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Monday, Sep. 22, 2008

Bourbon from 1945 Lexington was a real find, especially at $10

Thanks to his friend Bill Ambrose, Barry McNees is now the proud owner of a fifth of 100 proof James E. Pepper Bourbon that came out of the barrel in 1945.

A 63-year-old bourbon calls for a very special occasion, and McNees, who is developing the $190 million Distillery District arts and entertainment area in Lexington, is patiently waiting for one.

Please note that this bottle of Pepper's finest is so old it has a cork, not a screw top.

"I lucked into finding that bottle on eBay." said Ambrose, who was president of Lexington Brewing Co.

"I only paid like 10 bucks for it, thinking it was an empty bottle," he said. "When it came, it was full ... (and) probably worth $1,000 to $1,500. I've seen them auctioned for that."

He gave it to McNees because the Distillery District includes the former Pepper distillery, which produced various brands for about 90 years starting in 1880.

Ambrose's gift bottle was distilled in 1939 and aged all through World War II.

Although bourbon's aging process ends with bottling, McNees expects it "to smell a little bit like kerosene when it's uncorked. You have to let it 'breathe' and it begins to take on the authentic smell and taste from 60 years ago," he said. "It's a snapshot, it's a time capsule, it's what bourbon tasted like back then."

What's that on your tie?

WARNING: The following item contains references to poop, manure, fecal matter, crap, turds and neckties. Those with weak dispositions should skip to the next item.

Pat Kelly was scooping along in a customer's back yard in his role as Lexington's Pet Butler franchisee.

He was thinking about the Pet Butler annual convention and what new product he might introduce there.

He started noticing the patterns of the doggie business on the lawn in front of him, and he had an epiphany.

Long story short, he took pictures of some of the better fecal matter he ran across in the next few days, and they now appear on a series of $30 Crappy Ties you can see at Zazzle.com/papapats.

"My thought was that if all the people who said they got a crappy tie from somebody actually got one from me, that would be great," Kelly said.

The reaction has been mostly favorable, especially from "the industry," he said. "I had one guy say, 'Either you are really mad or you are a genius.'"

Next project? How about a Hawaiian-style shirt.

It's a possibility, Kelly says.

The Swash generation

Ever heard of re-wear?

Re-wear occurs, says Procter & Gamble, when you pull clothing out of the hamper or off the floor and wear it a second time without washing it.

Apparently the high school and college age groups are big practitioners of re-wear, so P&G has come up with a line of products, called Swash, that are being test-marketed in Lexington just for these age groups.

"People don't always have time to wash their clothes after one wearing," says Kash Shaikl, a P&G spokesman. "It's often the clothes you like the most."

So you can spray the clothing with Swash Fresh It Up to get out odor, swipe stains with Swash Get It Out, remove wrinkles with Swash Smooth It Out or toss a Swash Steam It Out cloth in a dryer and get out wrinkles and odors.

Each Swash item costs $3 to $5. They are available for at least several months on the laundry aisle at many local groceries.

P&G research shows that 75 percent of us re-wear clothing. Thankfully, says Shaikl, we now have Swash to "give us style on the fly."