TRIP THROUGH KENTUCKY BOURBON COUNTRY

 I feel sorry for people who don’t drink.  When they wake up in the morning, that is as good as they are going to feel all day.”  (Wild Turkey Billboard quote attributed to Frank Sinatra)

All bourbon is whiskey, but not all whiskey is bourbon.  Bourbon tastes stronger and sweeter with corn being the predominant ingredient.  Bourbon is America’s only native spirit!

Trips need purpose …..at least for us…. however the purpose isn’t always evident when we start out.  Take for instance Kentucky and bourbon.  The first time we visited Lexington, Kentucky, we concentrated on horses.  When I think of Lexington, I think of horses.  After all, we were staying at the Kentucky Horse Park State Park and the Keene race track was just down the road.  The area is surrounded by horse farms and we are the heart of blue grass country.  Dave however had another purpose in mind … bourbon.    Kentucky Bourbon to be exact.

 So, he put up with my horse fixation and I accompanied him to a bourbon distillery.  This trip we only made it to one distillery, Woodford Reserve, and I didn’t think I’d like bourbon, so obtained the obligatory sample so Dave could have more!  I did, however, partake in the bourbon balls and found sipping the bourbon left an interesting taste on my pallet.  Maybe I could get into this.  Unfortunately we didn’t leave much time for distilleries on this trip, so made a vow to come back …. With the purpose … to complete the Bourbon Trail and then some!

WHY IS KENTUCKY KNOWN FOR ITS BOURBON?

A short answer  is …. if you wanted to open a distillery after prohibition, Kentucky had the most abandoned distilleries and they were all set and ready to go! 

But why ……. did they have these distilleries!  There  are many good reasons why Kentucky is the place for bourbon distilleries and the variety of reasons  come together to create a unique blend of tastes.  Ninety-seven percent of all bourbon is still produced in Kentucky …. and in order to be considered Kentucky Bourbon, it must be aged in Kentucky for a year and a day.

FIRST ….. IT’S AN AMERICAN HISTORY STORY

This is my favorite part of the bourbon story, it is an American story.  In the mid 1700’s, this area was the Kentucky Territory of Virginia and in 1792 Kentucky became a commonwealth state along with Pennsylvania and Massachusetts.  

 In 1789, in order to pay France and others for their help in the Revolutionary War, an excise tax on domestically distilled spirits was passed.  The Whiskey Tax had the most affect on the farmers who had small family stills and did not operate year around.  This resulted in the Whiskey Rebellion and farmers moved as far west as they could to get away from Government scrutiny.  

Coupled with this,  “Corn Patch and Cabin Rights” was established in 1776 to encourage westward development.  So, in 1792 after Kentucky became a commonwealth, new settlers were given free parcels of land if they built a cabin and grew corn, the native crop.  Barley  and rye were not common crops but corn was plentiful. 

Settlers brought rye and barley with them and planted corn for their free land as well as their distilling skills.  Corn became a main grain in whiskey softening up the taste and the corn based whiskey was very popular.   

Some farmers used their entire corn crops to make corn whiskey finding  they made more money from the corn liquor than from the grain and it was cheaper to transport liquid than the grains.  As the liquor was used as currency early on.

So the manufacture of Kentucky Bourbon is most definitely an American story. 

SECOND … THE KENTUCKY WEATHER

Conditions in Kentucky are perfect for whiskey making.  The state is situated right in the center of the country with extreme cold in the winters and extreme heat in the summers.  This allows the whiskey to work in to and out of the barrels imparting the flavor and color.

THIRD … THE KENTUCKY WATER

Fresh springs, creeks and lakes carry the pure limestone-filtered water that filters out the iron.  Kentucky water also contains calcium which is why the horse industry thrives here.  Horses eating the grass and drinking the water obtain the calcium needed for strong ankles.  However, that doesn’t necessarily work on humans!  So environmentally, Kentucky was the ideal spot to distill and manufacture bourbon.

