Kentucky Life
Bourbon and Horses
Season 26 Episode 6 | 27m 11sVideo has Closed Captions
African American jockeys at the Derby; distiller Elijah Craig; white thoroughbreds
We revisit stories on how African American winning jockeys dominated the early years of the Kentucky Derby; legendary distiller Elijah Craig; the mystery of white thoroughbreds; and Louisville's famous drink, the Old Fashioned.
Kentucky Life is a local public television program presented by KET
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Kentucky Life
Bourbon and Horses
Season 26 Episode 6 | 27m 11sVideo has Closed Captions
We revisit stories on how African American winning jockeys dominated the early years of the Kentucky Derby; legendary distiller Elijah Craig; the mystery of white thoroughbreds; and Louisville's famous drink, the Old Fashioned.
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Providing Support for PBS.org
Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorshipAFRICAN-AMERICAN JOCKEYS DOMINATED THE EARLY EDITIONS OF THE RUN FOR THE ROSES.
WAS ELIJAH CRAIG'S ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT RESPONSIBLE FOR ITS SIGNATURE SPIRIT?
FOR YEARS WHITE THOROUGHBREDS WERE NOT JUST RARE, THEY DIDN'T OFFICIALLY EXIST.
AND GET THIS.
LOUISVILLE HAS AN OFFICIAL COCKTAIL AND IT'S NOT THE MINT JULEP.
STICK WITH US BECAUSE ALL OF THIS IS COMING UP ON KENTUCKY LIFE RIGHT NOW.
I'M DOUG FLYNN, WELL WELCOME TO KENTUCKY LIFE BOURBON AND HORSES.
ON THE FIRST SATURDAY IN MAY, JUST ABOUT EVERYONE CHOOSES A HORSE TO ROOT FOR IN THE RUN FOR THE ROSES.
THESE DAYS THE KENTUCKY DERBY MAY BE THE ONLY HORSE RACE THAT SOME PEOPLE WATCH.
BUT IN THE YEARS IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THE CIVIL WAR HORSE RACING WAS AMERICA'S MOST POPULAR SPORT AND THE WINNER'S CIRCLE WAS DOMINATED BY AFRICAN-AMERICAN JOCKEYS WHO WON 15 OF THE FIRST 28 DERBIES.
AFRICAN-AMERICAN JOCKEYS WERE A HUGE PART OF THE VERY FIRST KENTUCKY DESH NECESSITY 1875.
13 OF THE 15 JOCKEYS WERE AFRICAN-AMERICAN AND OF COURSE THE RACE WAS WON BY AN AFRICAN-AMERICAN JOCKEY, EVEN BEYOND THAT, 15 OF THE FIRST 28 RUNNINGS OF THE KENTUCKY DERBY WERE WON BY AFRICAN-AMERICAN JOCKEYS.
>> IN THE 1800s, THE INSTITUTION OF SLAVERY CREATED A WORKFORCE THAT HELPED MAKE KENTUCKY THE CENTER OF THE HORSE RACING UN FORCE.
UN FORCE.
>> SLAVES WERE TAKING CARE OF THE HORSES IN ALL FACETS THAT INCLUDED NEEDING JOCKEYS.
THE ORIGINAL JOCKEYS WERE SLAVES.
YOU WILL HEAR NAMES LIKE SIMON, A PROMINENT SLAVE JOCKEY WHO BEAT GENERAL ANDREW JACKSON'S HORSES ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS AND IT CONTINUED AS WE GET PAST THE CIVIL WAR IN 1865.
WITHOUT THE THE BLACK JOCKEYS THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN VERY LITTLE RACING IN KENTUCKY.
APRIL KENTUCKY BECAME THE MECCA OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN JOCKEYS.
WILLIE SIMS WAS FROM GEORGIA, ALANZO CLAYTON WAS FROM KANSAS BUT THEY ALL CAME INTO KENTUCKY TO GAIN TRIREPUTATION-- TO GAIN THEIR REP LAYINGS.
>> WHEN YOU LOOK AT JOCKEYS THAT DOMINATED THE EARLY KENTUCKY DERBIES, JIMMY WINKFIELD WHO WON TWO,IZE AK MURPHY IS THE SAME-- ISAAC MURPHY IS THE NAME WILL YOU MOST ASSOCIATED WITH THE DOMINANT JOCKEYS.
HE WAS ONE OF THE GREATEST JOCKEYS OF ALL TIME AND IS STILL RECOGNIZED AS SUCH.
