You Can’t have a Bourbon VIP Tour without an I.V.
All Smiles | Latrice and Client | Oasis Mobile Hydration
By: Bob White
I’ve been conducting Bourbon Tours since 2011, and I’ve watched as Kentucky Tourism has grown exponentially each year due to interest in the Kentucky Bourbon Trail.
I’m proud of and lucky to be part of it.
Things have certainly changed since the tourism effort began in 1999 with support from a handful of distilleries.
I once took my daughters to Jim Beam. They were about 4 or 5-years-old when at the time.
At the time, some 20 years ago, all that was offered was a visit to the historic Beam home, a chat with Visitor Center Manager Anne, and a look at a model of a distilling operation.
Today, Beam has a 2-story gift shop, an elevator that looks like a still, a full restaurant and bar and multiple offerings for tours & tastings for visitors coming from around the globe.
Other things have changed as well. Such as the visitors themselves, their preparedness and their expectations.
It was around 2017 when I first experienced one of these new evolutions.
It was around 8 a.m. when I arrived at an address in Louisville’s Shelby Park neighborhood to pick up my guests.
As I finished my coffee and watched for my guests to come out, I notice someone exit the front door and sit on the porch at the address I was supposed to pick up at.
In tow with that guy was an IV Bag, a pole from which to hang it, and a nurse helping the middle-aged man attached to it all get comfortable in a cushy chair on the front porch.
It was a brisk Spring morning, so the attendant also brought the man a warm blanket to embrace while the fluids entered his body from a trickling IV.
“Huh,” I thought.
I told myself that the home must be an apartment building with several units.
I assumed the poor fella with the IV was a resident of the place and that my guests must be lodged in an adjoining unit in the basement, or back half of the house or something…
I checked my time - still had 10 minutes before we’re set to depart.
As I ensured the 2018 Mercedes Sprinter I operated that day was suitable for my guests, a chipper man of about my age hopped down the front porch stairs and skipped to my direction.
“Hey Bob?” He asked – excitedly, considering how early it was.
I stretched out my hand and said, “yessir.”
“We’re wrapping up, here, and we should be ready to go in five,” he said.
About that time is when another guy was seen coming down the steps of the front porch with a coffee mug in his hand and a man-purse draped from his shoulders.
I opened up the Sprinter for both men to climb aboard, when a third man came strolling down the stairs with something to tell the others.
“He’s almost done,” he said. “She was putting a band-aid on his arm when I came out.”
I looked around and noticed, these 3 guys all had band-aids on the interior of their arms – opposite the elbow.
“I feel ready,” the third guy to come out said, slapping his arm.
“Me too,” said another. Then he shook his head at the man to his right and questioned, “You gonna be alright today?”
The quieter one of the Trio was obviously not feeling well and stayed quiet, with his hand to his temple.
“Hey guys, you ready?” Asked a fourth man in the group, holding a band-aid to his arm.
Behind him was a slim lady in light-blue smocks.
“Okay gentleman, you should be ready for another day of bourbon,” she said with a bright smile across her dark brown face. “Don’t hesitate to call me if you need anything.”
She wasted no time in crossing the street to her car and starting it up.
The guys went on to explain they’d all received morning IV hydration to help recover from a tough night of drinking. They’d planned on this, along with the two days of drinking.
“I’m so glad we found her, here,” said the first man to the van. “I wasn’t sure if Kentucky would have a service like we do back home.”
This was all new to me – someone planning so well in advance for heavy drinking, that they’d hired a nurse to meet them in the morning to replenish their dried-out heads with a “banana bag” full of nutrients and fluids.
About 20 minutes into our drive east, I could tell that the quiet guy still wasn’t a spry as the others.
That didn’t change for him that day, but the other 3 were impressively in great shape for 8 hours of touring and drinking at distilleries in Frankfort, Millville and Versailles.
The middle-aged metalheads and I got along great that day and they highly recommended the hydration services to keep them in the game for a second round of distillery tours.
Six years passed before I ran into this again, when Tim Knittel of Distilled-Living asked if I’d drive a group of 3 around with him, so he could be their host (and enjoy a few sips along the way, himself.)
Knittel’s VIP experiences, and personable services are a step above the standard Bourbon Tour and not as gritty and brutally honest as my own can be. It was a pleasure listening to his routine.
I recognized that upon meeting him at Louisville’s Brown Hotel, where the group was staying.
He came equipped with snacks including, but not limited to SOBAR® snack bars – engineered to help reduce alcohol absorption by the body. He also brought plenty of water for hydration and a kit of other goodies for the TRIO we were touring around that day.