WHAT MAKES KENTUCKY BOURBON SO SPECIAL?

CHARRED WHITE OAK BARRELS

The interaction between the charred barrels and the aging whiskey enhances the flavor and the longer the time in the barrel, the deeper the color and richer the flavor as the whiskey seeps into the barrel. 

There are two theories as to how this charring of the barrels took place to begin with.

Barrels were purchased from dry goods stores and second-hand barrels were sterilized to eliminate any previous flavors.  The fire in the barrels brought out natural sugars in the oak and a caramelized layer of natural sugars would set in where the char ends and the wood begins.  This is the “red line”. 

Barrels were shipped down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers with the sun beating down heating up the barrels.  The expansion of liquor seeping into the wood passing through the “red line” gave it the amber color and cooler nights forced the whiskey out of the wood passing through the “red line” adding flavor.  

It could take up to six months to make the trip and the taste of the whiskey changed dramatically from the start to the finish.  The barrels rounded off the rough edges and softened up the white dog.

The other theory is that Elijah Craig through his frugality used the charred barrels damaged by a barn fire.  He couldn't bear to toss them. 

However it happened, the char created a wonderful taste and amber color of the bourbon whiskey.

COOPERS’ UNION – Barrels only used once

To ensure the cooper’s union had forever work a law that bourbon had to be stored in brand new charred oak containers was passed.  After prohibition the identity was written on the barrel and enforced protecting the coopers’ union.

However reusing  the barrels would dilute the taste and color and reusing a barrel, even following all the other rules of making bourbon, all is left is whiskey.  It would not be bourbon whiskey.

Today the used barrels are sold to distilleries in Scotland and Ireland and breweries where there is a HUGH market for these used bourbon barrels.

AGING TIME

There are various opinions from six years as a minimum with some bourbons to twenty years or more.  The recipe, barrel and aging provide the flavors depending on the aging process, type of warehouse and location of the barrels inside the warehouse.  Barrel aging is responsible for 50% and 75% of the final flavor of bourbon.

PROOF

Bourbon Whiskey cannot store distillate at more than 125 proof.  If it is distilled at a higher proof, more filtered water needs to be added diluting the taste and color.  Evaporation takes 4% a year … angels share.  Stored at the higher floors where it is hot and dry the proof will rise from 125 to 145 proof after evaporation.  If you put 160 proof whiskey in the barrel it could rise up to 180 proof and then you’d have to add water to get it down to 80-100 proof in the water watering down what you worked so hard for.  Bourbon cannot enter the barrel at anything more than 125 proof.

PROOF   Originally bourbon was sent to the taverns in barrels and some barkeeps watered down the whiskey to make more money.  To ensure the customer was getting what he asked for a simple experiment would be run:  Putting gunpowder on the bar in a little pile and wet the powder with whiskey.  Alcohol burns just over 50% alcohol content so if you lit the match and put it to the gunpowder and it burned yellow and fizzled out the whiskey was watered down.  If it burned blue and flashed, it was proof of how good the whiskey was. 

ALL BOURBON IS WHISKEY … BUT NOT ALL WHISKEY IS BOURBON

The recipe must include:

The majority of grains must be corn.  Also includes rye, wheat, malted barley but 51% corn

Must be distilled under 160 proof

Must be stored in new charred oak barrels

Nothing can be added to bourbon except water

RACK HOUSES

Bourbon is warehoused in rack houses that are mostly tin-wrapped wooden structures facing north to south for sun exposure.  Traditional rack houses are five to nine stories.  Some barrels stay in same place the whole time and pulled out in the same order as placed.  Some are rotated and some on an escalator.  There are various ways to obtain flavor and the method is up to the distiller.