THE FIRST JOCKEY TO WIN THREE KENTUCKY DERBY AND WAS THE FIRST JOCKEY TO BE ADMITTED TO RACING'S HALL OF FAME IN 195 A.
>> ISAAC MURPHY GAINED A REPUTATION AS A GENTLEMAN AND KNOWN FOR HIS GREAT LOVE FOR HIS WIFE LUCY.
>> A LOT OF JOCKS BACK THEN, NOBODY THOUGHT ANYTHING ABOUT THROWING A RACE.
HE NEVER THREW A RACE.
HE WAS KNOWN FOR HIS HONESTY.
IF YOU PUT HIM UP ON A HORSE, HE WOULD DO THE BEST HE COULD TO WIN.
>> WHILE FEW RELICS REMAIN FROM THIS ERA OF RACING IN THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN JOCKEY, THE KENTUCKY DERBY MUSEUM IN LOUISVILLE HAS ONE THAT ACTUALLY REMINDS US WHERE THE TERM FOR THE WINNINGS OF A HORSE RACE ORIGINATED.
>> THE MUSEUM IS VERY FORTUNATE TO HAVE ART I FAKES DIRECTLY RELATED TO ISAAC MURPHY.
ONE IS A SILK PURSE.
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THAT PURSE IS THAT IT WOULD HAVE CONTAINED THE WINNINGS FOR THAT RACE.
>> IN THE POST CIVIL WAR ERA, THE RACING INDUSTRY WAS A BUSINESS THAT CROSSED RACIAL LINES BETWEEN OWNERS AND JOCKEYS.
FOR THEM, THERE WAS ONLY ONE COLOR.
>> IF YOU GET A JOCK WHO RIDES A HORSE AND WINS, YOU TEND TO WANT TO STAY WITH HIP.
LIKE THEY SAID ON THE RACETRACK, THE ONLY COLOR THAT COUNTS IS GREEN.
I'M CERTAIN RACE WAS AN ISSUE WHEN PEOPLE CAME TO BET BETTING.
I'M NOT NAIVE ABOUT IT BUT ON THE RACETRACK, ONE THING HAVE YOU TO REMEMBER, THE BEST JOCK OUT THERE IS A BLACK JOCK AND YOU WANT TO BET ON A WHITE JOCK BECAUSE YOU DON'T LIKE BLACK JOCKEYS, YOU ARE LITERALLY GOING TO BE PAYING FOR YOUR OWN PREJUDICE BECAUSE THE BLACK JOCKEYS WERE ENORMOUSLY GIFTED AND TALENTED.
>> CHURCHILL DOWNS HAS THE NAMES OF THE HORSES WHO WON THE DERBY, RIDDEN BY AFRICAN-AMERICANS LIKE ALONZO CLAYTON, WILLIE SIMS, BILLIE WALKER AND SUE PERKINS.
>> EVERYBODY TALKS ABOUT HIS NAME SUPE, JAMES PERKINS WAS HIS REAL NAME BUT HE WAS A VERY YOUNG JOCKEY.
HE ENTERED THE RACING INDUSTRY AT THE AGE OF 11, STARTED REALLY SERIOUSLY BECOMING, MAKING A NAME FOR HIMSELF AT THE AGE OF 13.
HE LIVED IN A HOUSE ON THOMAS STREET WHICH WAS JUST BEHIND THE KENTUCKY ASSOCIATION RACETRACK OVER IN THE EAST END AND HE TALKS ABOUT HAVING JUMPED THE FENCE TO GO INTO THE RACING PADDOCK INTO THE STABLES.
HIS BROTHER, WILLIAM AND FRANK, WERE TRAINERS AND HIS FATHER, JOHN JACOB PERKINS WAS ALSO A TRAINER.
>> LIKE MANY AFRICAN AMERICANS IN THE AREA WHO WORKED AT THE RACETRACK, SUPE PERKINS IS BURIED IN THE AFRICAN CEMETERY NUMBER 2 ON 7th STREET.
TOMBSTONES, MANY WEATHERED BY TIME, TELL THEIR STORIES.
SOME TELL OF THEIR OCCUPATION LIKE THIS BUGLER.
ONE UNIDENTIFIED SOUL IS MARKED SIMPLY WITH A SHORES HOO.
-- A HORSESHOE.
HOME TO THE FIRST DERBY WINNER, OLIVER LEWIS.
