Happy Mardi Gras!

February 12, 2013 Eric Burke

Last week I traveled to New Orleans to visit family friends. The wife and I took in some sights, attended a parade from the Krewe box and enjoyed a bit of local culture. All in all it was a good time.

What does this have to do with bourbon? Umm...I walked down Bourbon Street one time? (Yeah and unsolicited advice: unless you are a frat boy who loves big, nasty beers sucked out of a straw or gentleman's clubs, I'd avoid it...)

Yeah, this doesn't have much to do with bourbon. It does have something to do with it's cousin Rye though. (Straight rye whiskey, not it's Canadian cousin of the same name.) You see the highlight of my trip wasn't the friends or the parades or the...ok yeah it was. But shortly after those came the Sazerac.

I have a Sazerac recipe, I've talked about it here before. The Sazerac is my favorite cocktail. And guess what? It was born in New Orleans. And while the Sazerac Coffee House where it seems to have been popularized, wasn't on the itinerary (mostly due to the fact that it doesn't seem to exist anymore) a similarly named place was.

The Sazerac Bar at the Roosevelt Hotel is a beautiful place. A fancy, beautiful place. A fancy, beautiful, expensive place. Coincidentally enough they serve my favorite cocktail. And it tastes fantastic.

Speaking of Sazeracs, I'm off to make one for myself. Happy Mardi Gras!

A Sazerac in a Sazerac glass at the Sazerac Bar.

45th Parallel to release New Richmond Rye

January 22, 2013 Eric Burke

I recently received word that local craft distiller, 45th Parallel Spirits, would soon be coming out with a new rye whiskey. They are planning to release New Richmond Rye to the public at the distillery Sunday, February 10, from noon to 5 pm.

I reached out to Co-founder Paul Werni to answer a few questions regarding the upcoming release.

So tell me, why did you decide do a rye whiskey?
Historically it is a true American whiskey dating to colonial times, there are comparatively few rye options on the shelves, and a good rye whiskey is enjoyable to drink.

What's the age of the whiskey?
The first release is 2 1/2 years. We will stagger the release to allow for 3 and 4 year aging.

What is the proof it will be bottled at?
92 proof

What is the approximate price?
$40 to $45 pre-tax. $45 tax included at our distillery

Will this be available any where other than the distillery?
This spring it will be available in Northwestern WI and the Minneapolis Metro.

How many bottles do you anticipate the first batch will yield? When are you anticipating the next batch to be ready?
600 initially then 300 bottles per month until 2014 when the monthly number will double.

Catch all question here: Is there anything special that might interest a whiskey enthusiast to try your take on rye whiskey?
It is not 100% rye. Some corn is included.
All grain comes from local farms within minutes of our building.
Aged in traditional 53 gallon barrels. No small barrels.
All mashing, distilling, aging, and bottling takes place at our distillery.
This is a Straight Rye Whiskey.

I'd like to thank Paul for taking the time to answer my questions. 45th Parallel Spirits, LLC is located at: 1570 Madison Avenue, New Richmond, WI 54017. They produce 45th Parallel Vodka, Midwest Vodka, Midwest Gin, Border Bourbon and other distilled spirits. If you'd like to learn more about their bourbon, I did a post about the launch party and a review of it here. They make good stuff. For what it's worth, their vodka is the vodka I keep in the house. I hope to pick up a bottle of the rye and I'll review it here when I do.

The Urban Bourbon Trail

October 14, 2012 Eric Burke

One of the things I really wanted to do while in Louisville was to get the Urban Bourbon Trail t-shirt. I love free t-shirts. Especially ones that you have to do things to get. You see, I'm a bit of a homebody. When I travel, I often end up staying in my room at night and read or watch tv with a drink in my hand and wondering why I'm not out doing something a bit more fun. So I like it when something like this comes along. The desire for the t-shirt is a good excuse to get off my butt and get out there.

