- A Fork in the Road (theme music) was brought to you by... (soft guitar music begins) - [Announcer] From produce to people, the best things are grown and raised in Georgia.

Even in tough times, we come together, work hard, and grow strong.

When you purchase Georgia-grown products, you support farmers, families, and this proud state we call home.

Together, we will keep Georgia growing.

("Pass It On," by Daley) ♪ Picture perfect ♪ ♪ Hang the picture on the wall ♪ ♪ I see you shine from afar ♪ ♪ Yeah to me you are a star ♪ ♪ Alright baby ♪ ♪ Feels good, feels right ♪ ♪ Take the feeling, pass it on ♪ ♪ Just pass it on ♪ ♪ Na-na-na-na-na-na ♪ - The fascinating (soft guitar music begins) and ever-changing world of agriculture.

Let's hit the road here in Georgia and meet the farmers, producers, makers and bakers who keep us all fed and keep us coming back for more, straight ahead at the Fork in the Road.

("Howling at the Moon," by D Fine Us) ♪ I came from the mud ♪ ♪ There's dirt on my hands ♪ ♪ Strong like a tree ♪ ♪ There's roots where I stand ♪ - [David Voice Over] Georgia farmers, artisans, merchants and producers, we depend on these men and women every day of our lives through the choices we make in the food we consume.

Their strategy and approach is always shifting, but the endgame remains the same...

Results!

(soft guitar music begins) - [David Voice Over] Welcome to the farm to table capital of Georgia.

Rabun County is home to several delectable dining locations and an array of fresh options in the world of agriculture and aquaculture.

Brilliant minds behind all kinds of sweet, savory and fresh mountain born flavors, from the hatchery to the hive, we explore all kinds of tasty and fascinating Rabun County destinations, with a one-of-a-kind historic hotel offering a perfect place to experience the comforting sights, sounds and flavors of the North Georgia Mountains.

("Howling at the Moon," by D Fine Us) Let's begin off the banks of Lake Burton where clear mountain water aids a healthy population of trout that inhabit Rabun's rivers, lakes and streams.

(gentle upbeat music begins) What a magical species.

There always seems to be a pattern in the way they swim.

All is tranquil until they breach the surface, angling for their next meal, but the real wonder is how this place operates and what it takes to make an efficient and healthy hatchery.

- My name is John Lee Thompson, and I am the Trout Stocking Coordinator for the State of Georgia.

We're here at Lake Burton Fish Hatchery in Rabun County, Georgia.

The hatchery was built in the 1940s, and has just recently been renovated in the last couple years.

This facility usually contributes about 350,000 10-inch fish to our Georgia Trout Stocking Program.

That's a 1 million fish program all across North Georgia.

There's four trout hatcheries that participate in the program and my job is actually to get all four facilities functioning as one unit, stocking a million fish in Georgia.

(upbeat speakeasy instrumental music begins) Here at Lake Burton today, we have Rainbow, brown and brook trout.

Typically, we're about a 90% rainbow trout program with a little bit of brown trout and very few brook trout.

Brook trout are native to Georgia, but they're also the most difficult to culture in our hatcheries.

We'll look at some eggs today.

We're gonna see the next stage, which is fry, fingerlings, and then we have what we call our 'catchable' trout.

So here is our egg incubation room.

We'll see if we can pull one out and you can take a look at 'em.

The white eggs are non-viable and they are not going to make trout.

You want the eggs to be translucent, and we're looking in for them to have reached the next stage, which is eyed-up.

You can literally pull 'em out, take a look at 'em, and see the fish's eyes as a dark black spot.

I don't see any eyes in these eggs yet, so they're not quite ready.

We take our viable eggs and they go into these McDonald jars.

We're about a month away from that process.

It typically happens at Thanksgiving.

They'll end up, and you'll have about a hundred thousand eyed eggs rolling around in this jar.

As the eggs begin to hatch, we'll take the eggs and fry that are in this jar and we'll pour 'em a few at a time into this sifter.

This sifter allows fry to pass through and end up in the trough that we're sifting in.

And the eggs that haven't hatched stay behind.

We pour 'em back into the jar, give 'em another 12 hours or so and do it again.

When they hatch, at first, they're considered sac-fry while they still have a yolk sac.

But these are considered swim-up fry or just fry, and then from two to six or seven inches they're considered fingerlings.

