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| World's largest sassafras tree |
After checking out and assuring that there was no charge, we drove north on Frederica Street to what is reported to be the world’s largest sassafras tree in the yard of an insurance agency next to the Owensboro Public Library. The sassafras trees were quite impressive and believed to be over 100 feet tall and 250-300 years old.
We then drove to the river where we parked at Owensboro’s Smothers Park along the Ohio River. This was one of the nicer riverfront parks that we have visited. It reminded us of the river walks in Pittsburgh and other revitalized cities. There were a good many locals walking on the wide concrete path overlooking the river. A geotrail has several easy geocaches for visitors to find. Three fountains sprayed water in orchestrated patterns to the music. There were nice public bathrooms and a fantastic playground. We spent a lot of time walking on the paths that were being decorated for Christmas and through the playground. An older lady approached me because I was wearing a Marshall University sweatshirt. She said that she was inspired by the We Are Marshall movie and had a lot of respect for the football program. She told us that she once made a detour on a family trip to stop by the Marshall campus. While leaning over a railing, a pair of sunglasses got dropped into an empty water feature, so I jumped the fence and retrieved them before security could see me.
We made the short drive to the Green River Distillery, formerly the O. Z. Tyler Distillery, early for our 10 am tour and tasting. Our guide, Taylor, welcomed us at the door, and we spent a few minutes in the gift shop until we left on the tour. Taylor was well acquainted with the history and process at Green River Distilling despite having worked there less than a year. She took us through receiving and milling the grain to where the mash is blended and cooked then to the stainless fermentation vats.
We have had the O. Z. Tyler Bourbon and liked it and were disappointed that it is no longer being made. However, we were familiarized with the other excellent bourbons being produced. At the tasting we sampled Kentucky 10 Bourbon, made with wheat as the secondary grain, and Yellow Banks, named for the frontier name of Owensboro, with rye as the secondary grain. We also saw several bourbons that are made at Green River including Bradshaw (for Terry Bradshaw), Duke (for John Wayne’s estate), Quarter Horse and others. We also tasted Ladder 9, a cinnamon flavored bourbon. We expected it to be like Fireball but were pleased that the cinnamon was very subtle in the finish of the bourbon. We were very impressed with the quality of the spirits made at Green River and purchased a bottle of Yellow Banks for us and a bottle of Ladder 9 for one of Mary’s former co-workers.
After leaving the distillery, we drove to Moonlight Bar-B-Q for more Western Kentucky mutton barbecue. After looking at the buffet, we decided on that option since we could try many of the menu choices to see what we liked best. Both of us enjoyed the mutton barbecue as well as pulled pork and the buttered corn.
After lunch we drove to the International Bluegrass Hall of Fame and Museum, which is very near the park where we walked this morning. Our senior admission was $10 each down from the regular fee of $12. The first area we entered had 20 or more stringed instruments hanging that visitors were welcome to play. The guitars, mandolins, banjos and violins were all good quality instruments from makers such as Martin and Gibson. From there we walked around the displays documenting milestones in bluegrass music.
Large video screens positioned around the museum’s first floor featured interviews with notable bluegrass musicians such as Ricky Skaggs and Del McCoury as well as others like Yale University’s president who is a bluegrass fan. Artifacts such as Earl Scruggs’ banjos and a fiddle belonging to Bill Monroe’s Uncle Pen are displayed.
From there, we went to the second floor where we stopped at a set of touch screens that accessed interviews with bluegrass musicians and industry officials.
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| Fountains in Smothers Park |
We then drove to the river where we parked at Owensboro’s Smothers Park along the Ohio River. This was one of the nicer riverfront parks that we have visited. It reminded us of the river walks in Pittsburgh and other revitalized cities. There were a good many locals walking on the wide concrete path overlooking the river. A geotrail has several easy geocaches for visitors to find. Three fountains sprayed water in orchestrated patterns to the music. There were nice public bathrooms and a fantastic playground. We spent a lot of time walking on the paths that were being decorated for Christmas and through the playground. An older lady approached me because I was wearing a Marshall University sweatshirt. She said that she was inspired by the We Are Marshall movie and had a lot of respect for the football program. She told us that she once made a detour on a family trip to stop by the Marshall campus. While leaning over a railing, a pair of sunglasses got dropped into an empty water feature, so I jumped the fence and retrieved them before security could see me.
Unlike cypress mash tuns that we have seen at some other distilleries, these are sealed containers to precisely control the temperature and environment of the fermentation. In addition, Taylor told us that the stainless vats can be completely steam cleaned permitting the fermentation of different mashbills in the vats from one batch to another. The large Vendome column still produces the low proof distillate that is then sent to a doubler where the high proof “new make” whiskey is prepared for entry into the char 4 barrels.
We learned that Green River Distillery is the tenth distillery to be licenced in Kentucky (KSP-10) and is now the fourth largest producer of bourbon in the state. Green River Distillery began operation in 1885 and produced award winning whiskey. A fire at the distillery in 1918 caused the distillery to shut down before prohibition. The distillery was rebuilt in 1936 and the property changed hands many times since. In 2014 the distillery reopened as the O. Z. Tyler Distillery and in 2020 the distillery regained the Green River Distillery name.
We have had the O. Z. Tyler Bourbon and liked it and were disappointed that it is no longer being made. However, we were familiarized with the other excellent bourbons being produced. At the tasting we sampled Kentucky 10 Bourbon, made with wheat as the secondary grain, and Yellow Banks, named for the frontier name of Owensboro, with rye as the secondary grain. We also saw several bourbons that are made at Green River including Bradshaw (for Terry Bradshaw), Duke (for John Wayne’s estate), Quarter Horse and others. We also tasted Ladder 9, a cinnamon flavored bourbon. We expected it to be like Fireball but were pleased that the cinnamon was very subtle in the finish of the bourbon. We were very impressed with the quality of the spirits made at Green River and purchased a bottle of Yellow Banks for us and a bottle of Ladder 9 for one of Mary’s former co-workers.
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| Moonlite Bar-B-Q |
After lunch we drove to the International Bluegrass Hall of Fame and Museum, which is very near the park where we walked this morning. Our senior admission was $10 each down from the regular fee of $12. The first area we entered had 20 or more stringed instruments hanging that visitors were welcome to play. The guitars, mandolins, banjos and violins were all good quality instruments from makers such as Martin and Gibson. From there we walked around the displays documenting milestones in bluegrass music.
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| Uncle Pen's fiddle |
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| Earl Scruggs' banjos |
Disposable earphones for listening to the videos were provided. One room held a display of banjos produced by a notable maker showing various stages in the production of a hand-crafted instrument. The last room we visited held biographical plaques of all inductees into the Bluegrass Hall of Fame. We enjoyed reading these and had seen most of the performers at live shows or on the televised Grand Ole Opry.
Although the museum was not large, the exhibits were well displayed and interesting. There are several events at the museum in most years and we would seriously consider returning if an event interested us.
We left Owensboro around 3:30 pm and arrived back home around 6:30. Traffic around Louisville was bad but the trip was otherwise uneventful. We both agreed that the trip was a great time and we plan to return to Owensboro soon.
Although the museum was not large, the exhibits were well displayed and interesting. There are several events at the museum in most years and we would seriously consider returning if an event interested us.
We left Owensboro around 3:30 pm and arrived back home around 6:30. Traffic around Louisville was bad but the trip was otherwise uneventful. We both agreed that the trip was a great time and we plan to return to Owensboro soon.
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