THE DISTILLERIES

WILD TURKEY

1525 Tyrone Road, Lawrenceburg, KY (502) 839-2182

Master Distiller:  Jimmy Russell
(Day 1)

The  Wild Turkey Distillery,  overlooking the Kentucky River, is located in Lawrenburg, KY 23 miles west of Lexington.  Wild Turkey Bourbon is known by its signature Wild Turkey 101 and American Honey  a smooth liqueur of bourbon and honey.  

Its history goes back to the Ripey Brothers who  represented Kentucky at the 1893 World’s Fair.  The distillery received its name in 1940 and Rare Breed, a premium barrel-proof was introduced in 1991.  

  The Kentucky Spirit, 101 proof was released in 1995 and American Honey a blend of Kentucky Bourbon and American Honey was introduced in 2006.  Associate Master distiller is Eddie Russell.  

FOUR ROSES – A Love Story

1224 Bonds Mill Road, Lawrenceburg, KY   (502) 839-3436

Our next stop was Four Roses located a few miles away from Wild Turkey Distillery.  The Distillery, built in 1910,  is on the National Register of Historic Places. 

 It has a unique Spanish Mission style architecture located on the Salt River which is a limestone spring-fed river.  They have used the same grain source for 50 years.  They have two mash bills containing more rye than other bourbons, five proprietary yeast strains with ten different bourbon recipes. 

In the early 1800’s, Paul Jones Jr sent a proposal of marriage to a southern belle.  She replied that if the answer was “yes”, she would wear a corsage of roses on her gown at the upcoming ball.  That evening she wore a corsage of four red roses.  He later named his bourbon “Four Roses” as a symbol of his love for his lovely belle.

During prohibition he purchased Frankfort Distilling Company, one of six distilleries granted permission to operate through prohibition for medicinal purposes.  

In 1943 Seagram purchased Frankfort Distilling Co. primarily to acquire Four Roses.  It was the top selling bourbon in 1930’s, 40s, 50’s but Seagram decided to discontinue sale of Kentucky Straight Bourbon in the US so Four Roses moved to the European and Asian markets.  

It was purchased by Kurin, a Japanese Beer company.  There is a very large bourbon market in Japan and only recently the Yellow Label, formerly sold only in Japan, is back in the US.

Single story rack warehouses is Four Roses' innovation, theoretically to let the bourbon age gently inside the barrels in uniform fashion while remaining undisturbed throughout the years.

WOODFORD RESERVE

Versailles, KY

located in the heart of horse country outside Lexington is our final stop of the day, Woodford Reserve.  The drive to get here is absolutely beautiful.  It is off Route 60 between Versailles and I-64  with magnificent horse farms and rolling green hills framed by beautiful fences.   The Woodford Thoroughbreds farm  is so pastoral, you can’t help but relax and feel the stress slough off you (or is that the bourbon tasting?).

Distilling began on the site in 1780 with the distillery building erected in 1838.  This is the oldest of the nine bourbon distilleries in operation in Kentucky although it has not been in continuous operation.  It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and designated as a National Historic Landmark.

   Originally owned by the Oscar Pepper family, the property was sold in 1878 to Leopold Labrot and James Graham who operated it (except during prohibition) until 1941 when it was sold to Brown-Forman Corporation.  B-F operated it until 1968 and sold it in 1971 but re-purchased it in 1993 reburbishing the buildings to bring it back to operation.  Woodford Reserve brand was introduced in 1996.

The rack houses are brick rather than tin.  They use a triple pot still unique in the industry.  They host events throughout the year and it’s a beautiful spot to do it. 

Our lunch today consisted of bourbon shots with bourbon candy for dessert.  Whatta life!

JIM BEAM AMERICAN OUTPOST, Clermont, KY

 (Day 2)

This distillery goes waaaaay back to the early settlers carving out their futures in the westward movement.  Jacob Beam, in 1788, settled in Kentucky raising corn, fruit, hogs and operated a grain mill.  He began bourbon distilling for his own use, as many of the early settlers did, and he sold his first barrel in 1795 calling it “Old Jake Beam Sour Mash”.    David Beam takes over during the Industrial Revolution increasing distilling capacity and selling bourbon beyond Washington County.  

