more about the Kentucky spring seat saddle and watch the video.
A Tribute to Secretariat
Drivers coming into Lexington on scenic Old Frankfort Pike are now greeted by a larger-than-life statue of one of the most famous Thoroughbred racehorses in history. Although he wasn’t foaled in Kentucky, Secretariat spent his life after racing in nearby Paris, and he left an indelible mark on the state’s signature industry.
The statue is situated in a roundabout located west of downtown Lexington at the intersection of Old Frankfort and Alexandria Drive. The location offers drivers a 360-degree view of the statue, which is the work of Washington-based artist Jocelyn Russell.