And then anything larger than that, we pretty well call a 'catchable' trout.

- Brook trout are the only trout that are actually native to Georgia.

They can be clearly identified by the white leading edge on their fins.

They also don't have any black spots on their back.

They have a yellow mappy pattern.

- [David] Beautiful fish.

- They are pretty.

(upbeat guitar music begins) - Right now, we're feeding about 500 pounds of food per day.

And in the spring when these trout are a little bit larger, we'll be feeding almost up to a thousand pounds a day.

So we mentioned more dominant fish growing faster than others.

Well, this is how we address that situation, with a process called, "Grading."

The fish are being pumped off the back half of the raceway, traveling up to the top tower there, and then as they come down that pipe, we want just fish being delivered to the front end of the grader.

All these trout were hatched within three days, but there are certainly three distinct sizes.

These are some catchable trout.

They're about a half pound a piece.

These are rainbow trout.

- [David] Look at that, first cast.

- You can see they have a very distinct pink stripe down the lateral line of the fish.

That's a defining characteristic for rainbow trout.

This whole building and these eight circular tanks are all brand new to Lake Burton Fish hatchery.

The goal of the renovation was to eliminate poor production years associated with drought.

These round tanks only use about 150 gallons a minute, where a linear raceway outside's using six to 800 gallons a minute.

So clean water from the top of these tanks is going to the raceways below it, and the dirty water from these tanks is going through the clarifier.

That's where the fecal materials settle out and then is pumped to our wastewater treatment ponds.

(soft guitar music begins) In Lake Burton Fish hatchery, there's a portion of the hatchery that's open to the public Monday through Friday, 8 to 4:30, and then on weekends, holidays, open 10 to 3.

And you can come in, take a look at some of the trout that we have here and maybe if you're lucky enough you'll time it up with a feeding like these folks.

- [David Voice Over] A daily dose of hard work equates to a healthy population of amazing, exciting, and often tasty Georgia mountain trout.

- Anywhere where these fish are stocked, DNR is managing those waters as a put-and-take fishery.

We're putting them out for you to take them home, and certainly put 'em on their dinner plate and eat 'em.

("Howling at the Moon," by D Fine Us) - [David Voice Over] From the hatchery to the honey we go.

Off to Lakemont to meet a man in these mountains who works hand-in-hand with millions of hardworking bees.

(buoyant upbeat music begins) His hives scatter the mountains.

His colonies have helped pollinate flowers and crops all around the country, and his methods are studied and shared all over the world.

Yes, Bob Binnie may be the most interesting beekeeper in the world.

(music building) - Pollination is the main benefit of honeybees in this country.

Years ago, I used to travel a lot.

I've had bees in as many as nine states.

I would start in California and then into Oregon and Washington State onto the Dakotas.

And I've had bees in Wisconsin, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina.

So in past years we did a lot of moving around, but I'm a little older now.

I don't care much for that.

Living outta motels and trucks and traveling so much, we just stay close to home.

Every bee yard that we have right now, I think there's 38 current bee yards, they're all within 30 miles of this home location.

(soft guitar music begins) We are what is considered producer-packers.

In other words, we're beekeepers and we produce honey, but we also pack large amounts.

We purchase honey from many other beekeepers that I know and trust, and we have honey in several major chains, Kroger, Walmart and others.

Last year we packaged about a million and a half pounds in the facility here.

Honestly, I'm quite amazed that we do it.

It's not a large processing facility, but we push an awful lot of honey through here.

(upbeat music begins) Honey doesn't spoil as long as the moisture content is correct.

The magic number is about 18% moisture.

If it's got more water than that, it will ferment if it hasn't been pasteurized.

So we counteract that by bringing our crop into a room where we can dry it down a little bit before we extract it.

This racket you hear over here (machine whirring) is a large commercial dehumidifier.

We have it running 24/7 during our extracting season.

I don't know if you can feel that this room is very dry.

The humidity in here is very low, and we'll turn these fans on that are in the ceiling and drive that very dry air through our honey supers.

We're not trying to make it extremely thick.

We just want to pull one or two percentage points of water out before we extract it.

We're currently going through about 70 55-gallon drums of honey per week.

- [David] And the different types of honey, I guess, sells for different prices.

- That's right, Sourwood is considered a Cadillac honey and goes for probably twice the amount of money of just normal wildflower.

Sourwood is kind of a Southern Appalachian specialty.