In 1856 David M Beam moves the distillery to Nelson County to be closer to the new railroad expansion and renamed the company D.M. Beam & Company moving bourbon north and south.  In 1864 James Beauregard Beam … Jim Beam … rebuild the distillery after prohibition ended and in 1946 his son “Jere” Beam heads up the business.  

BOOKER NOE

By this time Jim Beam is global with cases bound for the American servicemen stationed overseas.  F. Booker Noe II, Jim Beam’s grandson, became Master Distiller in 1960; the sixth Beam family member to head the business.  Today Frederick Booker Noe III, Jim Beam’s great-grandson, heads up the Jim Beam distillery at Clermont. 

In the tasting room we sampled Jim Beam Black and Bakers an ultra-premium small batch bourbon.

BOURBON HERITAGE CENTER, HEAVEN HILL DISTILLERY, 

Bardstown, KY

           

Evans Williams & Elijah Craig        

We left Jim Beam and headed down to Heaven Hills Distillery where Evans Williams is distilled.  The distiller here, Parker Beam, is a cousin to Frederick Booker Noe III of Jim Beam.   In 1996, a fire destroyed a total of six rack houses and the distillery.  Although the distillery is no longer at this facility, they built a multi-million dollar facility on this site.  The visitor’s center is well worth the visit and the tasting room is great!   

EVAN WILLIAMS – A great US History Story:

In 1783, Evan Williams established the first commercial distillery in the present Commonwealth of Kentucky located in Louisville.  Located on the banks of the Ohio River was near Fort Nelson for protection against Indian raids.  The shortage of money encouraged bartering with the whiskey and Evan Williams’ products were used as a standard of quality.

Reverend Eliah Craig is considered the father of bourbon.  Legend has it, through his frugality and practical nature, he salvaged his barrels from a burning barn and used them to store whiskey. 

 These may have been the first "charred barrels" used in the process. 

We walked through the museum exhibits and entered the tasting room starting with Evan Williams Single Barrel Bourbon.  

MAKER’S MARK,

Loretto, KY

Our last distillery of the day was MAKER’S MARK and it was the furthest out and the most beautiful drive.  

Our GPS took us through some of the most beautiful back country of rolling hills, farms, tobacco fields and single lane roads.  The roads were well paved but not very wide d with blind hills and blind corners.  Fortunately we didn’t meet any cars on the way.

Eventually we reached Marker’s Mark and it really is in the country!   We caught the tail end of a tour. 

 Maker’s Mark has a great gift giving opportunity for a bourbon lover.  You can have your name on a barrel, follow it (on-line) through the 6 year aging process and when it’s ready to be poured, come to the distillery and buy your bottle and the label will be specially made for you 

If you don’t want to wait six years, you can buy a bottle of Maker’s Mark and dip it in the red wax yourself!

Our lunch today was bourbon shots and bourbon chocolate for dessert!!!  

BARDSTOWN, KY

(Next year's visit)

Moving on from Lexington, KY we stayed in Bardstown, KY at My Old Kentucky Home State Park campground.

This is a small campground with 39 woods sites surrounded by a golf course.  There is a good buffer between the campsites and the golf course and an ideal place for an evening walk after the golfers have left, around the golf course on the golf cart paths.  It is a beautiful setting.  And….thrills of thrills….Heaven Hills is within eyesight of the campground, across the golf course.  Last year we traveled from Lexington to visit Heaven Hills!  Who knew!

This year we are looking for smaller distilleries and those we missed the first time around in Lexington.

KENTUCKY BOURBON DISTILLERY

Loreto Road, Bardstown, KY

www.kentuckybourbonwhiskey.com

Dave arranged for an appointment and private tour at this small batch bourbon distillery. 

