Horses, celebrities and over-sized hats are coming soon to a television near you as we approach 143rd running of the Kentucky Derby.
The Mint Julep is without a doubt the darling of the Derby, and this year an estimated 127,000 Mint Juleps will be made from over 1,000 pounds of mint.
If you make it to the Derby, by all means grab a Mint Julep. If you're watching at home, take the opportunity to meet the Julep's lesser known cousin, the Whiskey Smash.
We have talked about the diverse nationalities that came to Braidwood to mine coal and start a new life. While the first wave of immigrants was mainly from the British Isles, the second wave, in the mid 1870's, was from countries all over Europe.
They were separated by custom, dress and language, but they had two things in common - willingness to take a chance on a new country and life, and the Catholic religion. Today we look at the early history of the Catholic Church in Braidwood.
An apple a day keeps the doctor away, though we can't be sure that an Apple Martini will do the same.
The Apple Martini, or Appletini, came on to the scene in 1996 and has managed to win over scores of cocktail enthusiasts in all corners of the globe.
The Appletini is a delicious drink that is as easy to prepare as it is to drink. Three ingredients and a shaker are all that we are going to need this week to turn out this modern classic cocktail.
The Appletini debuted over 20 years ago at Lola's West Hollywood and was an instant smash.
Haunted places have a fascination for us. From reality shows to local lore, ghosts have not lost their popularity with the living
I was asked recently where I thought the most haunted place in Will County might be. I am not sure, as I have not taken a survey of ghosts at various places, but I do know the place that I believe should be haunted even if it isn't.
It would be at the north end of County Line Road, where it meets the Des Plaines. In my mind Harborside Marina and Big Fish should just be crawling with ghosts.
Today we shift our view of history a little bit north, specifically the Joliet Penitentiary on Collins Street.
Out of the July 6, 1896 Joliet Weekly News we read of prison reforms that changed the fashion and lives of the men living there and a bit about the ladies as well.
“The Fourth of July came as a day of welcome cessation from the daily routine to the prisoners at the penitentiary, and joy almost dared to show itself. Everything that could be done was done to give the 1,200 prisoners a happy time.
There is not a single of you gentle readers who has not at one time cursed it, used it or wondered about it
I am of course talking about the elevated railroad tracks at the west end of Chicago Street and that giant “hump” on Kankakee Street where the depot used to be.
The work being done now on the tracks may wipe out entirely those very things, the last tiny bit left of Wilmington's depot district.
What do you serve the bourbon fan who has tried everything?
You are going to have to dig deep in the recipe book to stump the whiskey cocktail aficionado in your crowd, beyond the Old Fashioned, Sazerac and the Manhattan.
It's time to step outside of your comfort zone and forget everything that you have learned about what a bourbon cocktail is, and what it is not.
There's no time like the present to knock back one of the best kept secrets in the whiskey world, the Bourbon Special.
Many of our previous looks at the history of Braidwood took place in the 19th century, when mines were springing up faster than morels and hundreds of people speaking different languages, with different cultures all came together to work in dangerous jobs under difficult conditions.
But as Braidwood aged, did all of that go away? Did the jobs get safer? Were there less murders? Were workers still organizing unions?
Set the wayback machine for the beginning of the 20th century and we will try to answer those questions.
