Bourbon Whiskey
Page 12
Day 1
MAKER’S MARK DISTILLERY
3350 Burk Spring Road, Loretto, KY 40037
Phone:270.865.2881
www.makersmark.com
Master distiller is Greg Davis; president and family member ambassador is Bill Samuels, Jr.
The Maker’s Mark visitor’s experience gives you a look at how Bill Samuels, Sr. and his wife Marjorie (who is responsible for the bottle, name, font and wax) started up the family business again in 1959. A re-creation of their kitchen is here, and you get an inside look at how this family created and built this now-iconic brand. Take your camera, there are photo ops a plenty. You top off your tour by being able to purchase a bottle of Maker’s Mark and dip it in that famous red wax your own damn self.
Maker’s Mark distillery house (Maker’s Mark is a registered trademark of Maker’s Mark Distillery, Inc. and is used with permission.)
Directions from Louisville: Take I-65 South from Louisville to Exit #112, (Clermont/Bardstown). At the ramp turn left onto Hwy. 245 South to Bardstown.
Take Hwy. 245 to the intersection of Hwy. 62, turn right and continue on Hwy. 62 east for approximately two miles. Hwy. 62 runs into Hwy. 150, where you will turn left and continue approximately two miles, past My Old Kentucky Home State Park. At the intersection of Hwys. 150 and 49, turn right onto Hwy. 49 South and follow the brown historical landmark signs to Holy Cross, which will direct you to go straight on Hwy. 527 South. Follow Hwy. 527 to St. Francis (5 miles), where you will turn left onto Hwy. 52 East into Loretto. Continue on through Loretto for approximately three miles, and at the end of Burks Spring Road you will see the sign, “You have just found the home of Maker’s Mark.” Approximately one-and-a-half hours driving time.
1) Maker’s Mark Distillery, 3350 Burk Spring Road, Loretto, KY 40037
2) Independent Stave Cooperage, 712 E. Main Street, Lebanon, KY 40033
3) Heaven Hill Distilleries Bourbon Heritage Center, 1311 Gilky Run Road, Bardstown, KY 40004
4) Jim Beam American Outpost, 526 Happy Hollow Road, Clermont, KY 40110
Directions from Lexington: Take U.S. 60 West six miles to Martha Layne Collins Blue Grass Parkway. Merge onto the parkway toward Elizabethtown and drive 30 miles to Exit 42 (Springfield/Lebanon). Take the exit and turn left toward Springfield/Lebanon on KY 555 S. After 14.8 miles, KY 555 S becomes KY 55 but continue straight for 8.9 miles to the traffic signal (Gen. Thomas Statue). Turn right onto KY 55 Bypass and drive to the next light (Circle K). Turn right onto KY 49/52 and continue 6.3 miles. Turn right onto KY 52 continuation and continue 2.2 miles. Turn right onto Burk’s Spring Road and historic Maker’s Mark Distillery is straight ahead. Approximately one hour, 15 minutes driving time.
INDEPENDENT STAVE COOPERAGE (BARREL MAKERS)
712 E. Main Street, Lebanon, KY, 40033
Phone: 270.692.4674
www.independentstavecompany.com
This is something you’ve really got to see. The way they make barrels is just amazing! No nails, screws or glue here. Bending wood and using metal hoops along with hundreds of years of experience is what you’ll see here at this facility. By law, bourbon must be aged in brand new charred-oak containers, so almost all the barrels you see being made are for the bourbon industry. The coolest thing is that this is a family-owned business run by the Boswells.
Directions from Louisville: Take I-65 South toward Nashville for approximately 20 miles to Exit 112 (Clermont/Bardstown). Turn left onto Hwy. 245 toward Bardstown and drive 19 miles. Turn left onto Hwy. 150 E and drive 15 miles. Turn right onto KY 55 (Hardees® on the corner). Centre Square in Lebanon is nine miles straight ahead. From Centre Square drive one block south on KY 55/Spalding Ave. to the light at Main Street. Turn left onto U.S. 68/Main St. and continue for about one mile. Independent Stave Cooperage is on the right. Driving time is about one hour, 15 minutes (63 miles).