In case you haven't been to Louisville, or never paid attention when you were, the Urban Bourbon Trail is a collection of around 20 bars and restaurants in Louisville, KY. Each of the bars has to have at least 50 different bourbons available, offer bourbon flights and a good bourbon cocktail list. The ones I ate at also had some damn fine food. In order to qualify for the free t-shirt: you get a passport and get your passport stamped at six different locations. When you are at each just make a purchase (doesn't have to be bourbon, but yeah, it probably will be) and can get your passport stamped.

So what were my six? Read on my friend and I'll share my adventures and thoughts with you.

The Bar at BLU

A tired me at the Bar at BLU. I'm enjoying my Old Forester Birthday Bourbon on my birthday.

It was about 7 o'clock on a Saturday night. I'd been on the road since 4am that morning. It was all I could do to get myself out of my hotel room and go visit the bars. But it was my birthday and I was bound and determined to go have some fun. My first stop was the Bar at BLU. It was in the hotel about a block west of mine. I walked in and immediately felt a bit under-dressed. I was in my Minnesota Gopher t-shirt and jeans. All the others in the lobby were dressed much nicer. I was a bit confused as to where the bar was, but the hostess for the restaurant very kindly walked us over to it. We grabbed a table where we could see the football games and took a look a that the bourbon list. It said they had Pappy's...it was wrong so I asked for a recommendation. The bartender told me that he had just opened a bottle of this year's Old Forester Birthday Bourbon. Since it was my birthday, how could I resist. We sat there sipping our bourbon and watching the games. Every so often, the bartender would come over to chat. At first he was checking up on us to see how we liked it, after that it seemed it was just to chat. He gave us some tips about other bars that we had to see while we filled our passport. As we finished, we looked for one to have supper at. I liked this bar. Even though we looked like we'd been on the road all day, they treated us as very welcome guests.

Doc Crow's Southern Smokehouse & Raw Bar

These won't all be of me. But this is the only photo I have of the inside of Doc Crow's. Very nice place.

So we'd decided to eat at Doc Crow's for supper. We both love barbecue and since it is darn near impossible to get great barbecue in Minnesota, we try to have it whenever we edge closer to any of its many homelands. We hadn't made a reservation, but the host was happy to take our phone number and give us a call when there was a seat free. Worked for me as that would give us a chance to wander down to the waterfront and see the river. After we got the call to return, we were seated in a nice half booth. I ordered a Founder's Red Rye to go with my brisket and my wife had a Bourbon Barrel Stout (from Bluegrass Brewing Company) to go with her pulled pork sandwich and fries. I gotta say the fries were amazing! The only downside was that when we asked for our passports to be stamped the waiter wouldn't do it if we didn't have a bourbon. It wasn't in the plan, but since we were on the Urban Bourbon Trail, what the heck. I had an Ancient Ancient Age 10 year and the wife had Angel's Envy. I liked this bar too, the stunt with the passport I'm going to chalk up to inexperience rather than malice since they were new to the program.

Maker's Mark Lounge

This is the Markee, one of the signature bourbon cocktails at the Maker's Mark Lounge. My wife loved this.

Even though it was getting on toward 9 (remember me starting my morning before 4am?) I wasn't ready to go back to the hotel yet. The guy back at the hotel had told us that if we wanted to do some people watching, we needed to go to 4th Street Live. Not one to pass up some prime people watching and knowing that there was at least one bar where I can get another stamp we decided to make or way over. So, Maker's Mark Lounge was where we decided to make our final stop for the night. The bar was on brand, dark wood and red everywhere. I really felt like I was in some sort of slick and sexy bottle of Maker's. Because it was early, there were only a few people in there. I ordered a Manhattan. Very tasty, though a bit heavy on the bitters for my tastes. My wife decided to go with one of their signature bourbon cocktails and have the Markee. After our drinks, it was back to the hotel and off to bed. I liked the Maker's Mark Lounge. Though I have a feeling that later on, the crowd might not have been to my liking. Based on the crowd in 4th Street Live, I'm not nearly Jersey Shore enough for it (I consider this a good thing about myself.) It did have nice people watching though.

