This is Day Three of our attempt to run the board on Bourbon Distilleries. Two years ago, we merely scratched the surface on the number of Kentucky Bourbon Makers. I did the planning, so it was the bigger more notable one-Buffalo Trace (parent company Sazerac),Woodford Reserve (parent company Brown and Forman) Markers Mark (parent company Suntory Beam) Heaven Hill (Shapiro Family).there were a couple of others, but you get the general idea about Bourbon making these days. It is not for the little guys for sure, thanks to the bourbon bust that tanked the market at the turn of the 21st century. While touring last George got a “ Passport” book. Just like the National Parks, you get a stamp for every one you visit. Eddie had the control stick this time, the passport became a personal challenge. We are touring and tasting (we tour, they taste, I drive) 3-4 distilleries a day. Ambitious…of course it is…would we expect less from Eddie…don’t be silly.
Our first stop was Bardstown…long considered the birthplace of Bourbon. Close to the center of town there are almost no nationally branded hotels, so both times we have stayed in Bed and Breakfast Inns. This time it was Bourbon Manor House. A 200+ year old Greek Revival house, with lots of stairs, and “decorative elements”-read clutter on every surface, antique furniture and no bell hops. Before we departed we had lunch with some long standing friends. We were chatting about our plans. Andy quickly remarked, “I do not do B&B’s…no elevators, electrical outlets and old plumbing”. While charming, three adults with lots of personal equipment (outlets and uncluttered surface space), a finicky toilet, and lots of antique furniture for two nights made Eddie an official member of the Andy club. Breakfast was wonderful, there was a bar for evening night caps and a convenient location. The Greek Revival ten steps to the house with multiple suitcases-close your eyes…you get the picture.
As you know, I am from Huntsville, in North Alabama…home to NASA, Redstone Arsenal and lots of back woods moonshiners…at least in my childhood memories (1950’s and ‘60s). Those darn revenuers were always bustin up stills on the local news. I know and understand how one takes grains-corn, wheat, barley or rye and turns it into a clear liquid with high alcohol content. I know that if you drink the glass jars from said stills of this stuff you might go blind (where the expression Blind Drunk comes from) among other things…the only thing that is different is the bourbon markers of today use technology, non GMO grains, and time in barrels to create the amber liquid that has become the huge bourbon (and rye) market of today. The stills are still pretty much the same, copper coiled lined tanks of either copper or stainless steel..made by the same company for generations. So tell me, Master Planner Eddie why we signed up for 4 tours daily of the distillation plants for 4 days? If we are lucky, we don’t go to the Rickhouses where the barrels are held, typically up the hill, in the heat, to a non ventilated or climate controlled building to see the thousands of barrels waiting to be aged long enough to be sold for a king’s ransom…looking at you Buffalo Trace. It is all about the same, right? The prize at the end of the tour is 4-6 pours of the host distillery’s finest. There is usually one pour of something that can not be purchased anywhere except the distillery…and I am the driver…so, no prize for you, Karen. These pours are usually a medicine cup worth, but some times you get a hardy 2 ounce pour…again, I am the designated driver. Do the math. 4 distilleries, by up to 12 ounces per distillery..no, you might not go blind, but a liver transplant might be in your future. Bottom line, do one of the tours, and just go for the tasting for rest. We learned first go around that they all have a bar, and you can just buy the flight, no tour. The truly informed Bourbon Trail Tourist just goes to the gift shop and purchases the only at distillery bottles. There is even a website that “predicts” which distillery will have which product in their rotation that day. Early bird catches the worm or Blanton’s, as the case maybe.
Sunday morning, we departed Bardstown for Lebanon about 30 minutes south, and home to Boundary Oaks…never heard of it, it is in the Passport Book…the challenge of all the stamps must be meet. Small problem, this place booked us for a 10:00 tour when they don’t open until 12:00. The other distillery in the area Limestone, home to Yellowstone Bourbon, also did not open until noon. Then it started to rain. Oops, Eddie…I am the one normally suffering from performance anxiety…how does that shoe feel…a little tight, right? So, onward to Louisville….home to Churchill Downs, more bourbon, UPS, and Louisville Bats. We arrived in Louisville to clearing skies and more road construction barrels. Surprise. To conform with Kentucky Blue Laws, most of the tastings rooms that line Bourbon Row/Main Street don’t open much before 12:00. We had eaten a large breakfast and the B&B, so food was not the answer. We called an audible and went to the Frazier Museum for a history of Louisville…did you know George Clooney, George Patton, Muhammad Ali and Jennifer Lawrence are from the area? Basketball is in their DNA…and the grasses with the little blue buds that blow gently is why it is called the Bluegrass State? While it was on the calendar for Monday, a Sunday visit was fine by us.
Now, the Bats. Right across the street from the Michter’s Fort Nelson/Main Street Distillery (our 2:30 tour and tasting) was the Louisville Slugger Bat Factory. While we all played a little baseball or softball and can say we are Astro fans (when they are winning), the name Louisville Slugger Bats are the bats we know. Heck, we even got a full sized, burned emblem Astro bat from the 90’s…it has been Eddie’s go to for many years for home defense purposes. I know I would be scared if I saw Eddie in underwear wielding a Louisville Slugger bat in the street light on our block. This was an unplanned, unexpectedly delightful tour. The factory has been here from the start and much about how they make these bats has never changed. The woods are a little more diversified. The equipment that is used is German Machinery made in the 1960’s, that can be served forever, but not replaced. The dipping and testing has remained the same since the beginning. The only tip to the present is the computerized lathe that makes bats to the MLB players that have signed with Louisville. LS (the snazzier logo and shorthand for the Company name) make 100 bats per player, per year. Those bats are the exact specifications for that player. It was so low tech, so honest, that you can’t help but thing back to the Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle era…heck, even Craig Biggio’s bat and picture was there. Highly recommend.
Well, we are walking to dinner so I get to have a glass or two.
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