by Sean Ludford | Feb 10, 2016 | Spirits, Travel
A few years back I had the great privilege to visit the Brown-Forman Cooperage in Louisville, Kentucky. In the past week I learned that this great, old cooperage, the oldest continuously operating new barrel whiskey cooperage in the world, is celebrating the 70th anniversary of their birth. The Brown-Forman Cooperage was founded in 1945 as the Bluegrass Cooperage. They are one of just two...
by Sean Ludford | Dec 2, 2015 | Random, Travel
An outdoor market in Chicago from Thanksgiving to Christmas Eve may strike you as odd. But Chicagoans are hearty folks and won’t let potential weather extremes interfere with holiday fun inspired by the famous Nuremburg, Germany Christmas market. The Nuremburg market dates back to 1545! Chicago’s version is hosted in Daley Plaza, right in Chicago’s Loop and central to transit, shopping, and commuters. Small...
by Sean Ludford | Jul 30, 2015 | Beer, Travel
One of the greatest things about traveling is that at times you find yourself in a place that in an instant inspires pause. Not a pause of reflection or of anticipation, but rather a pause of securing the moment, savoring all that surrounds you; the sights, smells, and above all the feeling or dare I say the emotion. This is why Brussels is my...
by Sean Ludford | Jun 1, 2015 | Food & Eating, Travel
Trattoria Stella has earned an unwavering Four Night rating. No, that’s not a typo. The nights rating system is a little self-test I devised to measure my devotion to a newly discovered restaurant. A simple description of a Four Night rating is this; I would have to spend four nights in the restaurant’s respective town to consider dining one night elsewhere. In practice I...
by Sean Ludford | Jun 1, 2015 | Food & Eating, Travel
In ‘t Spinnekopke (translates to, in the spider’s web) is located on a small square near the old fish market on the Square Bloemenhof. The square and the route necessary to locate it looks like so many others in the winding turning lanes of central Brussels. The restaurant occupies an old stagecoach Inn built in 1762. You enter just below street level through a...
by Sean Ludford | Feb 18, 2015 | Travel
I know I’m not alone in being vulnerable to the travel bug. When it hits there is always the weighing of choosing an old favorite versus exploring one of the places on your bucket list. Recently I was faced with this choice and the decision was easy. Go with an old favorite, go to Rome. Several factors conspired to make the choice an obvious...
