Bourbon, Horse Racing and Edge Computing? Great Combination...

What does Kentucky Bourbon, running of the Horses at Keeneland, and Edge Computing have to do with one another?

As someone who spent the last 20 years with a focus on the connectivity and data center/cloud side of the business, I was thrilled at the opportunity of spending a few days Zebra Technologies a key MTS strategic partner in what was clearly one of the best introductions to the edge infrastructure and mobility space one could ever wish for. The set up for this unique training venue was an old-style southern home in Lexington Kentucky near the Keeneland Horse racing track, the plan was to attend the races and tour the local Bourbon distilleries. Within the tours and races, one did not have to look hard to see the impacts of edge solutions in nearly every aspect of the operations of these near ancient industries. Nothing beats having one-on-one time with people from both sides of the table that live and breathe the technology and can offer up an unvarnished real-life perspective of the mobilized solutions and the vendor landscapes.

I must admit this in-depth deep dive was a thrill and had a great time discussing the latest mobilized edge technology being deployed and the near science-fiction solutions in the works for future releases.

If you are not familiar with Zebra Technologies as a brand name, I would bet (which based on my one win out of 9 races at the track may be easy money) that you likely are interacting directly or indirectly with one of their edge solutions countless times a day. Leading Zebra products include scanners, mobile computers, tablets, and printers that help automate day-to-day tasks, improve work conditions, and drive efficiencies. What can be a bit surprising is how many of these solutions we all take for granted in our everyday lives and have become so important and indispensable, these were made all so clear as we headed out to adventures into horse racing and bourbon.

As we headed out to the races at Keeneland, not unheard of to have 30,000+ attendees show up at the gates, the edge solutions were quickly noted from the handheld scanners validating the tickets, the health inspectors with mobilized temperature senor devices screening all of the attendees and of course, a generous and extremely convenient number of walk-up and drive-through betting kiosks to ensure that you do not travel more than a few feet and potentially miss the opportunities to put your amazing analysis of the field of horses, track conditions and the skill of the jockeys – and of course the coolness of their horse’s names – to profitable use. To say the least the edge devices were a big part of the customer experience at the track.

When we headed off to the Bourbon distilleries, there too you had your fair share of edge technology. To my own ignorance, I had no idea the demand for bourbon and the near rock-star status held by more than a just few “master distillers”. We visited several in the area including Wild Turkey, Woodford, and Heaven Hill, but the tour of Buffalo Trace was frankly the most interesting allowing you deep into their processes as well as history and finishing with a great tasting.

It was at Buffalo Trace, a distillery that reached back to 1792 and claims to be the oldest continuously operating distillery in the US., with its embrace of modern technology while staying true to the roots. As we arrived, the Bourbon fans were already lining up (which turned out to be about a 40-minute wait) to get into the main shop where we were given an RFID tag for the tour and authorized you to select bottle purchases in the store. One select bottle per customer, limited to every 3 months, all tracked by your driver’s license.

To the dismay of a few of the Bourbon fans in our group, the big prize – bottles of a special Blanton Blend Bourbon - which was whispered to be hidden from the common showroom shelves and stashed behind the checkout counter for those in the “know” was tragically sold out just a mere 20 people ahead of us in line, but I did pick up a great bottle of the Col. E. H. Taylor. With a quick zap on the handheld computer scanner to my wristband RFID tag, my shopping was complete (at least for the next 3 months!).

A key moment during the tour was the tour guide sharing the process for tracking the valuable barrels of Bourbon, gone are the days of burning the details and dates into the sides of the barrels, today replaced with barcode labels and RFID tags to track all the critical data. Apparently mixing red hot branded fire and high proof alcohol is not a great mix with rapid-fire and explosions with more than a few distilleries burning to the ground in minutes.

Further, into the tour the descriptions of technology deployed to micromanage, monitor the environment, and ensure that the 2-to-7-year investment per barrel is not wasted, is still mixed with the commitment to the traditional natural processes. At the end of the tour, the tasting room was our reward, getting a sample of each of the main bourbons produced.

If you are interested in learning there is a wonderful documentary on the process called NEAT that is worth watching..

Really appreciate the team at Zebra Technologies for sharing this unique experience with the Ponies, Bourbon and cleverly (perhaps not even intentional) showcasing the impacts of edge solutions making the visit both educational and fun.

If you have any questions, comments, or recommendations please do not hesitate to add to the comments!