You really can't get it in other parts of the world.

(soft guitar music begins) - [David Voice Over] Bob has been at this for decades, and his experience is well documented.

- [Bob] This technique's really pretty simple, and what's cool about it is you don't have to find the queen.

So a lot of beginner beekeepers might find this attractive.

- [David Voice Over] His YouTube channel has tens of thousands of followers and is one of the best sources for someone who wants to get started in this industry as a profession or a hobby.

- Now that I found the queen, (bees buzzing) and I put her in the colony, I don't have to shake anymore.

I know she's in there.

- [David Voice Over] He shares his knowledge, his tricks, and everything else he can do to help both bees and beekeepers.

Here in Lakemont, you can tour the shop, see the bees up close and in action.

You can try free samples and even get everything you need to start your own hive.

- [Bob] We have a lot of beginners that come in here, a lot of beginning beekeepers.

We answer a lot of questions for people, but everything in the store is oriented into honeybees one way or another.

- [David] So come on to Lakemont and see Bob's Bees, tour Bob's store and maybe even meet the man himself and see what the buzz is all about.

("Howling at the Moon," by D Fine Us) From the sweet humming of bees to another talented Rabunite in Clayton, who blends science and art to create world class, award-winning spirits.

(whiskey blues music begins) Every once in a while you meet someone who truly loves what they do.

That's what you'll discover just a few minutes with Doug at his distillery.

He's a man of science and a man of artistic intellect.

The ones who benefit from his love and mastery of distilling are the likes of you and me.

So before we hit Rabun County's speakeasy, let's meet 'Distillery Doug,' for a lesson in all things bourbon.

- [Doug Voice Over] We decided, we're gonna do it the way it used to be made by a family structure that used to be there, not corporate, and to do it without compromise.

And by the grace of God, we found ourselves in Rabun County, Georgia.

They let us in and they supported us, and every day we feel like we need to return that courtesy.

So every day we can't compromise, we have to make the best stuff.

We use the best ingredients found in Rabun County.

Our commitment is use those, make amazing products, but make sure you don't put any yucky stuff back in.

(gentle upbeat music begins) When you go into a distillery, ask them the question, "What's your alcohol by volume at the end of their fermentation process?"

If they say, "It's higher than 14%," that can't be, because yeast can't tolerate any alcohol higher than 14%.

So how do we increase the alcohol percentage?

And that's what we use the first still for, right?

So the stripping still, the entire objective is to increase our alcohol by volume by separating alcohol from water.

And we now take our chemistry hat off.

We put our physics hat on.

So having a background in chemistry, physics and biomedical engineering helps a lot.

- I'm sure it does.

- What helps more, - Yeah.

is apprenticing under some really smart old guys.

When we finished here, these low wines that came out were comprised of over 206 individual alcohol compounds.

You recognize some of them: acetone, (nail polish remover), acetylene, (cutting torch fuel).

In some people's products, (indistinct chatter) you can kind of taste it.

It's an off-flavor, it's an off-aroma, which is why we are always by hand, local ingredients wherever we can and no yucky stuff.

I won't let our customers put anything in their mouth that vaporizes before 190 or after 201.

So if every alcohol vaporizes at its own unique temperature, how many did I keep?

- Yeah.

- 11, good job.

- Yeah, thank you.

- So everything that vaporizes from 172 to 189 goes in a recycled tank.

Again, we have zero waste coming out of this plant.

Everything is recycled.

Bourbon, by law, number one, has to be majority corn, at least 51%.

Number two, it has to be aged in a brand new American white oak charred barrel.

Number three, it cannot be charcoal filtered, flavored or colored.

We can't come off the still higher than 160 proof.

We can't go into a barrel higher than 125.

And we must be made in the United States.

(whiskey blues music begins) - [David Voice Over] And no better way to understand the knowledge that Doug shares than to simply partake and understand firsthand.

- What's so beautiful is when you get to this, you can really assimilate all those different things.

Now if you notice in the time we're talking, I've never tried to convince you to like it.

And I've also never tried to convince you of what you're supposed to be tasting because in my world those are incredibly subjective and personal.

I have two rules in this plant.

Rule number one, everybody's tastes are different.

Don't ever let anybody tell you what you're supposed to taste.

- Yeah.

- And rule number two, if you like something, nothing else matters.