ON THE TOMBSTONE SHOW HOW YOUNG THE RIDERS WERE.
AND ONE SHOWS HOW APPRECIATED THE JOCKEYS WERE TO THE RIDING STABLE.
BUT SADLY, ONE TOMBSTONE WAS REMOVED.
IT NOW STANDS IN THE DERBY MUSEUM.
ISAAC MUR MURPHY'S BODY WAS REMOVED FROM THE CEMETERY, EVENTUALLY TO BE BURIED ALONE AT THE KENTUCKY HORSE PARK NEXT TO THE STATUE OF MAN O' WAR.
CONSIDERED TO BE AN HONOR AND TO SHARE WITH THE WORLD THIS GREAT NAME IN HORSE RACING, ISAAC'S BELOVED WIFE LUCY WAS LEFT BEHIND AT THE AFRICAN CEMETERY NUMBER 2.
HER BODY WAS LEFT UNMARKED, FOREVER LOST, FOREVER SEPARATED FROM HER HUSBAND.
AS AMERICA GREW INTO THE 20th CENTURY, THE ERA OF DOMINANCE BY AFRICAN-AMERICAN JOCKEYS FINALLY CAME TO AN END.
FIRST, AS MANY FORMER SLAVE FAMILIES MIGRATED TO THE CITIES BUT ALSO WITH CHANGES ON THE RACETRACK.
>> DURING THE LAST PART OF THE 1890s, THERE WAS MUCH CONTENTION BETWEEN THE BLACK AND WHITE JOCKEYS AND THE RACING INDUSTRY BECAME VERY DANGEROUS FOR THEM.
>> AS RACING BECOMES MORE LUCRATIVE PROFESSION AND BEING A JOCKEY BECOMES A MORE LUCRATIVE PROFESSION, MORE WHITE ATHLETES ARE INTERESTED IN THE RACES AND BEING A JOCKEY.
WE HAVE RECORD IN THE EARLY 20th CENTURY OF MANY AFRICAN-AMERICAN JOCKEYS LIKE JIMMY WINKFIELD, THE LAST AFRICAN-AMERICAN JOCK TOE WIN A DERBY WAS A VICTIM OF ROUGH RIDING.
HE WAS IN A RACE AND JOCKEYS WERE GETTING CLOSE TO HIM, RUNNING HIM UP AGAINST THE RAIL, TRYING TO INTIMIDATE HIM ON THE RACETRACK.
WHEN THAT STARTS TO HAPPEN, TRAINERS ARE RELUCTANT TO USE AFRICAN-AMERICAN JOCKEYS BECAUSE THEY THINK IT'S A DISADVANTAGE TO THE HORSE.
YOU JUST HAVE OUTRIGHT RACISM OF THE TIME PERIOD THAT CONTRIBUTES TO IT.
>> MENTION THE NAME ELIJAH CRANE TO SOMEBODY IN KENTUCKY AND THEY'RE PROBABLY GOING TO THINK ABOUT BOURBON AND RIGHTFULLY SO.
THIS MAN WAS MORE THAN A PIONEER IN KENTUCKY DISTILLERY HISTORY.
THERE ARE MANY VERSIONS TOLD BY MANY PEOPLE.
HIS LIFE AND CAREER OR SHOULD I SAY CAREERS, MAKES HIS ONE OF THE MORE INTRIGUING FIGURES EVER ASSOCIATED WITH OUR COMMONWEALTH.
ONE OF THE GREAT THINGS ABOUT THIS INDUSTRY IS IT IS GROUNDED IN GREAT HISTORY, TRADITIONS AND MYTHOLOGIES.
THE FOLKS AT HEAVEN HILL CONSIDER OURSELVES AS SOME OF THE PROTECTORS OF AMERICAN WHISKEY.
WE HAVE BEEN DOING IT FOR A LONG TIME NOW.
WE WANTED TO CREATE A BRAND THAT RECOGNIZED A GREAT PIONEER IN THE WHISKEY MAKING INDUSTRY AND CHOSE ELIJAH CRAIG.
>> HE INITIALLY WAS A VERY RELIGIOUS MAN.
HE WENT TO JAIL IN VIRGINIA FOR PREACHING WITHOUT BEING LICENSED THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH WAS BEHIND THAT.
HE WAS PREACHING DIFFERENT THINGS.
HE WAS PREACHING WITH FAR MORE EMOTION.