Directions from Lexington: Take U.S. 60 West six miles to Martha Layne Collins Blue Grass Parkway. Merge onto the parkway toward Elizabethtown and drive 30 miles to the Springfield exit (Exit 42). Take the exit and turn left toward Springfield/Lebanon on KY 555 S. After 14.8 miles, 555 S becomes 55 but continue straight for 9 miles to Centre Square. From Centre Square drive one block south on KY 55/Spalding Avenue to the light at Main Street. Turn left onto U.S. 68/Main St. and continue for about one mile. Independent Stave Cooperage is on the right. Driving time is around one hour, 10 minutes (59.8 miles).
Bourbon Heritage Center (Photo courtesy of the Louisville Convention and Visitors Bureau)
Day 2
HEAVEN HILL DISTILLERIES BOURBON HERITAGE CENTER
1311 Gilky Run Road, Bardstown, KY 40004
Phone: 502.337.1000
www.bourbonheritagecenter.com.
Master distillers are Parker Beam and his son Craig Beam, and ambassador is my buddy Rob Hutchins.
Heaven Hill’s Heritage Center really raised the bar for everyone else when they built their multimillion-dollar facility. They received Whisky Magazine’s Global Icons of Whisky Award for Visitor Attraction of the Year in 2009. A fire destroyed a total of six rack houses and their distillery in 1996, so the distillery is no longer here at this facility. But they more than make up for this; trust me, you will be treated to one of the best experiences on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail.
Directions from Louisville: Take I-65 South to Exit 112 (Clermont/Bardstown). Turn left onto Hwy. 245 South. Take Hwy. 245 South to the end, then make a right onto 150 West. Turn left at the first light onto 49 South (by the McDonald’s®). Follow 49 South one mile to Heaven Hill Distilleries Bourbon Heritage Center. It’ll take you about 50 minutes to get there from Louisville.
Parker and Earl Beam at Heaven Hill (Circa 1970) Courtesy of Heaven Hill Distillery
Directions from Lexington: Take Bluegrass Parkway west to Exit 25 (U.S. 150), turn right onto U.S. 150 West. Turn left at the first light (by the McDonald’s ) onto 49 South for one mile to the Bourbon Heritage Center. It will take you about an hour to get here from Lexington.
JIM BEAM AMERICAN OUTPOST
526 Happy Hollow Road
Clermont, KY 40110
Phone: 502.543.9877
www.jimbeam.com.
The Master distiller/family member and bourbon ambassador is Fred Noe, and ambassador and whiskey professor is Bernie Lubbers (yours truly).
Booker Noe statue on Beam Hill (Jim Beam is a registered trademark of Jim Beam Brands Co. and is used with permission.)
I’m personally really proud of what is going on here at Beam’s Visitors Experience. Jim Beam is the #1 selling bourbon in the world, so although the grounds are breathtaking, the distillery is large and industrial. But don’t think that we’re cutting any corners, goodness, no! Beam takes as much care as any of the smaller, quainter distilleries, just more of it. Colonel Beam built big after Prohibition, and that’s one of the reasons we’re still around. He just had no idea any of you all would be coming around to visit, so the distillery was set up to make a lot of whiskey. But they’ve done a great job renovating and showing off everything that goes on at the world’s largest bourbon distillery, as well as giving you an inside look at the process.
Directions from Louisville: Take I-65 South toward Nashville to Exit 112 (Clermont/Bardstown). Go left off the exit, and 2.5 miles on the left is the Beam Distillery. You’ll see signs for the Jim Beam American Outpost off Happy Hollow Road. Driving time is around 25 minutes.
Directions from Lexington: Take Bluegrass Parkway west to Exit 25 (U.S. 150). Drive toward Bardstown and turn right onto KY 245. Drive 13.5 miles, then turn right onto Happy Hollow Road.
OTHER WESTERN SHELF ATTRACTIONS:
Knob Creek Gun Range – (www.knobcreekrange.com) Located in West Point, KY, just about 30 minutes south of Louisville, on the way to Jim Beam actually. Open 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. every day but Tuesday, so don’t go Tuesdays. It’s an old quarry and now a gun range and you can buy/sell weapons there, too. But every mid-April and mid-October is the Machine Gun Shoot, when at nigh
t they fire off live tracer rounds and just about every other type of weapon imaginable, and I think a few arrows and sling shots, too! It’s just something to see and hear, and it’s located right off Knob Creek! (This is no affiliation with Knob Creek bourbon…but both are located in same area.)