Proof On Main

The Satyr at Proof on Main. Its a bar/restaurant in a hotel/art museum. Yeah. Cool, right?

Oh my god! This is a cool place. So I walked in and the hostess pointed me to the bar. I ordered a sazarac, my first. The bartender might have actually been a mixologist, he was a tad hipsterish. But whatever his tendency toward hipsterness may or may not have been, he made a fantastic cocktail. For that, I forgive him anything. Plus he seemed to be a nice guy. It was a very nice place, a tad too white and cold in it's decor for me. But really nice. The coolest part of this place was the museum. When I asked the hostess about it, her eyes lit up. She personally walked me to the other end of the bar, showed me the entrance and told me a little about it. We wandered through. It was a bit strange for it to be both a hotel with guests going to and from their rooms and an art gallery. Somehow, the cool, white decor of the bar made much more sense now. Great cocktail, amazing art. This was a cool place. Not one I'd hang out in everyday, but I am so glad I stopped.

Dish on Market

Dish on Market is exactly what I'd want my local bar to be if I had a local bar.

So I'd read mixed reviews of this place. But the special of $10 burger and a bourbon was enough to bring me in anyway. I walked in and immediately felt at home. Exposed brick, green stained wood bar, honey colored bar top, black metal stools. It fit my tastes perfectly. We were seated by a very nice gentleman, who as it turns out was also our server and the bartender. We ordered the burger and bourbon special that we came in for and also a plate of steak fries. I expected steak fries to be a sort of thick cut fries. It was only $8 or so. What arrived was a plate of french fires with a sliced steak and a white cheese sauce on it. I was blown away. It was so good! We each had a burger, turns out that came with fries too, and a bourbon. Mine was Old Grand Dad 114 proof and my wife's was Eagle Rare 10 year. Everything was amazingly tasty. Our server Demitrius, was probably the nicest person I'd met in Kentucky. And that is saying a lot since everyone I met in Kentucky was amazingly nice. After chatting with us for a little bit, he found out that we were in town for a few more days and made the nicest and most sincere request that we come back before we go that I'd ever had at a restaurant.

And so we did. On Saturday, the night before we left to come home, we found ourselves with nothing to do and decided to take him up on his request. No idea if he was working again or not, but it didn't matter. Another bourbon was going to be a good thing whether he was there or not. Turns out, he was. We ordered the steak fries again. This time they were bacon wrapped steaks instead of sliced steaks. Even better. I had a Black Maple Hill and my wife had a Elmer T Lee. I got to let Demitrius know that the only reason we came back was his very sincere request. It seemed to make his day. We sat in there a while longer, he was trying to perfect his whiskey sour recipe and we got to be his guinea pigs. Trying a few little sips of each try. One tasted like lemonade, a few almost there, and then there was a perfect one. Even though I know the recipe, I won't share. It's not mine to give away man. This was my favorite stop on the Urban Bourbon Trail. I'm pretty sure it was all because of Demitrius.

Derby Cafe: At the Kentucky Derby Museum

No photos of the cafe, but this is the outside of the derby museum. It would have been way cooler if I cared even a little about horse racing. Don't tell anyone, ok?

This was the only place on the Urban Bourbon Trail where I could not get a bourbon. I'm not sure what was going on, but the waitress told us they didn't have their liquor license yet and that the bar didn't open until later. That was after my wife tried to order a mint julep, which was on the menu. I was disappointed by this place. Don't get me wrong, it's a fine place, it just didn't live up to the expectations I had for something on an Urban Bourbon Trail. But, the ravioli that was the day's special was tasty, so there's that. And hey, if you're into horse racing, there's a museum all about it.

Well, those were our adventures on the Urban Bourbon Trail. Next time I go back, I am totally trying for the t-shirt again. I got it by the way. It's a nice brown shirt. Which is a nice change and a lot of these earned souvenirs are white. I hate white shirts.

My Urban Bourbon Trail Shirt. It's a nice looking one. I suggest you go get one.