WHAT DROVE ELIJAH CRAIG WEST WAS RELIGIOUS FREEDOM AND THE ABILITY TO MAKE MONEY.
WHEN HE CAME TO KENTUCKY, HE SAW MANY OPPORTUNITIES FOR BUILDING A SOCIETY.
GEORGETOWN WAS INCORPORATED IN THE EARLY 17 NINTH.
IT WENT RIGHT ALONG WITH STATEHOOD.
ELIJAH CRAIG WAS THE ONE WHO FOUNDED IT AS LEAVITTTOWN AND AS IT BECAME SETTLED, THEY DECIDED IT WOULD BE BETTER TO NAME IT AFTER GEORGE WASHINGTON AND IT WAS ORIGINALLY GEORGE TOWN.
THE ROYAL SPRING WAS THE MAJOR LURE TO THIS AREA.
THERE IS A BEAUTIFUL BRIDGE THERE THAT I UNDERSTAND ELIJAH CRAIG HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH BUILDING.
THAT THING TODAY CARRIES SEMITRAILER TRUCKS, A HEAVY VOLUME OF AUTOMOBILE TRAFFIC AND IT'S STILL THERE.
BUT IT'S A BEAUTIFUL STONE BRIDGE THAT HE WAS INVOLVED IN CREATING.
>> HE, LIKE MANY OTHER FRONTIERS PEOPLE, WERE A JACK OF ALL TRADES.
DID MORE THAN JUST MIKE WHISKEY.
WHISKEY WAS A SIDE PROJECT FOR THEM.
MANY OF THE FOLKS WERE ARCHITECTS, STONEMASONS, WHARF MASTERS OR REVERENDS.
THEY HAD OTHER THINGS THAT THEY DO TO PASS THEIR TIME.
EVEN BEING FARMERS.
SO ELIJAH CRAIG WAS THIS THAT MOLD.
>> ONE OF THE THINGS CRAIG DOES IS HE ENCOURAGES THE CREATION OF THE SCHOOL.
HE THEN LATER BECOMES INVOLVE IN THE WRITTEN HOUSE ACADEMY AS WELL.
AND LATER GEORGETOWN COLLEGE.
STUDENTS, WHEN THEY HEAR THAT HE MADE BOURBON WHISKEY AND FOUNDED A BAPTIST COLLEGE, ULTIMATELY LAUGH.
HE CREATED A GRIST MILL.
WHEN THE EDITOR OF THE KENTUCKY GAZETTE PUT OUT THE WORD THAT THEY NEEDED PAPER, HE STARTS A PAPER MILL, PROVIDED PAPER TO THE KENTUCKY GAZETTE FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS.
HE IS SAID TO HAVE CREATED BOURBON WHISKEY BY ACCIDENT.
BUT HE CERTAINLY DISTILLED WHISKEY.
HE WAS AN EARLY KENTUCKY PREACHER AND HE WAS A DISTILLER AND THAT IS WHY, IN THE 1870s WHEN THE DISTILLING INDUSTRY WAS FIGHTING THIS MOVEMENT CALLED THE TEMPERANCE MOVEMENT, THAT THEY DECIDED TO PROCLAIM HIM THE FATHER OF BOURBON BECAUSE THEY THOUGHT, WE'LL MAKE A BAPTIST PREACHER THE FATHER OF BOURBON AND LET THE TEMPERANCE PEOPLE DEAL WITH THAT.
>> THERE IS MORE THAN ONE STORY AS TO HOW HE CREATED BOURBON.
>> THE STORY GOES THAT HE HAD A BARN FIRE AND IT CHARRED THE INSIDE OF SOME BARRELS THAT THE HE, JUST LIKE MANY OTHERS WOULD USE TO TRANSPORT GOODS, THE CHARRED INSIDE OF THOSE BARRELS PRODUCED A MELLOWING IN THE WHISKEY.
IT WOULD TAKE ON SOME OF THE COLOR FROM THAT CHAR AND THAT WOOD AND IT WOULD IMPART SWEETER FLAVORS AND TASTE BETTER AFTER AGING.
>> THE OTHER STORY IS THAT HE WAS A VERY PARSIMONIOUS PREACHER AND HE WANTED TO REUSE BARRELS SO HE HAD A BIRL THAT HAD SALTED FISH IN IT.
I'VE ALSO HEARD PICKLES BUT SALTED FISH IS THE MOST COMMON ONE I'VE HEARD.
