Bluegrass to Blue Ridge 5-8-21 (Bardstown, KY)

Today was Bourbon Day.

The day started off with an incredible breakfast. I’ve never had a breakfast appetizer before, but each place setting had a small plate with a baby bagel, lox, capers and cream cheese.  The rest of the meal was ordered off the menu and the bacon was some of the best bacon I have had in years…the melt in your mouth kind of bacon.

The Brown Hotel was built with the check in desk and restaurants on the second floor.  This was done so that guest did not need to hear or view the local trolley cars that were the mainstay of transportation when the hotel was built in 1923.  This feature allowed the hotel to survive the flooding of the Ohio River in 1937 and serve not only their guests but the surrounding community.  A plaque on the Broadway side of the building marks the high water mark of the flood.

The Bluegrass and Blue Ridge Tour is one of several Ken Burns tours offered by Tauck.  Through a collaboration, Burns has created vignettes that highlight the regions, people and cultures of the area to be visited.  Our first Ken Burns Tauck tour was Canyonlands in 2017.  The short films are played during bus time and are usually only 10-15 minutes.  This morning we had our first film for this tour which focused on the culture of those that settled in Kentucky, the songwriter Stephen Foster and his influence on America.

Our first stop this morning was My Old Kentucky Home in Bardstown, KY.  Originally named Federal Hill and built by John Rowan, Sr., the home was renamed in 1923 to honor Stephen Foster.  John Rowan, Sr. was a Judge and served in both houses of Congress.  His granddaughter, Madge Rowan Frost, transferred ownership of the house and all of its contents to the state of Kentucky in 1923.  Five years later, “My Old Kentucky Home, Good-Night”, written by Foster, became the official Kentucky song.

Now, on to the bourbon. Located in the little town of Loretto, our first distillery stop was Maker’s Mark.  During the drive we passed rolling farmland dotted with fields of  yellow wild mustard, white fences, Angus cattle and oodles of rickhouses (storage buildings used to hold the bourbon barrels during the aging process).   COVID is still affecting access to various attractions so we were only able to visit the grounds, an old rickhouse, the tasting room and, of course, the gift shop.  The grounds included some original buildings and reminded me of a Napa Winery.  Founded by Bill Samuels, Sr., the distillery location was chosen due to its’ proximity to a 10 acre stream fed fresh water lake.

After the tour, we moved to the tasting room and enjoyed sampling four different products.  We started with the Maker’s Mark original bourbon which was followed up with the same bourbon, but before it is diluted to 90 proof…so the second tasting was 110 proof.  It does produce a little bit of a burning sensation when sipped.

The other product we tasted was Maker’s Mark 46 which starts as Marker’s Mark, but under goes an additional aging step.  Once the bourbon finishes its 6 to 7 years of aging in original charred oak barrels, those destined to become 46 have additional charred wooden “stakes” added to the barrel.  These barrels are placed in a limestone cave rickhouse which is maintained at a constant 55 degrees.  

The original aging of bourbon is done is rickhouses that are not climate controlled.  In the summer the temperatures can reach 140 for the top row and then in the winter the bourbon is subjected to below freezing temps.  These temperature swings cause the bourbon to expand and contract, forcing the liquid into the inner layer of the charred barrel wood and contributes to the over all flavor of the bourbon.

Leaving Lorreto, we were off the to Bardstown Bourbon Company.  The two distilleries could not  be more different in their look and feel.  BBC is a sleek, upstart Distillery that specializes in small batch bourbons and they provided one of the most hands on factory tours I have ever done.  The company barreled their first bourbon in 2016, so it is not yet ready to drink; they currently only offer their Infusion Bourbon which is a blend of a purchased 13 year old bourbon blended with their partially aged bourbon.  After lunch and a tasting, we headed to the manufacturing floor.

This was more focused on the actual steps it takes to make bourbon.  All bourbon must be at least 51% corn, but by changing the amount of corn and other grains used (think barley, wheat, etc), the favor of the bourbon can change greatly.  The grain mixture is ground, then pumped into a cooker.  We were able to reach into one of the cookers and taste the fine grain mixture as it was pumped in.  Mixed with water, it cooks for 4 hours to break down the starches into sugars.

Yeast is added to the cooked mixture and allowed to ferment for 72 hours.  The type of yeast can also influence the flavor of the final product.  We entered a room with several large open vats where the fermentation takes place.  Again we were encouraged to reach and taste the mixture.  This time it was sweeter and the entire room smelled like baking bread.  At this point the bourbon is no different than beer.

The next step, the distillation process, is what sets bourbon and other spirits apart from beer and wine.  Distillation heats up the entire fermented mixture until the alcohol boils off and the solids fall to the bottom of the chamber.  The solids are sold to local farms to be used as cattle feed, the gas in captured and cooled back to a liquid state.  The liquid is heated again to a gaseous state and re-liquified, making bourbon a double distilled spirit.  Other liquors are distilled multiple times with each distillation removing more impurities, color and flavor; Vodka might distilled five or more times.

The distilled liquid at this point is very really moonshine.  Again, unlike an other tours, we were given a sample of the clear liquid to try.  This liquid is what is placed in the barrels and aged.  I preferred the aged product rather than “white lightning”

Dinner was on our own and we opted to eat in the hotel lobby bar.  Live piano music, a cocktail, a warm meal, and we were ready for an early night.  Churchill Downs and Lexington tomorrow, so we readied our bags for the 7:30am pick up.

Pictures 5-8-21