Through My Eyes: The Kentucky Bourbon Festival 2012

October 10, 2012 Eric Burke

Me (grinning like a happy fool) and Four Roses Master Distiller, Jim RutledgeIf you've been reading for the last month, you'll know that I spent a week in visiting Kentucky in early September. (And yet I've been able to get a month's worth of blog posts out of that one week, weird.) I've been writing about visiting the distilleries. Those are the sexy topics that might get blog traffic when people search, but honestly I didn't go to Kentucky primarily to visit distilleries. I chose that week for one particular reason. That was the week of the Kentucky Bourbon Festival in Bardstown, KY.

It was my second time in Bardstown. Last time I was there I stayed right in Bardstown. I like Bardstown, but I don't want to stay there overnight again. It's a small town, everything closes at 5 pm and if you are staying there you can go to one of a handful of bars or watch tv in your hotel room. Sadly I did both on my first trip there.

I'd never been to the Kentucky Bourbon Festival (KBF) before this. But, I kind of gathered from the reading I did ahead of time that things wouldn't be too far off from my first visit. At least not until the festival started. The grounds opened on Friday afternoon and I was going to be there starting Sunday. So I wasn't going to be staying in Bardstown. I stayed in Shepherdsville, KY, a town about a half hour toward Louisville from Bardstown. This was the best decision I made because it also meant I was only a half hour or so from downtown Louisville. And I found enough night life there to keep me from being bored on a Wednesday night. I was on vacation after all.

So the KBF itself was basically a small town festival with a few ticketed bourbon themed events. And honestly, I grew up in a small town. I love that about it. They took the typical beer garden and replaced it with a spirit garden. They took out the silly rides and replaced it with a bunch of bourbon or Kentucky themed t-shirt shops or local product booths. Love that. But other than that, if you picture a small town festival in a park you'll be really close. There are food trucks, there's a fenced off place to drink and exhibits. I spent an entire evening just sitting on a bench outside the Wild Turkey booth watching people go by. It was nice.

But the ticketed events were where we had the most fun as first timers. I hear if you're a repeat visitor you have a few unofficial events that the same people go to and see the same people who they consider friends. I didn't have that so paid the money and I went to some of the ticketed events. I went to the All-Star Sampler, Let's Talk Bourbon, and the Bourbon Cocktail Mixology class. Most were fun and I'd go again, one in particular I would not. So let's dig into them a little.

The Kentucky Bourbon All-Star Sampler

Little groups of people chatting and eating and drinking at the Kentucky Bourbon All-Star Sampler™

This was such a fun event. It was held in what looked to be an industrial park on the north side of Bardstown. Inside a very large open building all the members of the KDA set up booths. From Jim Beam and Wild Turkey to little guys like Town Branch and my good friends MB Roland. They provide a nice spread of hors d'oeuvres. A bag to put things in and let you loose to talk to the distilleries. Or at least the employees of them. The micros mostly had the distillers on hand for you to talk to. Four Roses and Wild Turkey had Jim Rutledge and Jimmy Russell respectively. And then the best part—they all give out samples. Heaven Hill and Makers Mark gave out very nice glasses that now sit on my shelf. Woodford Reserve donated the money they were going to spend on glasses to charity. Others had disposable logo glasses or not as they wanted.

I loved this event. It was so much fun. My wife got her photo taken with Jimmy Russell. I got my photo taken with Jim Rutledge. My buddy from MB Roland got interviewed by BourbonBlog. Heck, I got interviewed by BourbonBlog (though another lady threw me by hijacking the interview and I was drinking...sigh). There was a good sized group of people in attendance, but because it was a big space and there were a limited number of tickets sold, it felt intimate. I would totally go back, but if you go to this, remember there are 6 big guys and around that number small guys, and they all give samples...arrange a driver. Please.

Let's Talk Bourbon

This was held in a tent in the parking lot. But was so fun I had forgotten that until I saw the photos.