The Kentucky Bourbon Distillery is the home of Johnny Drum and Willett bourbon.  The distillery was built after the repeal of prohibition by Thompson and Johnny Willett and became the family distillery for over thirty years.

Their signature bourbons were Old Bardstown which is now produced by Heaven Hills and Johnny Drum marketed for overseas consumption.  

During the 1970’s the brothers converted the distillery to produce alcohol for gasohol fuel and stopped making bourbon entirely.  Things went from bad to worse and the distillery closed down. 

In comes Evan Kulsveen, married to Willett’s daughter, who took over the distillery and started producing spirits again.  The foreign market for American bourbon was beginning to boom, especially the Japanese markets.  The old remaining Willett stock was bottled in classic looking packages and sold in Japan.  There was not much interest in developing an American market. 

Drew Kulsveen, son of Evan, the Manager of the distillery gave us an extensive tour and it was fantastic.  Drew, his sister Britt Chavanne and her husband Hunter Chevanne along with Evan comprise the business today.

He brought us into the main building and my first impression was that it smells like a bakery.  We climbed to the second floor to view the fermenting vats.

You could feel the heat rising from the vats as the yeast did its work. 

The copper pot still designed by Even and Drew is such a unique design and quite beautiful.  It  inspired me to buy the bottle of bourbon that is in a replica for this still.

I asked what they do with the used charred barrels.  Since this is a small batch distillery producing about 20 barrels a day, their market is breweries rather than the Scotch and Whiskey makers overseas.  He suggested trying a chocolate-coffee stout from one of these used barrels.  Imagine the richness in the taste.  

They rolled a barrel over and showed us how they filled the barrel with the liquid gold.  The filling hose is original. It looks like a gasoline hose.  Dave was busy wiping the side of the barrel where the bourbon was spilling out.  The barrels are rolled over to the scale to be weighed. 

Again this scale is the original scale of the distillery.  Whenever possible, if it works and is still efficient, it is used by this family. The barrels are then stamped and taken over to the rick houses.

They have worked to keep the old buildings, reinforcing only when necessary for safety and modernization.  The vats and still are unique in their design and the reconditioned distillery building is kept cool by some amazing belt-driven cast iron ceiling fans. The 1935 vintage gauging building has been beautifully restored to preserve the wood-grained character of the old structure. 

There are eight well-weathered, traditional rick-style warehouses at the property. These currently hold aging bourbon destined for the various labels and brands produced by the Kentucky Bourbon Distillers bottling operation. Slowly but surely they will be filled with new barrels distilled onsite by Kentucky’s newest…old distillery.

In January 2012 they started cooking a batch of corn, rye and malted barley and started the formentation process.  Some days later they fired up the copper pot still and on January 27^th put the first few barrels into storage.  That would be Thompson’s 103^rd birthday.  

The family used the original mash bills that Thompson used when he was President of the Willett Distilling Company. 

Their bourbon is aged for 4 years.  You can see the message on the barrel.  This one is a keeper - will probably never be opened.

In the meantime,  the Kentucky Bourbon Distillers is a bottling operation that produces a range of private labels, as well as their own brands, including Willett Pot Still Reserve, Johnny Drum, and Willett Family Estate.  

Those first barrels from January 27th will be quite a celebration.

Behind the distillery is a lake fed by a real limestone spring providing water for the process; Their future plans include building a B&B on the edge of the lake and utilizing old structures on the property as porches for guests. I believe they have seven springs on the property as well as access to the creek so there is plenty of room for growth.

We entered the tasting room and started off with White Dog which is the initial pour off the barrel.  It was crystal clear and a hardy drink.  Then we tried the Willett Pot Still Reserve 94 Proof Bourbon.  I really like this one and it came in a decanter the shape of the still.

Rowans Creek is the creek behind the property which furnishes water for the distilling process so we had Rowan's Creek Small Batch 100.1 proof and.... it too....was great so we bought it!  And..........we bought Dave a hat for doing such a good job of planning!!!