HE DECIDED TO BURN THE INSIDE OF THE BARREL TO GET THE SALTED FISH FLAVOR OUT OF IT.
BOURBON TODAY HAS TO BE AGED IN CHARRED OAK BARRELS.
THAT'S WHAT HAPPENED, ACCORDING TO THE STORY, EVEN IF BY ACCIDENT.
AS A HISTORIAN, THERE IS NO EVIDENCE THAT HE WAS THE FIRST.
THERE IS NO EVIDENCE THAT HE WASN'T.
>> TELLING THAT STORY OF ELIJAH CRAIG IS AN INTERESTING ONE, DEPENDING ON MY AUDIENCE.
SO I ALWAYS HAD TO BE CAREFUL ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHO I WAS SPEAKING TO.
IF I WAS ASKED TO COME SPEAK AT A CHURCH AND TALK ABOUT ELIJAH CRAIG, THE PIONEER BAPTIST PREACHER, I WOULD LEAVE OUT THE BIT ABOUT THE BOURBON WHISKEY.
IT'S ONE OF THOSE RIDDLES I DON'T THINK WE ARE EVER GOING TO SOLVE, BUT IF YOU TAKE A LOOK AT THE ELEMENTS OF BOURBON, MIX ALL THOSE ELEMENTS TOGETHER, YOU COME OUT WITH ELIJAH CRAIG.
IT'S A REMARKABLE STORY REMARKABLE MAN.
>> WELL, YOU KNOW, THERE HAS BEEN A TRADITION OF MARKETING EXAGGERATION THROUGHOUT THE HISTORY OF WHISKEY.
STRETCHING THE STORY IS SOMETHING THAT IS ALWAYS BEEN DONE.
>> BY AND LARGE, THE REAL STORIES THAT COME THROUGH ARE THE ONES THAT ARE GROUNDED IN PEOPLE THAT HELP MAKE THIS INDUSTRY WHAT IT IS.
WE CHOSE ELIJAH CRAIG TO BE ONE OF THE PEOPLE THAT WE WOULD WANT TO CELEBRATE IN ONE OF OUR AMERICAN WHISKEY BRANDS.
>> ELIJAH CRAIG IS DEFINITELY SOLIDLY PLANTED IN THE BOURBON HERITAGE OF KENTUCKY.
BOURBON DRINKERS ACCEPT THE STORIES, EXAGGERATIONS, ET CETERA BECAUSE WHAT'S IMPORTANT IS WHAT IS IN THE BOTTLE.
IF IT TASTES GOOD, THEY'LL BUY IT.
IF IT DOESN'T, THEY DON'T CARE WHAT YOU SAY, THEY WON'T BUY IT.
>> SINCE THE LINEAGE OF EVERY THOROUGHBRED CAN BE TRACED BACK TO THE THREE STALLIONS OF THE BREED, GENETICALLY WHITE THOROUGHBREDS SHOULD REALLY EXIST AND UNTIL 1963, OFFICIALLY, THEY DIDN'T.
A FOAL BORN AT THE FARM WAS FIRST TO BE REGISTERED AS A WHITE THOROUGHBRED AND SCIENTISTS HAVE BEEN PUZZLING OVER THE GENETICS EVER SINCE.
A BAND OF WHITE THOROUGHBRED MARES AND WHITE STALLION WITH HOLLYWOOD CREDENTIALS ARE BEAUTIFUL EXAMPLES OF THEY QIEN RARITY.
-- OF THISY EQUINE RARITY.
>> MANY OF THE THOROUGHBREDS THAT YOU SEE ON THE RACETRACK AND IN THE FIELDS, WILL YOU BELIEVE, THERE'S A WHITE HORSE AND THERE'S A WHITE HORSE.
BUT MOST OF THEM ARE GRAY, EVEN IF IT LOOKS WHITE, IT'S A GRAY.
WE STARTED IN THE WHITE THOROUGHBREDS BUSINESS, YOU MIGHT SAY.
QUITE BY ACCIDENT, BUT IT JUST IS SOMETHING THAT WE REALLY HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN NOW FOR SEVERAL YEARS.
MY WIFE FELL IN LOVE WITH THE IDEA OF THE WHITE HORSES AND ALSO MY DAUGHTER VALERIE IS JUST SO EVOLVED IN THIS.
IT HAS BEEN A VERY MUCH FAMILY AWARE-- FAMILY AFFAIR WITH IT.