Oh my god! If you love bourbon, have a car and only can choose one event—make it this one. This is a very nice breakfast. Then there is a seminar on bourbon making by Four Roses Master Distiller Jim Rutledge. I've read a lot about making whiskey and I still learned so much. I was in the front row, taking notes and loving every minute of it. After (and during) the talk, Jim took questions from the audience. Everything from simple questions from novices to more in depth questions from those who had more knowledge. And all of them were answered in the same honest and earnest way. None were deemed too simple.

After breakfast, the seminar and the questions, there was a tour. It was a bit rushed because of the sheer number of groups they were trying to get through, but still fun. After that (or during if you didn't take a tour) was a social gathering with cocktails and samples. We met new friends and found others in person for the first time. It really was so much fun. I can't say enough. But I run the risk of rambling because even though it was the best event, it was also the simplest.

Bourbon Cocktail Mixology

The samples and nibbles for provided at the cocktail mixology class. They're arranged pretty.This was the class I was most excited about before I left my house. It's described as a way to learn why certain ingredients bring out the flavors of bourbon. I didn't learn any of that. I learned that Joy Perrine was very entertaining. I tasted about a dozen cocktails. All well made, some to my tastes, some not so much. I got a free autographed copy of her book. Which was nice. But it was not what was described to me. It's an expensive ticket.

I would have been really happy with this if it were half the price and the description were worded a bit more accurately. But as it stands, I wouldn't go back. I'd drop the $15 on the book on Amazon and skip the event.

Joy Perrine and the cocktails she made during the Bourbon Cocktail Mixology™ class.

So what were the highlights that you can only see during the KBF? The exhibits were cool. The people watching were cool. The ticketed events were mostly cool. The Angel's Envy pop-up bar was cool. I actually enjoyed the BBQ from one of the food trucks. (I went back twice.) I enjoyed the crowds. I enjoyed the live music. I enjoyed meeting with friends, old and new.

What were the misses? I couldn't find the spirit garden (it was hidden behind the food trucks in a baseball field). I had the most fun in Louisville, not Bardstown. I enjoyed the distilleries much more than the festival itself. While I enjoyed the barrel rolling and the cooper demonstration, I didn't understand one and had the same demonstration while at a free tour at the cooperage for the other. Lodging in Bardstown is expensive, but that's to be expected.

Overall the positives outweigh the negatives. I might not go back next year, but I will certainly go back in years after that. I had so much fun. If you haven't gone, I recommend it. If you have, you already have your own ideas, but I still recommend it.

Kentucky Bourbon Trail: Jim Beam American Stillhouse & Distillery tour

October 4, 2012 Eric Burke

Jim Beam had the distinct honor of being both my first and last distillery tour when I went to Kentucky in September. The first time was right away Monday morning. We visited the American Stillhouse visitor center, took a self-guided tour and wandered around. We knew that the new stuff wasn't officially open yet, so we didn't expect much more than this. It wasn't until Friday night when we were talking to other bourbon enthusiasts at a KBF event that we heard that if you were lucky they were offering guided tours in order to work the kinks out. Well ok, I guess we knew what we going to do the next morning. And that one was our last distillery tour.

Keep in mind we toured as guinea pigs and did so free of charge. Your tour may vary some.

Jim Beam building near the beginning of the visitor's driveway. It's really this pretty.We got to Beam a little after 9 am. The ladies behind the counter remembered us when we walked in. (I noticed this seemed to be a common thing in Kentucky, so friendly.) We were the last two spots on the first tour. When 9:30 rolled around we boarded a bus and rolled down to the production area. First thing they showed us was the water pump. Every tour talks about the water, this is the first time we were shown an actual water pump.

This is the Jim Beam American Stillhouse, it houses the gift shop and you get your tickets for the tour and tasting hereAfter the water pump, we go through a door into a very clean area where there is a mash cooker coming out of the floor. The lid is open and there is a gentleman waiting to show us how they add the grains to it. I got to help add the ground corn. That's right, I've now helped make a Jim Beam product. Then it's around a corner to three of the smallest fermentation tanks I've ever seen. These are very obviously for audience visualization purposes, though I'd guess they use the product inside in any case. Turn around and there is a small still about the size of some of the craft distillers I've been to. And then out a door and onto a porch.

