Regardless of a long-standing bourbon affinity, my inaugural Kentucky bourbon tour solely occurred this previous November by interloping on my buddy Kate Snow’s trip plans to do the identical. With just a few extra vacationers, our eventual group of 10 represented the acute factors throughout the booze spectrum from “I solely drink beer” to “I detect a high-rye mashbill.” Our journey was equal components superior planning and winging it as soon as we arrived; the system labored out for us. Listed here are some highlights.
Welcome to Louisville!
Why Louisville versus Lexington? Only a coin toss, actually, and exploring Louisville itself fell into the “winging it” class, however there have been loads of enjoyable details and funky locations awaiting us.
Do you know that “bourbonism” is a factor and Louisville is its birthplace? Discover out extra on their newly launched web site. Louisville is a widely known mecca for baseball followers (e.g. Louisville Slugger) and spiritualists (e.g. the place Thomas Merton had his epiphany). Each Muhammed Ali and Colonel Sanders are eternally resting in peace in Louisville. A revival of the downtown space embraces road artwork and beautiful structure. Strolling the Second Road Bridge over the Ohio River lands you in Jeffersonville, Indiana. Go to the Louisville Customer’s Heart for all the ideas and methods and to get a selfie with the life-size wax statue of Col. Sanders.
We stayed at downtown 21C Museum Lodge, whose signature expertise is the exceptionally curated assortment of recent artwork on web site and crimson penguin statues dotted all through (with the one on our flooring that had a bent to “journey”). Rooms are chic-industrial, merging trendy and luxury of their furnishings and artwork.
A really respectable foodie scene awaits, and spontaneity in lieu of advance reservations was on our facet for locating memorable spots to eat and drink:
Proof on Foremost Lounge is 21C’s resident bar restaurant. The silver lining for lack of dinner reservations was cozying up within the lounge for flavorful bites and to peruse the largesse of their bourbon menu. The unfamiliar Buzzards Roost was really useful by our affable server Brie as a private favourite and hit good leaning spicy, oaky and nutty. Mussels & Burger is an American bistro positioned throughout from our resort in a renovated former gallery house with vaulted ceilings serving decadent variations of traditional burgers and mussels. Troll Pub is a basement bar with a buzzy faculty throwback vibe that prides itself in its troll-ish-ness serving shameless greasy meals. Which makes you need to say you’ve been there (and take a selfie with their life-size troll out entrance).
Michter’s Bar at Fort Nelson Distiller is the distillery’s speakeasy-like bar on the second degree and was an ideal comfort for lacking the boat on tour reservations. Wild Eggs is a beloved breakfast joint and a real gem of a discover. It appears like a faculty cafeteria, however the indulgent takes on all of the classics are very worthy. Blackbeard Espresso Firm is a restaurant across the nook from 21C with very good espresso and espresso drinks. Bardstown Kitchen and Bar is the attractive on-site restaurant on the Bardstown distillery (particulars of tour beneath) that serves elevated takes on consolation meals and traditional cocktails. The bourbon margarita was intriguing, nevertheless it was laborious to go up barrel-aged Outdated-Fashioneds and Manhattans.
Bardstown Tasting Room is the brand new tasting room primarily based in Louisville and since we couldn’t get sufficient of the Bardstown expertise, we stopped in particularly to strive our craft-mixologist-turned-national-brand-manager tour information Jaz’min Weaver’s signature cocktail that’s solely served right here. It’s a beautiful house architecturally and her hibiscus-based Bourbon Bouquet was splendid. Dragon King’s Daughter is a good fusion taco/sushi spot we chanced upon positioned within the Highlands, an off-the-beaten-bourbon path foodie neighborhood with a plethora of cool eateries.
Brie at Proof on Foremost offered us together with her insiders’ scoops on native bars however sadly we by no means acquired round to visiting any of them. Primarily based on the listing, bar crawling in Louisville looks like motive sufficient to return so I share her listing for the higher good: Meta, Expo, Tartan Home, Epiphany, Fairly First rate, and Darlings. Cheers!
Distillery Visits: Buffalo Hint, 4 Roses and Bardstown
Our exuberance final Could meant we secured sure excursions months forward which served us properly as a big group, and we came upon that ready till October to attempt to fill one final slot on our itinerary can be fruitless. The “low season” is getting shorter yearly with bookings filling up quicker, so get in your favorites early.
The Kentucky Bourbon Path is definitely a proper trademarked designation as of 1999 and solely member distilleries of the Kentucky Distiller’s Affiliation (KDA) can market themselves as a part of the Path. The KDA is a non-profit commerce affiliation based in 1880 to guard Kentucky’s legacy in bourbon. With over 40 member distilleries now marked on the KDA’s Bourbon Path, it homes nice stock of vacation spot choices.
However right here’s the report scratch: Buffalo Hint will not be on the Path. They disassociated itself from the KDA in 2009 as a result of some minor authorized kerfuffle and can’t market themselves with the Path. Neither appear to be negatively impacted by this rift, nonetheless; Buffalo Hint stays probably the most visited distillery within the area.
I ought to point out that Kate Snow is a senior correspondent with NBC Information, so we have been honored with VIP distillery personalities as our guides.
Tour 1: Buffalo Hint Distillery
It wasn’t intentional to start out on the deepest finish of the pool with this behemoth, however the expertise turned out to be the most effective initiation to Kentucky bourbon(ism) for the various profile of our group. Our tour information was none aside from Freddie Johnson, third technology worker of Buffalo Hint and lead VIP information who was inducted into the Kentucky Corridor of Fame in 2018 and whose story is a distinguished characteristic within the documentary Neat: The Story of Bourbon launched the identical 12 months.