THE WHITE THOROUGHBREDS ARE UNUSUAL, A VERY RARE GENE.
>> IN THE 120-YEAR HISTORY OF THE JOCKEY CLUB, ESTIMATE OVER 2.1 MILLION THOROUGHBREDS REGISTERED ONLY 149 HAVE BEEN REGISTERED AS WHITE.
>> THE VERY FIRST WHITE THOROUGHBRED REGISTERED WITH THE JOCKEY CLUB WAS WHITE BEAUTY FOALED IN 1963.
>> PATCHIN WILL CANS WAS THE FIRST FARM THAT BROUGHT THIS ATTENTION TO EVERYONE.
THEY HAVE A FANTASTIC LINE OF HORSES.
THERE ARE, I THINK, THREE FAMILIES OF HORSES THAT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO THROW, WE'LL SAY, THIS DOMINANT WHITE GENE.
THE LINE THAT WE HAVE CAME FROM A HORSE BY THE NAME OF ERIDRE APACHE RAISED AT A STUD OWNED BY THE PREVIOUS GOVERNOR JONES.
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AND DAVIS IS THE MAIN UNIVERSITY THAT DOES A LOT OF RESEARCH ON THE GENETICS.
U.C.
DAVIS HAS BEEN STUDYING OUR HERD OF HORSES NOW FOR QUITE STIP AND THEY'RE JUST ON THE BRINK OF REALLY UNDERSTANDING WHERE THIS ALL CAME FROM AND HOW IT APPEARS AND THEY HAVE BEEN ABLE TO ISOLATE THE DOMINANT WHITE GENE AND THE OTHER TWO FAMILIES BUT OF THE APACHE, THEY'RE STILL SCRATCHING THEIR HEAD.
OUR MARES CAME FROM OREGON, SHE OWNED HIM FOR MOST OF HIS BREEDING CAREER.
WE HAVE SEVERAL MARES THAT HAVE A LOT OF BLACK OR BROWN MARKINGS ON THEM.
>> STRICTLY BASED ON COAT COLOR, THEY WOULD BE RECOGNIZED AS WHITE.
THE REQUIREMENT, IN ORDER TO BE REGISTERED AS WHITE WITH THE JOCKEY CLUB IS THAT THE COAT COLOR MUST BE PREDOMINANTLY WHITE AND THAT INCLUDES THE LEGS , THE COAT AND THE FACE.
ARCTIC WHITE, WE BOUGHT HIM AS A YEARLING AND WE BOUGHT HIM FROM DAYLEAN.
HE HAS BEEN A LIFE CHANGER FOR US.
WHEN I SAW THIS COLT, I HAD BEEN BUYING HORSES FOR MANY, MANY YEARS.
I HAVE TRAINED THOROUGHBREDS FOR 30 YEARS.
I KNOW A LITTLE BIT ABOUT CONFIRMATION AND ATTITUDE AND TRAINABILITY AND THE WAY A HORSE MOVES AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
AND WHEN I SAW HIM, WE FELL IN LOVE WITH HIM AND HERE WE ARE.
>> THE RARITY IS JUST AMAZING.
YOU LOOK AT THIS HORSE AND REALIZE THERE ARE ONLY MAYBE THREE OR FOUR PURE WHITE THOROUGHBRED STALLIONS IN THE WORLD.
AND HE IS ONE OF THEM AND I ALWAYS THOUGHT THIS HORSE IS SO DIFFERENT THAT THERE SHOULD BE SOME OTHER AVENUES FOR HIM TO GO IN.
WE HAD NO CLUE ABOUT MOVIES OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT REX PETERSON CALLED ME.
REX WAS THE HEAD WRANGLER AND HE WAS INVOLVED IN FLICKA, BLACK BEAUTY, THE HORSE WHISPERER, SECRETARIAT.
HE CAME WITH A LONG LIST OF CREDENTIALS.
AND HE SAID THAT HE WAS VERY INTERESTED IN LOOKING FOR A WHITE HORSE AND SO FORTH.
AND AT THAT TIME, WE HAD NO IDEA WHY OR WHAT IT WAS FOR.
WHETHER OR NOT HE WANTED A HORSE FOR A COMMERCIAL OR WHATEVER.
ORIGINALLY HE WAS WORKING WITH DISNEY AND THEY WANTED TO BUY HIM.