I'm adding ground corn to the cooker. Yeah, I help make Jim Beam now.

This is Kyle, our tour guide, next to the tiny fermentation tanks. Kyle was a knowledgable, informative, and fun tour guide.

Shortly after the tiny fermentation tanks was giant still. This is a big damn still.Our next stop is the actual fermentation tank room. I will never get over how much each of these tanks hold and just how many of them there are at some of these big plants. After we walk through that room, we get to see the big still. This one produces somewhere in the neighborhood of 200 gallons every minute. Then it's off to the Knob Creek barrel dumping area. This is where we realize we really are guinea pigs. They grab the drill to take out the bung and nothing happens. Three guys come over and play with levers and another tries an old fashioned way of removing the bung with a mallet before they finally apologize and move us along to the bottling line. It seems this runs on the same air pressure system because there is very little bourbon entering the bottles as they go past.

A sheepish and apologetic non-demonstration of a barrel dumping.On our way back to the bus we are shown a collection of old decanters and the room that holds whiskey from each batch for the last two years (quality control samples). Then we jump back into the bus and ride back up the hill to the aging warehouse they have set up for us to wander through. It's well lit with display lighting to help show off what they've got in there. And all those wonderful smells are there too. If it wasn't for the fact that the tasting was next, I might have wanted to stay longer.

Dramatically lit barrels of probably tasty bourbon.But the tasting was next so off we hurried. Beam has an unusually high tech tasting area. You get a small gift card looking thing that is loaded with 2 credits. You put the card in a machine, hold your glass under a spigot and press a button. A very small amount of bourbon or rye are then dispensed to you. You pull your card out, taste your sample and repeat. Then you give your card back and go spend money in the gift shop or wander around the grounds a bit. Maybe even sit in a rocker in the early morning sun. You could totally do that. I did.

This is a very pretty tasting bar. Push a button, get bourbon. I need one of these for the house.Last year I mentioned how even though the Beam tour could have been just a self guided tour, it was really fun due to the guide we had. This year was just as fun. There is something to be said for an operation that is just that damn big. And when the people you interact with obviously love what they do and who they work for/with it just makes for a nice time. I really liked this tour. The only knock on it was the tasting machine. Every other distillery has someone there to interact with you, pour your whiskies and tell you a bit about them. You got a card here. It lost a little of the personal touch. On the up side, everyone in your party could choose something different and whatever they wanted. Sot that's nice.

If you are in the Louisville area, take the time to make a trip to Jim Beam. It really is a cool place and a nice tour.

At the end of it all, sometimes it's just nice to sit in a rocker in the sun by Booker.

Kentucky Bourbon Trail: Woodford Reserve Corn-To-Cork tour

October 2, 2012 Eric Burke

It was Thursday, September 13th. I know because it was my 15th wedding anniversary. My wife and I felt that there was no better place to start this very special anniversary than one of the prettiest distilleries in Kentucky. I'm going to say right off the bat that I like this tour. But I knew that going in. You see, I've been on this one before. In fact, this tour is the one that made my wife decide to give whiskey a chance. There were some differences this time. The price increased from $10 per person to $25. We actually got to see the bottling area. And we wandered around the back of some of the buildings and saw the old water cisterns and the stream out back. Our tour guide was different as well. His name was Earl, and he gave a very good tour.

Horses watching from behind a fence along the drive to Woodford Reserve

Looking back from the entrance of the Woodford Reserve Visitor Center. I kinda wish I had these flagstones outside my door.

As you walk up to the fermentation and still building, they are always sure to point out the grind stone that was found on the property and set above the entry. It's cool, but very worn.

Recently filled barrels on a track going to the aging warehouse. Shot out the door to the fermentation room.

Mash fermenting in very large wooden vats. We were told that these were made from boards cut from logs that had been preserved in a swamp for a hundred plus years

The picture everyone takes at Woodford. The beer still, the whiskey safe, and the name on the wall.