BARTON DISTILLERY 1792 RIDGEMONT

BARTON DISILLERY   

1792 RIDGEMONT

AKA The Tom  Moore Distillery

The Barton Distillery is the world’s third largest distillery. It opened in 1876 by Mattingly Moore and Tom Moore took it over in 1879.  Prohibition did a number on these distilleries and by 1934 the original distillery was torn down.  In 1937-1944 Moore’s son and bank ran it but the son had no interest in the business.  Oscar Getz purchased the distillery and named it Barton.  There is a whiskey museum in Bardstown housing all of Getz’s memorabilia. 

It was used as a “cash cow” for its next owners.  In disrepair and at threat of closing, Sazerac Company bought the distillery and poured money into the operation.  Along with the manufacture of VOB and 1792 Ridgemont Reserve, many of Sazerac’s other spirits are bottled here.  It was a lifeline that saved 180 jobs and kept a distillery functioning in the Bourbon Capital.

This distillery primarily uses coal for heating and all the coal comes from Eastern Kentucky.  We entered the VOB (Very Old Bourbon) rack house.  There is what is called “distiller’s mold” which turns everything black. 

 I always noticed on the sides of the white rack houses that made them look black and moldy.  In the old days the authorities searching for stills would look for the black mold on the trees!  Can’t get away with anything ….. until the stills became more mobile then they’d move them through the woods and the mold wouldn’t be so bad ….. hah!

Because of the weight of these barrels, about 500 lbs each and the numbers of them stored (in the thousands) it is very important that the weight distribution be correct. From the top of the rafters to the bottom floor is a plumb line.  This indicates the degree of leaning of the building and the need to rearrange the barrels.

Our guide told us that forest animals sometimes feast off the corn from the trucks and come into the rack house.  One day she saw a drunken ground hog that had been licking the weeping barrels too much.  It staggered out of the rack house and across the lawn!

The rack houses have 274 windows and the beams would lay out 60 miles.  In its day it cost $50K to build, today it would be $2.5M so you can see why these rick houses are salvaged as much as possible.

You can purchase your very own barrel for $5,000.  They will bottle it up for you and send it to a distributor of your choice for pick up.  You then can keep the barrel.  A barrel yields about 210 bottles.

The grain trucks come in from Kansas and Indiana.  Barton’s has used the same farmers for fifty years.  The grain is sampled for  impurities then loaded up into the silos where it is then made ready for the mashers.  The operation is so much larger than The Kentucky Bourbon Distillery by size and volume.

Next we went into the distilling area.  Compare these stills with the one from the smaller distillery

In addition to making fine bourbon whiskey, it is also a bottling plant for other Sazarac's products.

From here we went to the tasting room where we tasted the VOB and 1792 Ridgemont.  

My preference was the VOB.  It tasted smoother to my uninitiated palate.  Dave liked them both .... as you'd expect!

End to a perfect BOURBON DAY.....and then .....

OLD TABLOTT TAVERN

The Old Talbott Tavern was built in 1779 and a charming restaurant, great food and wonderful bourbon sampler!  For dinner we went to the historic Old Talbott Tavern, circa 1779. Since the late 1700’s the Old Talbott Tavern has provided shelter, food and drink.  It is said to be the oldest western stagecoach stop in America as the westward expansion brought explorers from the east into Kentucky.

Abe Lincoln and his family stayed here. Daniel Boone and exiled French King Louis Phillipe and his entourage stayed here (probably on his way to LA). 

We had a Old Kentucky Hot Brown which is ham and turkey on toast points with cheese mornay sauce, tomato and bacon strip.  To accompany our meal we chose the five shot Bourbon Sampler consisting of........

Blanton’s Single Barrel

Booker’s Small Batch (130 proof)

Knob Creek 9 yr small batch

Bulleit, Knob Creek 9 year small batch

Maker’s 46.  

