Kentucky Monthly

1 week ago | kentuckymonthly.com | Jack Brammer

Rare is a University of Kentucky men’s home basketball game in which ESPN analyst Jay Bilas does not enticingly consume on national TV a huge soft-serve ice cream cone, a treat available to the masses at Rupp Arena in Lexington. Bilas devours the ice cream with much enthusiasm—like a team experiencing a shooting drought hitting five straight three-pointers. From where does that fine, sweet concoction that brings so much pleasure to connoisseur Bilas come?

1 week ago | kentuckymonthly.com | Gary Garth

I recently was invited to an industry product launch for new camping gear, including an inflatable camping mattress. Amy, the public relations executive who organized the event, said that it would be a Zoom video conference. It should come as no surprise that I sometimes struggle with Zoom technology. I thanked Amy, with whom I had previously worked, for the invite and said I would be happy to participate—or try to, as my past Zoom experiences had not always been flawless.

1 month ago | kentuckymonthly.com | Gary Garth

I had planned a multi-day fishing trip for early April. It would have involved about a half-day of travel, then a couple of days on the water with an old angling friend and colleague whom I don’t see as often as I would like. While sorting through piles of gear that included waders, a float tube, two generic “fishing bags” and more rods than I could possibly need, my wife walked into my office carrying a cup of coffee and a slice of fresh-from-the-oven chocolate cake.

1 month ago | kentuckymonthly.com | Deborah Kohl Kremer

History tells us that folks were making wine in Kentucky even before it was a state. Today, the Commonwealth is home to more than 70 wineries that produce everything from cabs to zins. Wine drinkers can find locally produced vino all across the state, but in Western Kentucky, they can grab a passport and hit the trail—the Western Kentucky Wine Trail.

1 month ago | kentuckymonthly.com | Deborah Kohl Kremer |Customized Bourbon

Kentucky offers the unique opportunity to tour and visit bourbon distilleries across the Commonwealth. A new experience has emerged in the industry with the popularity of bourbon blending, which enables visitors to create their own personalized combination of flavors in one bottle. The fundamentals of making bourbon—starting with federal standards of having 51 percent of corn in its mash bill, through the minimum two-year aging in a new charred-oak barrel—are non-negotiable.