Today started our pilgrimage that is the bourbon trail.  After a long lie and a lovely breakfast, we ventured out into the grey, drizzly day to hit two of the big bourbon distilleries outside Lexington.  First, to visit Maker’s Mark.  At first Frank wasn’t too bothered about whether or not we stopped here but since it was one of my mom’s favorites, I might have twisted his arm a bit.  It’s a fair drive from Lexington (about an hour) but very near a cooperage that I wanted to visit. [I still laugh when I think about how I used to use coopers as examples of the structurally unemployed.] So off we went. 

It was kind of like finding some of the more obscure wineries in Virginia – on several occasions we were convinced that we were lost and then the sign with the barrel and an arrow would appear.  The grounds and buildings are lovely, even in the rain, and our tour guide was adorable and very interesting.  Maker’s mark is the oldest continually operating bourbon distillery – going since 1805 according to the Guinness plaque on the wall but I wish I had thought to ask about how they counted prohibition… The fermentation room was in full swing with several different stages that people could actually touch and taste (luckily, as it was predistillation, it is not gluten free so I was spared the expectation that I would taste it.  Yuck.)

They still use a 1930’s era printing press to print the labels and each bottle is hand dipped in the signature red wax that seals the top of the bottle.  We got to taste the “white dog” – precask alcohol which is basically moonshine – as well as the regular Maker’s Mark and their “46” which has extra aging with charred oak staves.  (They sell the staves for  use as grilling planks – it’s going to be a yummy summer at our house!)

Interesting note:  used barrels go to the Laphroig distillery in Scotland.

Frank got to dip his own bottle.

We had so much fun that we missed the tour at the cooperage and decided to grab a bit to eat before the next stop.  So off to Bardstown and a stop at the Old Talbott Tavern for lunch.  It dates back to 1779 and we had a lovely meal there – Frank had the Old Kentucky Hot Brown which may have started as a sandwich but this version was slices of bread covered with meat, cheese and Mornay sauce. He declared it delicious.

Then to the Wild Turkey distillery, a completely different experience.  We were on the last tour of the day so there were only 8 of us and our tour guide could have been Duncan if he had a Kentucky accent and could grow a beard. 🙂  The distillery wasn’t operating – it seems they all take the summer off because it gets too hot but we saw things going on at Maker’s Mark so I’m not sure what that means.  We did get to see a video and this guide gave more detail about the distilling process including using official terms like mash and high/low wines.  (We might know too much about the process….)  It was really interesting to see how bourbon distilling compares to single malt in Scotland.  At Wild Turkey they did talk about the angel’s share but no one used terms like the head, heart and tail of the run.  At the tasting, we got to choose two samples to try.  Which really meant that Frank got 4 samples.  I had a small sip out of all of them (the single barrell was WAY too strong, the spiced stuff tasted like cough medicine, the regular version was fine and I really liked the Russell’s Reserve) but he actually enjoyed them all. 

Interesting note: Used barrels go to Jameson’s in Ireland, and Glenlivet in Scotland.

We topped the day off with a dinner at Saul Good where we spend several hours having a fabulous time catching up with friends that we hadn’t seen in years – Chris and I had seen each other at conferences and such but Frank and Amy had seen each other since Madison! – and generally had a great time!