WE WERE FLATTERED THAT THEY WERE INTERESTED IN OUR HORSE, YOU KNOW.
I DIDN'T WANT TO LOSE THIS HORSE.
I JUST TOLD THEM THAT WE WEREN'T REALLY INTERESTED IN SELLING THE HORSE.
THEN DISNEY CALLED BACK AND THEY SAID THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO LEASE YOUR HORSE.
AND I SAID THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT I HAD IN MIND.
LET'S DO IT.
WE SENT THE HORSE TO REX AND HE WOULD TELL US HOW HE WAS PROGRESSING AS WE WENT ALONG.
WE WOULD GET A FEW VIDEOS FROM HIP.
THEN OF COURSE THE MOVIE CAME ALONG, THE LOAN RANGER.
AND LONE RANGER AND IT CLICKED WHY REX WANTED HIM AND WHY IT WAS SO IMPORTANT THAT HE BE A WHITE STALLION.
THE PERCEPTION, WHEN YOU HAVE A MOVIE LIKE THIS IS THAT THERE IS ONE HORSE THAT IS DOING EVERYTHING.
SOME HORSES ARE BETTER SUITED FOR ONE THING THAN THEY ARE THE OTHER AS WE WENT ALONG, WE KEPT ASKING, WHAT IS OUR HORSE GOING TO DO IN THE MOVIE.
AND THE PATENT REPLY WAS THAT WE CAN'T TELL YOU.
SO WE WERE BASICALLY IN THE DARK ABOUT WHAT HE DID AND TO THIS DAY, DISNEY IS NOT GOING TO TELL YOU WHAT HE DID.
THERE WERE SEVERAL TIMES IN THE MOVIE WHEN I WOULD HAVE SAID THAT THERE HE IS.
I'LL JUST LEAVE IT TO THE IMAGINATION OF THE PUBLIC WHEN THEY SEE OUR HORSE AND WHEN THEY SEE THE MOVIE, LET'S SEE IF WE CAN PUT TWO AND TWO TOGETHER.
THEY TOOK GOOD CARE OF HIM.
HE CAME BACK IN BEAUTIFUL SHAPE.
HE THINKS HE'S HOT STUFF NOW.
EQUINE FAIR IS THE LARGEST EXPOSITION OF ALL BREEDS OF HORSES IN THE COUNTRY.
WE WERE APPROACHED BY THEM TO BRING HIM UP AS A CELEBRITY HORSE.
WE WERE VERY HAPPY TO DO THAT AND WE WERE ASKED TO BRING HIM OUT ONCE A DAY AND JUST TELL WHAT HE DID AND ABOUT THE GENE A LITTLE BIT AND JUST TALK TO THE AUDIENCE.
A LOT OF CHILDREN CAME UP THERE WANTING THEIR PICTURE TAKEN WITH THIS WHITE HORSE AND THE LONE RANGER.
SO WE HAD A LOT OF FUN WITH THAT AND THE HORSE HAS A TEMPERATE PRAMENT-- THE HORSE HAS THE DISPOSITION TO ALLOW YOU TO DO THAT.
WE ENJOY HAVING HIM.
THE KIDS LOVE HIM AND HE HAS A GREAT FOLLOWING AND IT HAS JUST BEEN WONDERFUL.
HOW IMPORTANT THESE HORSES REALLY ARE TO PEOPLE AND THAT'S WHAT THE WHITE HORSE IS ALL ABOUT.
>> LIKE THE RACE ITSELF, MOST OF OUR DERBY DAY TRADITIONS ARE ONCE A YEAR OCCURRENCES.
FOR MANY WOMEN, THE DERBY IS THE ONLY OCCASION WHEN THEY'LL WEAR AN EXTRAVAGANT HAT.
AND FOR MEN, IT'S THEIR ANNUAL STRUGGLE STRUGGLE WITH A BOW TIE.
WHETHER IT'S DERBY DAY OR NOT, THERE IS ONE BOURBON BEVERAGE IN KENTUCKY THAT'S POPULAR ALL YEAR ROUND.
AND THAT'S THE FAMOUS OLD FASHIONED.
I'M DOUG FLYNN ENJOYING LIFE, KENTUCKY LIFE.
♪ ♪ >> WELL, WE'VE COME TO THE RIGHT SPOT.
