Our Sixteenth Anniversary Trip To Kentucky
In celebration of our sixteenth anniversary, Jen and I went to Kentucky for a couple of days over a long weekend: Thursday in Lexington, then Friday and Saturday in Louisville.
Thursday
Our first stop was our one small craft distillery, Barrel House. Unfortunately, as a tiny, one-barrel-at-a-time maker, they didn't even have any bourbon for sale! (However, some rum they aged in their bourbon barrels was available, and delicious.) We got a very personal tour (just us) of the tiny two-room distillery. If you already know the basics of distilling spirits and want to do a tour of your own, I highly recommend looking into smaller distilleries like this.
Next up was Alltech aka Town Branch aka Lexington Brewing and Distilling, who are fairly unique in being both one of the only "mid-sized" distilleries straddling the line between craft and large scale, but also being perhaps more famous for their beer, in particular "Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale" which they age in their used bourbon barrels. Of note, they made us a "Bluegrass Sundown" which was just absolutely amazing. I've got to remember it for next winter.
After a lovely dinner at Stella's Kentucky Diner we called it an early night since I wasn't feeling well. Fortunately, a twelve-hour sleep did a lot to help that!
Friday
The next day we stepped up to the big guys with a visit to Wild Turkey on our way to Louisville, an unexceptional but very pleasant tour.
Up next, Four Roses was a highlight for being one of the more educational tours, and the only big distillery that went into detail about what made them unique. They also used an unusual Spanish style architecture for all their buildings, which looked pretty cool. And, of course, they are a favorite for a lot of people... although their flagship is not so much my personal taste, the cheap "Yellow label" is probably one of the best inexpensive mixing bourbons you can buy.
Sizing back down a bit, I think Willett was my favorite stop. Not only did they make some of my favorites to drink (and a wide range for a fairly small distillery), they were really charming and friendly and gave a most interesting tour. They are expanding aggressively; they probably would have been very different a few years ago, and I look forward to returning soon. Try any of their products you can, particularly their Pot Still Reserve.
We wrapped up the evening with a different type of spirits at El Camino, a cool tiki bar whose "Hemingway Daquiri" is one of my new favorite cocktails. Unfortunately, none of the recipes I've found online seem to quite match what I had!
Saturday
For Saturday we decided to check out one of the big guys, and decided on Jim Beam. All of the flagship "white label" is made at a facility that isn't open to the public, but, you are able to tour the distillery where everything else is made... it's a little more "touristy" with a lot more things set up purely for the sake of tour groups, but enjoyable in its own way. I'll let you in on a dirty little secret: I really liked the "Knob Creek Maple" I sampled, which pretty much tastes like drinking syrup. A less dirty secret: there are some advantages to size, such as consistency and more security to experiment, and they make some good products.
We dined at a local microbrewpub (there is a lot of good beer happening in KY, even if it doesn't get the press the bourbon does) and decided to check out the Louisville St. Patrick's Day parade, which honestly was a little silly but happily not the shitshow that many such parades are. By this point our old asses were tired so we wound down with pizza for dinner, some walking around, and a few episodes of The X-Files before bed, of all the lame things to do on vacation! But it was a long drive back, and I had to work today, so I'm pretty happy about our laid back little trip.
I already posted a couple of pictures on Instagram, and will try to put up a few more on Facebook this week. We picked up a LOT of bourbon, largely sticking to things we couldn't readily get in PA, which was still an awful lot!
Thursday
Our first stop was our one small craft distillery, Barrel House. Unfortunately, as a tiny, one-barrel-at-a-time maker, they didn't even have any bourbon for sale! (However, some rum they aged in their bourbon barrels was available, and delicious.) We got a very personal tour (just us) of the tiny two-room distillery. If you already know the basics of distilling spirits and want to do a tour of your own, I highly recommend looking into smaller distilleries like this.
Next up was Alltech aka Town Branch aka Lexington Brewing and Distilling, who are fairly unique in being both one of the only "mid-sized" distilleries straddling the line between craft and large scale, but also being perhaps more famous for their beer, in particular "Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale" which they age in their used bourbon barrels. Of note, they made us a "Bluegrass Sundown" which was just absolutely amazing. I've got to remember it for next winter.
After a lovely dinner at Stella's Kentucky Diner we called it an early night since I wasn't feeling well. Fortunately, a twelve-hour sleep did a lot to help that!
Friday
The next day we stepped up to the big guys with a visit to Wild Turkey on our way to Louisville, an unexceptional but very pleasant tour.
Up next, Four Roses was a highlight for being one of the more educational tours, and the only big distillery that went into detail about what made them unique. They also used an unusual Spanish style architecture for all their buildings, which looked pretty cool. And, of course, they are a favorite for a lot of people... although their flagship is not so much my personal taste, the cheap "Yellow label" is probably one of the best inexpensive mixing bourbons you can buy.
Sizing back down a bit, I think Willett was my favorite stop. Not only did they make some of my favorites to drink (and a wide range for a fairly small distillery), they were really charming and friendly and gave a most interesting tour. They are expanding aggressively; they probably would have been very different a few years ago, and I look forward to returning soon. Try any of their products you can, particularly their Pot Still Reserve.
We wrapped up the evening with a different type of spirits at El Camino, a cool tiki bar whose "Hemingway Daquiri" is one of my new favorite cocktails. Unfortunately, none of the recipes I've found online seem to quite match what I had!
Saturday
For Saturday we decided to check out one of the big guys, and decided on Jim Beam. All of the flagship "white label" is made at a facility that isn't open to the public, but, you are able to tour the distillery where everything else is made... it's a little more "touristy" with a lot more things set up purely for the sake of tour groups, but enjoyable in its own way. I'll let you in on a dirty little secret: I really liked the "Knob Creek Maple" I sampled, which pretty much tastes like drinking syrup. A less dirty secret: there are some advantages to size, such as consistency and more security to experiment, and they make some good products.
We dined at a local microbrewpub (there is a lot of good beer happening in KY, even if it doesn't get the press the bourbon does) and decided to check out the Louisville St. Patrick's Day parade, which honestly was a little silly but happily not the shitshow that many such parades are. By this point our old asses were tired so we wound down with pizza for dinner, some walking around, and a few episodes of The X-Files before bed, of all the lame things to do on vacation! But it was a long drive back, and I had to work today, so I'm pretty happy about our laid back little trip.
I already posted a couple of pictures on Instagram, and will try to put up a few more on Facebook this week. We picked up a LOT of bourbon, largely sticking to things we couldn't readily get in PA, which was still an awful lot!