Day one was nice for me as I was able to listen to simply drive, while listening to a fellow tour guide’s spiel relating to Kentucky’s Bourbon History.
I chimed in a bit, but only when it referred to things guests asked about for which Knittel had no answer.
Finishing the 8-hour day, I dropped the group off at Brown Hotel and my day was complete.
That wasn’t the end of the day, or night, for Knittel and his guests, however. They had big plans for dinner, drinks, bar visits and having the very best whiskey experience one could have in Louisville, Ky.
I was content to call it a day, as I’d be arriving early again the next day.
I arrived early for Day 2 to find one guest waving me in to the Brown’s breakfast restaurant, The English Grille.
I went in to say hi and check on their readiness.
They’re still up in the room, he said, as he enjoyed some eggs-over-medium and toast.
A server was quick to check on me and pour some coffee.
“Go ahead and order breakfast,” said the guest, offering to pay the tab. But I was fine with coffee
I then saw Knittel arrive, looking for me as the SUV we were using awaited across the street from the Brown’s Valet area. I went to him. He was again loaded down with snacks and waters etc.
“Two of them are still upstairs,” I told him. “And one is right there having breakfast.” I pointed in to the windows of the English Grill.
“I’ll go check on them,” Knittel told me.
I stayed with the vehicle as he went to round up the guys.
Just a few minutes late, I received a call from Knittel.
“Hey Bob, can you find Gary’s jacket and bring it to the room for him? It’s a bit chilly outside,” Knittel asked.
The guest had apparently left his jacket in the vehicle last night.
I’m thinking to myself, “why doesn’t he just come down to the vehicle, so we can leave?”
The elevator took me to the 5th Floor room where the guys were.
Down the hallway was ornate, albeit a bit aged, red carpet. To the right, I saw their door was just barely ajar, so I knocked and began to open when I felt a “bump” and heard a “clank… “
There was something behind the door.
“Excuse me, I’m sorry. Come on in,” a lady’s voice came from behind the door I’d just bumped her with.
I walked in to see 2 guys, mostly dressed, lying in bed with a slim lady in smocks removing an IV from one of their arms.
“They’re just about ready,” she said, as she directed her helper to get things wrapped up.
As you can imagine, with these two ladies, Knittel, and two guys slowly raising up from their beds, this was a little cramped for me to stand around.
“Oh, hey Bob,” the guest closest to me said. “You can just lay my jacket there on the chair.”
Along with the all the people and gear resembling a hospital, the room was, of course, cluttered with cases of whiskey stacked atop each other – their haul from Day 1 in Bourbon Country.
“Hi, I’m Latrice,” the lady in smocks reached out to shake my hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”
I said hi to Latrice’s helper also, but felt like it was time for me to bail.
“Oh, here’s my card,” Latrice said, while speedily finishing up her work with the IV gear. “Call me anytime.”
As the ladies snapped shut their Pelican cases stocked with hydration equipment, I got down the hallway and back onto the elevator to make my way to the vehicle.
I later learned that Latrice manages Oasis Mobile Hydration here in Louisville.
She makes a living by helping folks who’ve consumed too much alcohol the night before, get back in the game of life.
“She’s great,” Knittel confirmed, explaining that he often includes her services into his experiences.
And what a nice lady she is.
I met with her for coffee a month later to further nurture a new business relationship.
While I’ve not yet called on her to service any of my guests, I’m sure the day will come.
God knows, I’ve had those days when mobile hydration would’ve helped, so I’m excited that Oasis Mobile Hydration offers its services here in Louisville.
So many groups visit Bourbon Country expecting to consume alcohol over multiple days, and hydration services is a great add-on option for those who like to be prepared.
*If you’re touring with me in the future, and want to include hydration into our itinerary, just mention when we begin planning our itinerary. While my private, guided tours are geared more toward the exploration of Kentucky’s historic Bourbon Country with common folk, anyone can suffer a hangover. Hydration to reduce those hangovers isn’t limited to the upper-class.
Anyone wanting to experience an ultra-VIP experience such as Knittel offers through Distilled-Living, he can be reached through his website: https://distilled-living.com/
Knittel, the official Bourbon Ambassador for Churchill Downs, also offers virtual tastings, classes and luxury Bourbon and lifestyle experiences.
For locals and those who didn’t plan ahead, Oasis Mobile Hydration can be reached by phone at (502) 888-9181. There’s also an option to book online at www.oasismobilehydration.com.
Water is your friend when touring around Bourbon Country, but if you don’t consume enough throughout the day, there’s another option.