A more interesting detail of one of the other stills which was open so you could look into it.

This is the stream that runs out behind the distillery. There is a small footbridge across it which leads to the old farm where the fathers of American Bourbon once lived.

Looking back at the distillery building while standing in front of an aging warehouse.

A close up of the rough hewn limestone aging warehouse. A lot of the buildings on the grounds are made of this material. Only the aging warehouses have bars on the windows though.

You can almost smell the angel's share through the screen can't you. Well, I can.

This is a barrel about to be dumped. We didn't get to see that, the workers were on break. But Earl did thieve some out of the barrel and let us smell it.

Like I said at the beginning. I liked this tour. Earl was a good tour guide. What I really liked about this tour, was that it was apparent that each tour guide was able to customize the tour to their strengths. Last time I was there I had a former science teacher giving the tour and he told us about molecules and fossils. This time, Earl gave us a bit more of the history and details about the grounds. Both were very good, just different.

Kentucky Bourbon Trail: Barton 1792 distillery tour

September 27, 2012 Eric Burke

Enjoying a 86 proof Very Old Barton while I write this. It just seemed appropriate.

Storage tank on top of the buildings at 1792

It was Wednesday. We were up early. We had to be on the road to get to Bardstown by 9 am in order to get on the first tour of the day at Barton. We had a lot planned today and needed to get this tour out of the way early.

That's how I thought of it. "Get it out of the way." Well, before I went on it I thought of it that way.

Barton was a hold over from my first trip to Kentucky. They started offering tours one week after I had left that last time. Made me sick because I ended up driving past it two or more times on that trip and each time I was disappointed. To say it was on the list was an understatement. It was the first thing to get put on the list this time around. Not that I was expecting a lot. I mean, I didn't really drink anything that was made there. It was curiosity, really, nothing more.

We walked into the gift shop just a little before 9 am. We get on the first tour and we browse around the shop a little bit. I've got my eye on a couple things I plan to check out a bit later when an older gentleman in a logo'd polo and khaki shorts—Don—walks out and asks who's on the tour. Robin and I said we were and expected that the other two people in the shop would as well, but they didn't.

This means another "private" tour. I love those.

As we walk out of the gift shop, Don asks if we'd been on any other distillery tours. We admitted that we'd been on about 4 already that week and seven on our previous trip and that we'd been to Independent Stave as well. At this point, he jokingly asks if we'd like to switch roles because we've obviously done this more times than him. I admit it, I thought about it. Briefly. As we walk across the parking lot and over to the first stop Don fills us in on the history of the plant, the company, and a little about what it's like to live so close to the distillery. It turns out he lives just up the hill.

The aging warehouse isn't much to look at on the outside. Like, Maker's it is black with red trim. It looks nice, such as it is. It looks better than it would if it were white and covered in fungus. And Don admits that was the reasoning behind painting it. I wonder what that does for the whiskey aging inside since it'll draw a lot more heat that way.

One of many very beautiful and dramatic photos we got inside the Barton aging warehouse.

On the inside it's different. It doesn't look that much different than other rick houses. Thick wooden beams. Barrels filled with wonderful whiskey. A smell that makes you want to stay there forever. But they all have that. No the difference is subtle. It's in the lighting. It's more dramatic. Certainly more photogenic. We took some that make me want to weep they are so pretty. We wander in there for a little while, learning about things like the elevator shaft and a strange device called a mule (a device which it seems no one working there will either confirm nor deny the existence of to him).

After the warehouse we walk over to the still house. This is one damn big still. Don explains a little about it, but what he is better at is telling stories. Don reminds me of my grandfather in some ways. Except that after one of my grandfather's stories, I was never poured a whiskey.

Don's stories about the still being done, we head over to the bottling area. They weren't bottling bourbon that morning, but we get to wander around with him as he talks about various things that are happening on the line and of course more stories he is reminded of as we walk by things. Stories like one about a former tour patron explaining that he and his friends used to drink Ten High and still would occasionally say "Ten High: for when it doesn't matter." A statement which Don quietly said he very much agreed with as it's not very good.