To say there may be numerous historical past at Buffalo Hint is an understatement. Each a part of Kentucky societal, political, pure, and industrial historical past and their main figures (which embrace precise buffalos) appears to collide and coincide with the evolution of the distillery. I’m not even making an attempt a synopsis right here however there’s additionally that additional awe issue listening to the historical past inside its very partitions.
Our behind-the-scenes distillery tour began with a fast bourbon manufacturing 101 adopted by the de rigueur stroll previous vats of cooking mash and distilling columns on metallic gate walkways with the occasional dips into mash at totally different phases of fermentation and white canine distillate. For first-timers, witnessing the stomach of the manufacturing beast establishes awe within the scale and mastery within the scientific and operational depth required in producing bourbon. Preservation of historical past is necessary to Buffalo Hint, as exemplified the completely excavated part of an authentic a part of the distillery.
The tour concluded with a tasting of their core choices – Buffalo Hint, EH Taylor, Blanton’s, Weller, and Sazerac – however performed in a uniquely deliberate and staged method by Freddie which have made converts of the newer “bourboners” in our group.
Two closing suggestions: 1) Get the Bourbon Cream. I can’t imagine I beforehand turned my nostril up at this. It goes nice with Freddie’s Root Beer (sure, he has his personal soda line). 2) Make the detour to Andy’s Artisan Bread in Frankfort, a suggestion by one other information who lives close by. Our resident Frenchman declared their croissants amongst among the finest he’s had exterior of France.
Tour 2: 4 Roses Distillery
4 Roses emerged as a model in 1888 and operates out of the identical Spanish-Mission model distillery initially inbuilt 1860 idyllically located on gently rolling tree-lined hills. A separate trendy open-space guests heart was newly constructed that features a bar and personal tasting rooms.
Grasp distiller Brent Elliott himself was our information. A chemist by coaching, a tour via Woodford impressed Brent to discover job openings at distilleries. In spite of everything, isn’t spirits manufacturing simply large-scale chemistry? Brent landed his first position at 4 Roses in high quality assurance and grew throughout the firm to change into grasp distiller in 2015, succeeding famend Jim Rutledge who was credited for placing 4 Roses prominently on the map.
All the 4 Roses expression are created underneath 10 totally different recipes that begin with 5 proprietary yeast strains with two totally different mashbills (“B” and “E” particularly) which can be blended collectively or bottled individually to attain the varied everlasting and restricted expressions.
Our tasting comprised the core 4 – 4 Roses Bourbon, Small Batch, Single Barrel and Small Batch Choose. We have been additionally handled to a dip into the 12 months’s extremely lauded one hundred and thirty fifth anniversary mix. Comprised of 12- to 25-year aged inventory, it was actually marvelous with a stability that masterfully tamed its outsized notes.
One memorable notice via the distillery was witnessing authentic wood mash vats nonetheless working alongside the subsequently put in metal vats. As they are saying, if it ain’t broke…
Tour 3: Bardstown Bourbon Firm
I used to be the one one aware of and intrigued by Bardstown however fortunately the remainder of the group was prepared to observe my lead. My assumption of a multi-generational origin story behind such persistently successful releases was debunked upon studying that Bardstown Bourbon Firm was based in 2016 as a standalone model constructed from the bottom up on undeveloped land by telecom titan Peter Loftin (who died shortly thereafter in 2019).
Legacy was secured by the use of onboarding Steve Nally as grasp distiller, a 50-year business veteran and one other inductee to the Bourbon Corridor of Fame. Steve was enticed out of second retirement by a promise of carte blanche and a clean slate. Out the gate, Bardstown has produced extremely praised masterful blends in collaboration with different producers as their very own inventory aged. Their self-produced Origin Sequence lastly hit markets this 12 months, mandated by Steve to be aged a minimum of 6 years.
Although a fan of their bourbon, the firm’s introduction on their web site left my expectations a bit open ended, with references to “innovation” and “world-class” and “distinctive” which can be too flippantly declared today amongst newcomers. However BBCo delivered in spades throughout all classes. The location does evoke a Napa Valley-style immersion that showcases a state-of-the-art distillery, utilizing know-how to boost a solidly conventional course of coupled with on-site accoutrements to please all of the senses. There may be an eye-popping array of nearly any bourbon one would have heard of alongside their very own, all available at their bar. The outside bar patio lounge is replete with sofas, a firepit, and a bocci courtroom which serves as a vista for a sweeping view of the rickhouses nestled underneath large open skies on broad open fields.
We toured one in every of their signature glass-front rickhouses, designed as a part of their perpetual pursuit of understanding of how their distillates react to as many variants as attainable to look at the influence of direct daylight on getting old. In addition they don’t rotate barrels to let the wildly totally different traits inside a rickhouse make their mark on every. We every drew samples from a barrel utilizing a whiskey thief, a primary for all of us. This barrel was spicy, wealthy, and heady and at spectacular depth for six years aged. It’s an exhilarating chapter for Steve and the group to unveil personal distillates going ahead.
Kentucky bourbon nation is betting large on increasing tourism and there’s extra to do right here than ever. A rewarding journey awaits.
Extra studying on Kentucky tourism:
The Kentucky Bourbon Path: Suggestions, Tips, and Recommendation for the Traveler