For dessert I had a Bourbon Ball (Buffalo Trace bourbon, butterscotch Schnapps and Irish Cream) and Dave had Southern Sweet Tea (Bourbon, Tea and  mango juice). 

Sitting in the dining room with its old stone walls, I could picture 200 years of travelers coming through this Inn and having a grog and supper.  You could feel the history in the place.

BUFFALO TRACE

Frankfort, KY

Frankfort, KY is the home of Buffalo Trace Distillery and what a beautiful city Frankfort is!  The State Capitol is bisected by the Kentucky River and the approach from US127 is beautiful as you swoop down into the river valley descending into town.  It’s really very, very pretty.

Our day started with Kris Comstock, the Brand Manager, with whom we have mutual friends.  He gave us a little background on the distillery. Buffalo Trace is owned by Sazerac the same company that owns Bartons Distillery among lots of other spirits companies.

 Legend has it that the buffalo,making their way across the wilderness, crossed the Kentucky River just below the distillery.  Sarzerac named it Buffalo Trace and has won countless awards for the quality of bourbon.    Unlike many other distilleries, Buffalo Trace was able to remain open during Prohibition owning a license for medicinal purposes.

Pappy VanWinkle…….where are you???

Dave kept looking for Pappy VanWinkle and was told if he found it, it’ll cost $350 and to hide it!  Pappy is aged 23 years so what you get today started 23 years ago.  Also what starts out as 53 gallons after 23 years is only 10-12 gallons left so couple that with the increased demand for bourbon over the years, I don’t think we’ll be seeing Pappy Van Winkle anytime soon.

Old Weller, aged 7 or 12 years, is the same recipe just not aged as long.  Apparently Dave picked up a bottle at the liquor store in town.

We talked in the store for a while and then joined the 11 AM tour.

The rack houses are brick with the exception of one aluminum rack house which houses the Blanton's bourbon. 

The rack houses are brick with the exception of one aluminum rack house which houses the Blanton's bourbon. Col Albert Blanton (1881-1959) distilled a single barrel bourbon for his own use in 1934.

In 1984, the world’s first single barrel bourbon to be marketed commercially was released under the label, “Blanton’s Single Barrel Bourbon.”  

Moving from the bottling machine, the filled bourbon bottles are then capped by the employees.

The tiny horse and jockey on the bottle stoppers are a recognized trademark of the Blanton’s Single Barrel Bourbon representing the rich heritage and tradition of horses in Kentucky.

Blanton's Single Barrel bourbon is handled personally by the employees placing those precious horses a top of the bottles.

There is a collector's edition set of eight different stoppers featuring a horse and jockey in different strides and poses.  Each stopper is marked with a single letter that spells Blanton’s when the set is complete. Certainly a worthy goal to set and enjoy the drink.

 The Barrels – not just any barrels

The barrels are made of charred white oak and the bung is made of poplar which is softer wood and expands and contracts over with the heat and cold.  Barrel loading is an art.  The bung must be at the top of the barrel for storage in the event it would pop or leak, the bourbon won’t escape.  So, the person storing the barrels must be able to calculate where to start the bung on the barrel with the roll down the rack so that it ends up with the bung topside.  Each barrel is different as it’s got a number of barrels in front of it.

One of the original rack houses on the property.

Our tasting consisted of Buffalo Trace, Eagle Rare and White Dog.  As a treat we tasted their Buffalo Trace Cream which differs from Irish Cream because it’s made with REAL cream.  Must refrigerate after opening.  You can only get that here so, of course, we bought a bottle.  However, don’t expect to get any next fall; it’ll be GONE!

We also bought 6 pack of their delicious root beer that can only be purchased at the distillery.  Rumor has it you mix the Buffalo Trace Cream with the root beer and it’s like a root beer float!

Our visit to Kentucky is coming to a close.  

We truly love Kentucky and everything the State has to offer.  Traveling around to the bourbon distilleries gave us a new perspective on our wonderful US history and the  our American Native Spirit!