Then it was back to the gift shop for a tasting. We tried Very Old Barton 86 proof and 1792 Ridgemont Reserve. As a nice gesture to those who like such things, they also had them available chilled in case you were the type who liked it that way. I wasn't but I appreciated the gesture. Oddly in a head to head, I liked the Very Old Barton better. If it were available in MN, I'd save myself a bunch of money with that realization. As it stands though, that knowledge does me no good.

I loved this tour. I was amazed at the photogenic-ness of the warehouse, the size of the still. But I will fully admit that it might just be that I loved the tour guide. Don was awesome. I would do this again in a heart beat.

I can't forget the world's largest whiskey barrel. Can I? Near a visitor picnic area, the only one I saw at a distillery.

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Kentucky Bourbon Trail: Willett Distillery tour

September 26, 2012 Eric Burke

Willett Distillery was a bit of a wild card for me. I'd been to or researched every other tour on our trip. All I knew about Willett is that when we first called to see if they were doing tours during the Bourbon Fest, they thought it would be a good idea. They sounded small. I like small places as much as I like big places. The tours are often more personal, more private.

So that's my way of saying that when we pulled up the steep gravel drive we weren't quite sure what to expect. At the top of the driveway we turned a corner and saw a building with a parking lot on one side and an old aging warehouse on the other. Off in the distance there looked to be some more industrial buildings. We stopped in the parking lot, there were chairs on the porch. Peaked my head in a couple doors and decided that this couldn't be where we were supposed to be. So we hopped back into the car and drove down toward those industrial looking buildings. As we got closer, saw a small sign that said gift shop and we spotted a parking lot behind it.

This time we were pretty sure we were where we wanted to be. As we parked and looked around, we were struck by how pretty this place was. We went into the gift shop and paid for our tour. $7 for tour and tasting.

First stop on the tour was to watch a truck unload some grain. It was interesting, but I was distracted by the very interesting arched gold door in front of us. It had very large medieval looking hinges and a handle shaped like a pot still. After the tour guide finishes discussing the history of the property and of the business, we go inside. As we make our way up the black metal and wood stairs, our guide fills us in on a some more background on who the company is and what's going on around us.

The rough hewn stone, wood ceiling and exposed beams make this one of the most authentically beautiful distilleries I've seen.

Once we get upstairs we are shown the fermentation tanks. There are some filled and some empty. What I am really struck by is the rough hewn stone that is being installed around us. Off in the corner the workmen are still installing some of it. It is beautiful. This is already one heck of place and is just getting more so. After a side trip to see the column still—the little column still which is running a batch as we watch it—we head down stairs to see the pot still.

We are told by our tour guide as we look at the still that we will never see anything like it. She tells us it is patented. Unfortunately she didn't say why and now I'm curious. I tried doing a google patent search but all I found for these guys was a design patent on the pot still shaped bottle they have. Oh well. I'll ask next time.

In between the still house and the closest aging warehouse we make a stop at the barrel filling room. Then it's over to the aging warehouse. This one isn't quite as picturesque on the outside, but the inside is full of aging barrels of whiskey and that's even better. Then its back into the gift shop for the tasting.

I like this tasting. First whiskey we try is the Willett Pot Still Reserve. I found this to be a tasty whiskey. Enough so that I plan to purchase one in the future so that I can spend some more time with it. Then it got really interesting. They gave us the opportunity to taste anything they had. That included the 23 year old rye or some really old bourbon that I can't remember due to being distracted by the rye. I did not try the old rye or the old bourbon. I have no self control, if I tried it, I would have liked it. Then I would have had to fight with myself to not buy it. And it was out of my budget. So instead I tried the five year old rye and ended up buying it with no regrets about what I could have tasted.

I like this tour. It's a beautiful facility, the tour was informative and the tasting was great. I do think they need better signage at the top of the hill to tell you where to go and I wonder at the $7 tour fee but I had fun and want to do it again next time I am in Kentucky.