All right, so what I try to do is build a very balanced complex bourbon that has a great mouth feel and lingers a good, long time, can take on the big boys at a significant benefit, financially.

You look at a 35, a 50 and a $70 bourbon that are getting gold medals, over things that are at least three times their price, twice their price.

- You're doing a good service for a lot of people.

- We want 'em happy.

- Yeah.

- So... - So we call this dessert.

(chuckling) When I grew up, we didn't have a half gallon of ice cream in the freezer every night.

That was a real luxury.

- Yeah.

- But when that first snowfall came, my nana would get condensed milk, vanilla extract, and a bucket of fresh snow.

And she'd make snow cream.

Well, a lot of folks didn't know what snow cream was.

So we took Madagascar vanilla, we took our 90-proof select bourbon, and brought in some amazing fresh cream from one of the top five creameries in the country.

The way it was designed was to give you that top note of fresh vanilla, a little bit of bourbon attitude down the middle.

- Okay.

- And finish into that bowl of snow cream ice cream.

When I do this distillery experience every day, it's a two-hour engagement, and where you get to taste all of these around the distillery where we make it so it's a lot of fun.

- That is an incredible drink.

- Thank you.

- [David Voice Over] So I learned the science and definitely appreciated the art of what they are creating here at Moonrise Distillery, family business that honors the traditional distilling methods of the 1850s.

And lucky for visitors, the password at this speakeasy is quite simple to obtain.

Just open the door, come on in, and prepare to enjoy.

("Howling at the Moon," by D Fine Us) From Clayton, we head back to the lake town of Lakemont for a stay at an historic hotel that's serving up some tasty Moonrise, along with amazing memories and delectable local dishes.

(soft guitar music begins) Begin your walk down these stone steps alongside a picturesque coy pond.

Take a glimpse of the stone chimney that climbs along the wood siding.

And once you step foot inside, you instantly understand why this place is so special, be it the tree growing straight through the floor and through the ceiling, the woodwork along the mirrors and lands, or the friendly Lakemont locals who greet you for your stay, the answer is clear.

All of the above personify the Lake Rabun Hotel.

- It was built in 1922, so everything that was in the hotel was found on the grounds of the hotel.

And it was built using local craftsmen.

And the owner had fallen in love with this area.

He had some art ability.

And so you'll see inside some of his artwork and some of his early promotions when rooms were $2 a night.

- Wow.

And you've held those prices up, right?

- Yeah.

(both laughing) - What jumps out to most people is how unique all the features are in here.

And it's what jumped out to you when you came in this hotel for the first time.

- I had no intention of buying this place.

I'm a preservationist and I'm from Delaware, but I was with a friend that was looking to buy a place.

And I got bored after a while and I said to the realtor, "Do you have any old places?"

Because that's what I love and that's what I've grown with.

And she said, "As a matter of fact, there's this old hotel, everybody loves it, but I think it's gonna go on the market."

So I made a special trip back to take a look at it.

And I walked through the door and I saw this tree with the bark off of it holding up the second floor.

- Hmm.

- And then I saw this very large stone fireplace that looked so unique to me.

It didn't look like it was American-made.

It looked European.

And then I looked over and I saw all the fret work around the doors and designs, geometric designs.

And so all the detail of the building, of the Lake Rabun Hotel, fascinated me.

I'd never seen anything like it.

- This is the first thing you saw.

- Yeah.

- The tree.

- Yeah.

- Holding up the second floor.

- Yeah.

(chuckling) - This is amazing.

- I just, I love the architecture in here, the uniqueness.

There's really no other place to like it.

- Yeah.

- Feel this rustic theme is kind of throughout the whole hotel, even in the dining experience.

There's little nooks where you can sit in.

- This is Mountain Laurel rhododendron, so this makes up what we call, 'rustic furniture.'

- Yeah.

- And it was built around 1918.

Today, they're extremely valuable and this is one of the largest private collections of rustic furniture in the country.

(player piano begins) - You know my favorite piece is the one that has the moving cup holder.

- Yeah, that's over here.

(laughing) - Yeah, that one is awesome.

This is so cool.

(laughing) I'm just gonna hang out here today with my little cup holder.

Some people don't appreciate cup holders.

I do.

You have the hotel property here, but there are other places that people can stay, they can wander, they can explore.

- Yeah.

We've got Fish Camp, and the reason I created Fish Camp was I'm a dog lover.

People couldn't bring their dogs into the historic hotel.

