On bourbon festivals, ham, and Bill Murray.

I had no idea what I was about to walk into when I approached Harrison Smith House for their second annual Whiskey Pig event with the Kentucky Bourbon Festival in Bardstown, Kentucky. The only thing Rachel Miller of HSH promised me was a good time.

I had a feeling she wasn't kidding when the first face I encountered upon entering the tent was Bill Murray's. 

The real Bill Murray.
Not his photo.
Not a look-a-like.
Not the neighborhood cat I had named Bill Murray because it would randomly pop in to our apartment to hang out, and always appeared like it belonged there.
Bill. Fracking. Murray.

Once the shock of meeting Murray had worn off (I lied. It still hasn't worn off), I was able to take in the beautiful smells from a kitchen manned by a slew of talented chefs (Josh Smouse of HSH, Ryan Rogers of Feast BBQ and Royals Hot Chicken, Andrew McCabe of Royals Hot Chicken and the soon to be opened Bar Vetti, as well as Andrew McLeod of Husk Nashville), wonderful sights on the lawn, and hit Sean Brock (of Husk and McCrady's) for not warning me about said possible Bill Murray meeting. There was a proposal from Jack Rose's Bill Thomas to his lovely lady. There was dancing. There was ham.

And there was bourbon.

Dream meetings that were anything but a dream. Or: How I met Bill Murray.

I was walking around Harrison Smith House to get the lay of the space for Whiskey Pig, an event the proprietors of HSH put on annually for the Kentucky Bourbon Festival. Looking up from my email containing the timeline for the day, I made eye contact with an older gentleman a few feet away. This man stuck out his tongue and made a face at me. At a loss for words, I yell, "I love you!" and then proceeded to hug him. While still in the hug, the old man turned around and started bumping me with his butt while yelling, "stop bumping into me!"

And that was how I met Bill Murray.

More to come from this unreal event soon.