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If you haven’t seen it yet, check out Chad Gibbs’ look at the last decade of the SEC: According to Facebook. It’s pretty damn funny and nostalgic. Chad also has a new book out called God and Football: Faith and Fanaticism in the Southeastern Conference
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We’ve added a new page that has Numerical & Alphabetical Rosters for every team in the SEC. I went through each school’s media guide and trimmed it down to just the roster. They are in the .pdf format and can either be downloaded and printed, or loaded on your phone for when you’re tailgating or inside the stadium. The link for the rosters will stay in the right hand column of every page on the site. If this is something people like, we’ll do it for the other conferences as well.
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If you’re attending a road football game at the University of Kentucky (Lexington) or Louisville you should definitely work a bourbon distillery tour into your plans for the weekend. It’s also possible that you could work this into Cincinnati, Western Kentucky, or Bowling Green games. The Kentucky Bourbon Trail includes Buffalo Trace, Four Roses, Woodford Reserve, and Wild Turkey in the general Lexington area. Tom Moore, Jim Beam, Maker’s Mark, and Heaven Hill would be closer to Louisville. Hitting up a Friday tour is the perfect way to kick off a football weekend. Even if you’re not a big fan of drinking bourbon, the distillery tours are interesting because of the complexities and magnitude of the process.
I just visited the Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, Kentucky. It’s about 30 minutes from Lexington and an hour from Louisville. This is the longest continuously operating distillery in the US. They were one of four distilleries that were allowed to continue producing bourbon during prohibition for medicinal purposes. The distillery has had several owners and has been previously known as the George T. Stagg Distillery. In 1999 it was renamed Buffalo Trace and they started producing bourbon under their own name. Buffalo Trace Kentucky Straight Bourbon is 90 proof (more than most) and is aged for 9 years. Theoretically it’s on the same basic level as Wild Turkey, Maker’s Mark, etc. Buffalo Trace has won a variety of awards like the Double Gold at the 2009 San Francisco World Spirits Competition. In the last couple of years I’ve been more of a Scotch drinker, but I drank Buffalo Trace for three straight days and would never turn it down. It seems to have a smoother taste than the bourbons I’ve had recently like Wild Turkey and Jim Beam. At the normal prices, it’s also an amazing value.
In addition to Buffalo Trace, the distillery creates, ages, and bottles an insane number of other bourbon brands. The list includes Van Winkle, Blanton’s, W.L. Weller, Elmer T. Lee, George T. Stagg, Rock Hill Farms, Eagle Rare, and more. These run the gamut of spending amounts. Buffalo Trace is in the $20 range, Blanton’s is in the $50′s, and Pappy Van Winkle 23 Year Old Family Reserve is upwards of $200. If you get the chance look for these at your local liquor store. And by all means, if you get the chance, visit Buffalo Trace or another bourbon distillery during your weekend tailgating vacation.
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During the winter I frequently enjoy a nice scotch to close out an evening. It’s an indoor drink that provides the proper warmth (physically and emotionally). As the weather improves I usually kick off the spring drinking season with Gin Weekend. Then eventually gracing the sweltering heat of summer with tequila. But as September comes and brings a nip to the air, it’s time again to meet bourbon’s sweet embrace. If you grew up going to football games in the South then you recognized the smell of bourbon before you even knew what liquor was. I remember being completely confused as to why people were putting the end of their spirit shakers in their souvenir cokes and mixing them. Even for the biggest beer drinker, bourbon become a necessity during tailgating season. It’s a lot easier to sneak a couple of miniatures into the game than trying to conceal a six pack of cold ones.
With all of these autumn induced feelings about bourbon swirling through my head, it’s with great pleasure that I’ll be attending the Buffalo Trace Distillery’s White Dog Days Celebration this weekend, Oct 15-17th, in Frankfort and Lexington, Kentucky. On Friday, Buffalo Trace is sponsoring the Franklin County Stakes race at Keeneland race track in Lexington. On Saturday, Buffalo Trace is opening their distillery in Franklin up for a day of music, tours, Bourbon Boot camp, and corn hole and barrel rolling contests.
As every avid drinker is advised to slow their brown liquor roll during summer, so does Buffalo Trace, who does not distill during the summer. White Dog Days is the kickoff to the new distillation season. White Dog itself is the name Buffalo Trace has given to the clear distillate that is made before it’s placed in barrels for aging to create bourbon. They have decided to bottle a small batch of White Dog, which can be purchased from their gift shop. One should note that White Dog is “not a sipping drink” since it’s essentially moonshine. So yes, I’m going to Kentucky this weekend to drink bourbon, moonshine, and bet on the ponies. If you are anywhere within driving distance you should take part in the festivities. If you can’t make it by, look up the closest retailer of Buffalo Trace Bourbon to you and give it a try tailgating this weekend.
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Thomas Beisner from Kentucky Sports Radio brings the thunder with his tailgating manifesto:
1. If you’re going to drink, then drink like a man Don’t confuse this as me condoning the consumption of mass amounts of alcohol (but if it’s the excuse you are looking for, then feel free). I am simply saying that if you choose to take part in adult libations as part of your pre-game festivities, then make sure you let your testosterone do the decision-making. There will be no drinking of colored beverages such as cranberry and vodkas, margaritas or hootch of any kind. You will drink beer or you will drink bourbon. Hey, feel free to even throw in a little rum now and again, so long as its dark. And when you drink beer, it will not be an import. It will be domestic and it will be heavy. The cheaper the better.
2. Do not treat a tailgate as a fashion show Dude, I dont care how many people told you those plaid pants were cool when they were hanging on the shelf at J. Crew. They aren’t. And they sure as hell aren’t appropriate for a football tailgate. You wear your team colors. If you need to wear a tie for reasons beyond your control (you’re still a pledge you little b***h), then wear some blue for God’s sakes. If you are trying to make a fashion statement at a tailgate, this might not be your kind of get-together. Try soccer.
3. Sunglasses are a must This is the essential part of your tailgating attire, and not because your future is so bright. The fine Kentucky females will be out in full force with their skirts, their short shorts and the only good thing to come of mixing women and sports – the form fitting football jersey. And unless you want to be labeled the perv with the creepy stare, I’d scoop a pair of shades.
4. Man the grill With emphasis on “man”. Grilling out at a tailgate is not necessary, but just like hitting on your sister’s friends, what’s the harm in trying? The most important thing to remember, though, if you decide to undertake such a mission is that you better be serving beef only – preferably in the form of burgers and dogs. No grilled chicken*. No fish. And for God’s sakes Emeril, no grilled veggies. If John Wayne wouldn’t eat it, then it’s not acceptable.
5. Don’t embarrass yourself Even though it might seem cool at the time, that hot chick from your psychology class doesn’t want to hear about how you always find yourself staring at her in class, and she isn’t going to be impressed by you spelling your name on the driveway with your urine. And your friends little sister? Let’s just say she isn’t going to find your vulgar comments charming, especially through your beer burps. So enjoy yourself in moderation and do your best to remain a classy gentleman for the most part. After all, you aren’t a Louisville fan.
*A recent discussion over these rules has resulted in an amendment that grilled chicken will be acceptable as long as you are not the one eating it and it increases your chances of doing the horizontal mambo. No other excuses are accepted.
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