So there are five fish camp cottages, two bedroom cottages, back in the woods by a little pond.

Perfect for families, perfect for groups to get together.

Perfect for people that wanna travel with their pets.

The other property just up from Fish Camp is Forest Lodge, and that's a wedding and event center.

And that's also very rustic, natural materials from here.

And it's very private and quiet so if people wanted to have a wedding in nature, in the mountains, it's a good spot.

(upbeat speakeasy music begins) - [David Voice Over] Even on a rainy day, the appeal of this historic destination may have shined even more.

The rooms are cozy, no tv.

However, there is wifi if you desire.

The idea is to spend quality time with your family and your friends, while eating locally sourced lunch and dinner at the restaurant, or enjoying a drink and conversation at the bar with my new friend David, who was stocked with his favorite local spirits.

- When someone walks in the door, inevitably, they walk by and they're craning looking for my bourbon selection.

- Yeah.

- There's really only one, Moonrise bourbon.

It's all over my bar.

It's 'cause they make great whiskey and because it's local.

I heard you were a fan of a great Old Fashioned.

- Yes sir.

Yes sir.

- Let me prepare you a traditional Old Fashioned.

Moonrise actually make their own bitters as well.

And so we use the their bitters in the Old Fashioned.

And we want to express... See how the sprays coming over the drink hitting the rim?

- Yes.

- Then I'll go ahead and hit it with a Starlino Cherry.

Good Moonrise bourbon.

- There it is.

- Always recommend a good four count.

Maybe just a little bit of simple sugar.

And then we'll finish it off with a big giant ice cube.

And then one of the keys to the Old Fashioned is to stir it (ice cubes hitting glass) 15 times around the edge.

And that just mixes the ice cube water in with the bourbon and allows everything to settle.

And voila.

One classic Old Fashioned.

- Thank you so much.

I'm glad I came here.

- My pleasure, to give you the full Lake Rabun experience.

- I'm a little early here.

I think some of the other guests are gonna join me soon.

- It's five o'clock somewhere.

- I think so.

(laughing) - Just the sultry caramel flavor of good bourbon, little bit of sugar, and then that citrus spray really brings it alive.

- Dare I say, that's a perfect drink.

- Thank you, sir.

That was awesome.

That is awesome.

So after my Moonrise happy hour with David, it was time to enjoy the dining experience here at the Lake Rabun Hotel.

(cowboy music begins) You see, along with their award-winning Georgia pecan encrusted mountain trout dish that's been named one of the country's best dishes, I had been hearing about this American Wagyu beef sourced locally to create their flavor-packed burgers.

And right up the road in Demorest, Georgia, is a ranch known as, "Providence Farmstead," that is home to the source.

The Russell family proudly operates this ranch, along with the dairy operation just over the border in Otto, North Carolina.

However, to tell the full story of Providence Farmstead, we'll need a whole new show.

(air whooshing) So we've saved that story for another episode not far down the road, but for now it's chow time at the Lake Rabun Hotel.

- So this is actually an American Wagyu.

So you have a Wagyu sire, which is the male, and then they breed the sire with Jersey cows.

- Wagyu is marveled, it's softer.

That flavor just cooks into the meat.

And I'm just holding off from eating this right now 'cause I enjoy talking with you.

(both laughing) Mm.

Chef did it perfect.

- Good!

- Mm.

(gentle music begins) - So we bid adieu to Gwen and our Rabun County friends.

We can bring home the beef, a little bit of honey, an artistic expression of Moonrise bourbon, and come back soon to catch a trout or two from these healthy Rabun County lakes and streams.

I'm David Zelski.

See you at the next Fork in the Road.

A Fork in the Road was brought to you by... (soft guitar music begins) - [Announcer] From produce to people, the best things are grown and raised in Georgia.

Even in tough times, we come together, work hard and grow strong.

When you purchase Georgia-grown products, you support farmers, families, and this proud state we call home.

Together, we will keep Georgia growing.

("Pass It On," by Daley) ♪ Picture perfect ♪ ♪ Hang the picture on the wall ♪ ♪ I see you shine from afar ♪ ♪ Yeah to me you are a star ♪ ♪ Alright baby ♪ ♪ ♪ Feels good, feels right ♪ ♪ Take the feeling, pass it on ♪ ♪ Just pass it on ♪ ♪ Na-na-na-na-na-na ♪