Churchill Downs – (www.churchilldowns.com) Every April until July, and then in October or November after Keeneland closes down, racing moves to Louisville at legendary track under the twin spires at Churchill Downs. Think of Keeneland as the Sistine Chapel and Churchill Downs as St. Peter’s Basilica. I hate it when people say Keeneland is much better than Churchill, or vise versa, because they are both awesome in their own right. There’s no way Keeneland could (or would for that matter) have 160,000 people attending the Derby, and there’s no way Churchill can capture some of the charm of Keeneland. We’re lucky to have both available to us here in the Bluegrass State. My good buddy Dave Danielson is the executive chef at Churchill…I can’t imagine cooking for tens of thousands of my closest friends, but he does. John Asher is also one of my heroes here at the track. He’s as passionate about racing and the historic twin spires as we bourbon geeks are about our bourbon.
Louisville Mega Cavern – 877.614.MEGA Everyone has heard of Mamouth Cave, which is only an hour from Louisville and one of the Natural Wonders of the World no less—definitely something you should go see and experience. But you should also go see the Mega Cavern, which spans some 17 miles underneath Louisville! A great and fun way to experience it is to take the two-hour zip line tour, (http://www.louisvillemegacavern.com/tour-info-zip-tours.html),a zip line adventure totally underground!
Mammoth Cave (www.nps.gov/maca) is just an hour away…If I have to tell you anything about Mammoth, retake geography class.
Wigwam village – 270.773.3381 (www.wigwamvillage.com) – Take I-65 South to Cave City Exit 53 to KY 90 East, then North on 31W. Stay in your own tee-pee-style room; it’s outrageously fun if you like retro motor lodges.
EASTERN SHELF DISTILLERIES AND ATTRACTIONS
For your visit to the Eastern Shelf, I’d do it this way:
Day 1
BUFFALO TRACE DISTILLERY
113 Great Buffalo Trace
Frankfort, KY 40601
Phone: 502.696.5926
www.buffalotrace.com
Master distiller is Harlen Wheatley and distiller emeritus is Elmer T. Lee.
I love the grounds at this distillery. I love the O.F.C. (remember the Old Fire Copper from Colonel Edmund Taylor?) above some of the brick rack houses here. They have different types of brick, block and traditional rack houses. The log buildings on the property are really cool, too, and you can even rent the lodge for gatherings and meetings.
Filling bottles at Buffalo Trace (photo courtesy of the Louisville Convention and Visitors Bureau)
Directions from Louisville: Take I-64 East to Exit 53B (U.S. 127 North). Continue straight about five miles, cross the Kentucky River, and you’ll see the Holiday Inn. Turn left, continuing on 127 North which is also Wilkinson Blvd. The distillery is one mile down on the left.
Directions from Lexington: Take I-64 West to Exit 58. Go north on U.S. 60 until it becomes 127/421. Go straight and follow signs to Civic Center/Downtown, about 5.5 miles. Do not make any turns until you see the distillery on your right.
1) Buffalo Trace Distillery, 113 Great Buffalo Trace, Frankfort, KY 40601
2) Woodford Reserve Distillery, 7855 McCracken Pike, Versailles, KY 40303
3) Wild Turkey Distillery, 1525 Tyrone Road, Lawrenceburg, KY 40342
4) Four Roses Distillery, 1224 Bonds Mill Road, Lawrenceburg, KY 40342
WOODFORD RESERVE DISTILLERY
7855 McCracken Pike
Versailles, KY 40303
phone: 859.879.1812
www.woodfordreserve.com
Master distiller is Chris Morris. Woodford is the gorgeously renovated former Labrot & Graham Distillery. Brown-Foreman spent millions of dollars rebuilding this distillery, and it shows. The brick rack houses are really cool, and the triple pot stills are something to see, since this company is the only one in the bourbon business to use them. They have many events at this distillery, including some really nice bourbon dinners, so call ahead and see what they’ll have going on when you visit.
Woodford Reserve Barrel Head (photo courtesy of the Louisville Convention and Visitors Bureau)
Directions from Louisville: Take I-64 East to the U.S. 60 exit (Frankfort Versailles). Turn right toward Versailles. Go 2.5 miles and turn right on Route 3360 (Grassy Springs Road) until it ends. Turn right on McCracken Pike to the distillery.
Directions from Lexington: Take U.S. 60 (Versailles Road) out of Lexington toward Frankfort. Just after you pass State Road 1685, turn left onto Route 3360 (Grassy Springs Road) until it ends. Turn right on McCracken Pike to the distillery.
