Older thread, but I wanted to update it, especially because of the advice of
BGKYSmoker
...Thanks Rick!
Well as many know, a week after I started this thread, our life got turned upside down and we weren't sure how it would end up. BUT, we finally made our bourbon trail trip and it was something that I absolutely recommend. Just hearing the history of bourbon, distilling, the distilleries, and all the characters involved would have been enough, but the area is beautiful, the distillery and rickhouse smells intoxicating, and the vast areas of rickhouses is amazing with each holding tens of thousands of barrels of bourbon. Yes, you are reading that right...many rickhouses hold 50,000 barrels or more.
We toured Buffalo Trace, Luxe Row, Heaven Hill, Jim Beam, Castle and Key, Woodford, and Maker's Mark. Buffalo Trace is the hardest ticket to get for a guided tour, but you can walk in. As for the basic distilling process, it's basically all the same everywhere, but each distillery adds its own touches to make their bourbon their own. The Maker's Mark 46 story is an interesting story as is Larceny and John E. Fitzgerald, but every distillery has a story and they're all fascinating!
We spent a good bit of time around Bardstown and ate at several places there. Bardstown Burger, Mammy's Kitchen & Bar, and Scout & Scholar are all good and within 2 blocks or so of each other. Bardstown Burger on 3rd St. is a must if you're in the area and if you're lucky, you might even get a table inside
. Locals Food Hub & Pizza Pub near Buffalo Trace was good, too.
I just wanted to update this thread and let anyone interested know that this is something they should do...even if you don't like bourbon...and if you like bourbon, all the better. If you like bourbon, hard to find bottles in your area may be readily available at MSRP at the distilleries...no mark up. I was able to buy bottles that I've only heard about, such as Elijah Craig C923, Booker's Uncut & Unfiltered, Blanton's, and Colonel E.H. Taylor Small Batch, just to name a few, all at MSRP, but never seen around me.
I can see this becoming an annual pilgrimage, at least until we've visited them all, and maybe then we'll start over...