WHISKEY, BITTERS, A SIMPLE SYRUP OR SUGAR COMPONENT, ICE, A ROCKS GLASS AND SOME FRUIT COMPONENT TO IT WHETHER IT'S A FRUIT TWIST OR A MASH IN THERE, THAT'S WHAT WE ALL IDENTIFY AS THE OLD FASHIONED TODAY.
THERE WAS A WHISKEY COCKTAIL IN THE EARLY 1800S AND THE WHISKEY COCKTAIL PEOPLE THAT WAS BASICALLY A SUGAR CUBE AT THE TIME.
THEY WOULD PUT THE BITTERS ON TOP OF IT AND THEN THEY WOULD MUDDLE IT AND THEN YOU WOULD BE ALLOWED TO POUR YOUR OWN WHISKEY OVER THE TOP, YOU KNOW, TO TASTE.
THERE STARTED TO BE EVOLUTIONS OF THAT.
BARTENDERS WERE TAKING LIBERTY, AS THEY DO TODAY.
THEY STARTED PUTTING DIFFERENT THINGS IN THERE.
THERE IS ONE RECORD OF AN OLD FASHIONED COCKTAIL THAT HAD GIN IN IT.
BUT THE TERM WAS I WOULD LIKE AN OLD FASHIONED COCKTAIL AND THAT OLD FASHIONED COCKTAIL WAS TO GO BACK TO THAT WHISKEY BITTERS SUGAR COCKTAIL.
WHERE IT CAME FROM, IT'S NUANCED.
THERE ARE DIFFERENT PEOPLE THAT LAY CLAIM TO THE ORIGINAL OLD FASHIONED AND WE LAY CLAIM TO IT HERE IN LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY.
AN ARTICLE THAT WAS WRITTEN IN THE EARLY 2000S THAT IDENTIFIED JAMES PEPPER AS THE ORIGINAL FOUNDER OF THE OLD FASHIONED.
JAMES E. PEPPER WAS A KENTUCKY COLONEL AND MEMBER AT THE PRIVATE CLUB AND I THINK AT THE TIME IT WAS ONE BLOCK AWAY FROM WHERE IT IS RIGHT NOW.
HE WAS EITHER INTEGRAL IN THE MAKING OF THE OLD FASHION OR INTEGRAL IN TELLING THE BARTENDER HOW THAT OLD FASHIONED WAS TO BE MADE.
AND THIS ENHE TOOK IT TO NEW YORK CITY AND THAT'S THE STORY IT THEN BECAME POPULAR IN NEW YORK CITY.
OF COURSE IT IS THE OFFICIAL COCKTAIL OF LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY.
IT IS THE OFFICIAL COCKTAIL OF THE KENTUCKY BOURBON TRAIL.
IT IS A LOUISVILLE STORY AS MUCH AS IT IS ANYTHING ELSE.
BEAUTIFUL THING ABOUT MAKING AN OLD FASHION AND MAKING IT AT HOME IS YOU CAN MAKE IT YOUR OWN WAY EVERY TIME AND YOU CAN MAKE IT A LITTLE DIFFERENTLY EVERY TIME.
FOR THIS RECIPE, I START WITH HALF JIG OF SIMPLE SYRUP.
MY MIX IS GENERALLY ONE THIRD SIMPLE SYRUP AND TWO-THIRDS BOURBON.
TIME NOW TO ADD THE BITTERS.
YOUR STANDARD BITTERS GENERALLY THREE DROPS OF THOSE.
I LIKE AN ORANGE BITTER AND THEN WE'LL ACCENT WITH ACTUAL ORANGE.
THREE OF THOSE.
MIX THAT UP REALLY GOOD.
NOW WE ARE GOING TO ADD OUR ORANGE TWIST AND FOR THIS YOU BASICALLY WANT TO JUST TAKE THE RHINE RIND OFF AND PUNCHING THE BACK OF THE ORANGE, IF YOU LOOK CLOSE, WILL YOU SEE ALL THOSE JUICES FROM THE BACK OF THE ORANGE SPRAYING INTO THE DRINK AND I LIKE TO COAT THE EDGE.
I'LL ADD MY ICE.
ICE IS AN IMPORTANT THING.
IT'S GOOD TO HAVE A BIG PIECE OF ICE BECAUSE IT'S GOT MORE SURFACE AREA.
IT COOLS THE DRINK QUICKER AND THE DRINK GETS COLD WITHOUT THE DRINK WATERING DOWN.
LAST THING WE ARE GOING TO DO IS ADD A LITTLE HINT OF SMOKE, MIX
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