Day 2
WILD TURKEY DISTILLERY
1525 Tyrone Road
Lawrenceburg, KY 40342
phone: 502.839.4544
www.wildturkeybourbon.com
Master distiller is Eddie Russell, and distiller emeritus is his dad, Jimmy Russell. This distillery sits way up overlooking the Kentucky River, and that alone is one of the coolest sights you’ll see there. They’ve just renovated the distillery, so go take a look and enjoy it all. If you’re lucky enough, maybe Jimmy Russell will be there to have a chat and pose for a picture or two.
Wild Turkey Distillery (photo courtesy of the Louisville Convention and Visitors Bureau)
Directions from Louisville: Take I-64 East to 151 South. Take U.S. 62 East to the distillery. Driving time is around 50 minutes.
Directions from Lexington: Take U.S. 60 West to Versailles, then take U.S. 62 West to the distillery. Driving time is around 30 minutes.
FOUR ROSES DISTILLERY
1224 Bonds Mill Road
Lawrenceburg, KY40342
phone: 502.839.3436
www.fourroses.us.
Master distiller is Jimmy Rutledge. This distillery is built in the Spanish Mission style, and it’s really picturesque. The rack houses you see across the way don’t belong to Four Roses; those are the property of Wild Turkey, whose distillery is a few miles away. Four Roses is a small distillery, but Jimmy Rutledge does some of the coolest distilling there with their two recipes and five strains of yeast which can give them many options for a final product. Their Brand Ambassador is my buddy Al Young, and he wrote a great book on the history of Four Roses called, Four Roses – The Return of a Whiskey Legend. Al was inducted into the Kentucky Distiller’s Hall of Fame in 2011, too!
Four Roses Distillery (photo courtesy of the Louisville Convention and Visitors Bureau)
Directions from Louisville: Take I-64 East to Exit 53 (U.S. 127 South). Go 14 miles to Highway 513 West (There’s no sign there for the distillery, so pay attention). Go right on Highway 513. It’s just one mile to the distillery on the right.
Directions from Lexington: Take U.S. 60 East to Bluegrass Parkway West. Take Exit 59B off Bluegrass Parkway and drive a 10th of a mile to Highway 513 West (there’s no sign to the distillery, so pay attention here). The distillery is just down a mile on the right.
OTHER EASTERN SHELF ATTRACTIONS:
Keeneland Race Track – (www.keeneland.com). Keeneland sits right across from Bluegrass Field Airport on Versailles Road, and has live racing in April and October (short card, so check their website for dates) and Keeneland Thoroughbred sales during different parts of the year if you want to see horses sell for millions and millions of dollars. It’s one of the coolest places on earth, and you can just taste the history there. Don’t come in your blue jeans, though; dress up and join in the Old Southern charm of Keeneland.
Kentucky Gentlemen Cigars – 1056 Ninevah Road – Lawrenceburg, KY – 502.839.9226 (www.kentuckygentlemencigars.com) – Take Exit 53 Frankfort/Lawrenceburg (same exit as Buffalo Trace). Cigars are made right here and filled with flavorings from Kentucky heritage including bourbon, moonshine or mint j
ulep, so you can experience cigars available nowhere else or customize your own blend from varieties from all over the world.
WELCOME TO KENTUCKY
Since I’m the whiskey professor, I’ll help guide you on your first visit here. Our airport in Louisville is a great little airport–one terminal. We have Southwest, U.S. Air, United, Continental, American, Delta, Frontier and a few others that fly here. We’re only a five-hour drive from St. Louis and Chicago and seven hours from Atlanta. You can fly in to Bluegrass Airport (LEX) in Lexington, but I would venture to guess that Standiford Field (SDF) in Louisville is going to have more and cheaper options. Louisville is right in the middle of bourbon country and is a 25-minute drive from Jim Beam, and 45 minutes from Bardstown. On the other side, Lexington is only 72 miles from Louisville. It’s not going to cost you much to get here, but you will need to rent a car or hire transportation to take you around to the distilleries if you’d like to do it that way, or come with a group. Mint Julep Tours (mintjuleptours.com) is a great company to tour with if you don’t want to get a car or if you have a group of people you want to bring along with you. There are many hotels right downtown that start around $100 a night, and some on the outskirts of town (in Brooks or Shepherdsville) that are half that.