# 26 Seven years in the making

Custom labeled

I remember my first taste of Maker’s Mark. To protect other non-innocent parties involved, I will not put all the details in writing. I will say it may or may not have ended in streaking through a neighborhood in my hometown. Good times indeed.

Maker’s has a great program for its devoted fans called the Ambassadors. Basically you sign up and they send you things. The coolest part is that as an Ambassador, you get your name (along with 29 others) put on a barrel plate. After seven years, your barrel gets put into a batch of bourbon and you get invited to come dip a bottle from it.

Personally dipped

My barrel reached maturity this spring. I could not have planned this if I tried. So after an excellent time at the Kentucky Derby, I headed to the hills to visit Maker’s Mark Distillery.

I will admit that my bottle dipping was very emotional. My hands were shaking and I did my best to hold back the tears. At the end of it all, I am now the proud owner of two custom-labeled, personally dipped and stamped bottles of Maker’s Mark.

This post is dedicated to Ben, Cope and Tim, my eternal brothers in bourbon.

#25 My Old Kentucky Home

I’m not even sure where to begin. After the completion (survival) of Leadership Greenville closing retreat, I took to the mountains on my way to Kentucky. I was lucky enough to grab a quick nap before my friend Chad arrived.  Then it was only fitting to celebrate my arrival with a Maker’s Mark or two. I should have had a few more. I guess it was the excitement of the next day’s events had me stirring like a kid on Christmas.

 

On the way into Louisville, we scrambled to memorize the lyrics to “My Old Kentucky Home.” We arrived at Churchill Downs around noon in time to catch 5-6 races before the actual Derby.  These pre-races serve as a dress rehearsal for the big show.  You watch and yell then it’s time to research, bet, grab food and drinks then get back to your seats for the next round. At a normal sporting event, servers are walking around with beer or hotdogs. At the Derby, it’s Mint Juleps in souvenir glasses for $10. Works for me. (though in all honesty, I prefer my bourbon straight up).

To answer most of your questions: Yes, it was a great time. Yes, I had a mint julep. No, I didn’t win any money in fact I lost some. Yes, there were some extremely drunk people there.

My advice: Don’t bet on horses based on their names, like Pants on Fire and Midnight Interlude. DO NOT take the Express Shuttle to downtown after the race. You may just end up stuck in a parking lot for over an hour. And finally, have a stash spot for your big hat and heavy purse before the after party. It’s definitely worth staying up for the good time and the people watching.

Special thanks to my great friend Chad for such a spectacular time!

# 24 They want to suck my blood

After my senior year of high school, my mother and I headed to the Health Department for my vaccinations. After the first shot I felt a little woozy and before the nurse could put the band-aid on the second one, I was (apparently) on the floor convulsing. From then on I had to go to extreme caution when a needle was involved.

With that said, giving blood has never been on my radar.  I guess I was still on a high from HOG Day when I signed up for my appointment at The Blood Connection. And to be honest, it was nothing.

But here’s the funny part…The pre-screening process for giving blood is a cross between a first date and a job interview. You have to complete a mini physical to prove you’re healthy and then comes the questionnaire. Wow! I never in my life thought I’d be asked about intravenous drug use and sex with prostitutes or farm animals while on my lunch break. As the screener went to retest my iron levels I felt the pangs of rejection slowly creeping in.

But I passed, (YAY!) and I’m apparently an excellent blood giver, if I do say so myself. If you keep reading you’ll see that four days later I headed to Kentucky for the Derby and a trip to Maker’s Mark. Good thing it’ll be 2 months before I can donate again because I think it’ll take that long to get all the bourbon out of my system. 

In all honesty, for those of you that are healthy enough to give blood then please do so. A year ago I wouldn’t have passed the screening (for health reasons, not because of my secret animal fetish). For me it was a great feeling of accomplishment to be considered healthy enough to give life to another. So go donate!

#23 Get my H.O.G. on!

For you out-of-towners, Hands on Greenville (or HOG Day) is Greenville County’s premier platform for volunteering and community service. One day a year, the United Way of Greenville coordinates hoards of volunteers to complete service projects across the county. This year, 6,817 volunteers on 135 teams did everything from landscaping to painting to repair work to clean up efforts. Our team, PULSE and Kiwanis Main Street Young Professionals, spent the morning performing projects at Greenbrier Elementary School where we weeded flower gardens, arranged planters, painted playground equipment and mulched gardens and flower beds.

I’m so proud to call Greenville my home. HOG Day is just another great testament to the type of community we live in. With that, I encourage each and every one of you to dedicate your time to making the community you live in a better place.