A Girl and Her Bourbon

Cheers! 

I am a very happy girl.  Maker’s Mark Distillery did not disappoint. 

In case any of you are considering going to the distillery (and I highly recommend that you do!), you should know that you have to be pretty commited to getting there.  It is in the absolute middle of nowhere.  The closest hotel we could find was about thirty minutes from the place. (Don’t worry, K drove so I could enjoy the bourbon.)  I had to put my qualms about the hotel aside because choices for pet friendly places were pretty limited. 

So we make it to Maker’s Mark in the afternoon and a tour was starting in about thrity minutes.  We used that time to wander the grounds, pop into the gift shop, and then explore the Samuels’ home.  Fun fact: Bill Samuels, the founder and former president of Maker’s Mark, was the godson of Jim Beam.

Also in the house was the below plaque and revolver… slightly perplexing why it is not in the Smithsonian if it really was the revolver present at the surrender ending the Civil War.  But cool nonetheless. 

      

There are way too many cool things from our visit, so I will spare you a lesson on bourbon.  A big take away from the tour is that it is a shockingly small operation.  All Maker’s Mark bourbon whiskey is made right in the very rooms we were in and you can see below.  They have kept a lot of tradition, keeping the antique press used to crush their grains, using one hundred year old cypress tanks for the fermentation, and using the same still as when it all started. 

One of the 2 copper distillers.

Tanks of fermenting bourbon.  Yes, I considered diving in.  Until they let us taste it. 

We got to dip our fingers into the fermenting bourbon, too! 

The aging process is done in nondescript black buildings for five years, nine months and some change.  In fact, we passed some of these buildings on the way in and were pretty sure there was some kind of NSA or CIA complex right there in Loretto, KY.  Turns out its barrels of bourbon.  Way better.

Now for one of the coolest parts… Maker’s Mark’s signature look is the red wax in which each bottle is dipped.  When we were in the bottling room, we got to see the dippers at work.  Yep, every bottle that you see in the liquor store is hand dipped by one of eight workers on the line who has to dip a bottle about every two seconds.  Crazy. 

And then I got to dip my own bottle of Maker’s Mark in the trademark red wax!!!  Totally awesome.  Of course, it was in the gift shop, not on the bottling line, but still pretty amazing.  The guy working there will pretty much dip anything else that you want dipped, so K had a mug dipped and I had a Maker’s Mark Ambassador rock glass dipped.  (Yes, I am a Maker’s Mark Ambassador.  You had no idea I was that cool, did you??)

After the tour, you get to do the tasting.  Yum!  For the first time ever, they have been bottling some of the white whiskey before aging.  Basically corn liquor.  White dog.  We got the chance to taste some if we chose.  Of course I did!  I’m only here once, right?

Ew.  Horrific.  How that stuff becomes wonderful Maker’s is a mystery to me.

Later that night, we decided to go to dinner in Bardstown, where we were staying.  Known as the Bourbon Capital of the World because it is pretty central to a lot of the distilleries on the Bourbon Trail.

Folks, welcome to Perfect Town, USA.  Seriously.  It was so idyllic we felt like we were on the Truman Show or something.  Or in a fairy tale.  And of course, we eat that kind of stuff up with a spoon.

We popped into the Bourbon Bar at Old Talbott Tavern, a building from 1779, to grab a drink.  We ended up grabbing a bourbon sampler of five amazing bourbons.  Poor K, who doesn’t exactly enjoy bourbon the way I do, was a good sport about tasting them all.  I was in heaven.  The best?  Elijah Craig Single Barrel 18 year.  Yum.

While sipping our bourbon whiskey, we ended up talking football with a local Steelers fan.  Steeler Nation runs deep!

We then walked to Rickhouse Restaurant, which is literally in the cellar of the bourbon history museum right there in town.  Awesome.  If you ever do the Bourbon Trail, stay in Bardstown and eat at Rickhouse.  We had an amazing meal with wine for fifty bucks. 

Don’t be surprised if one day, we buy an old Victorian house in Bardstown with a swing and ceiling fan on the porch.  Don’t worry, you can come visit.  I’ll have a mint julep waiting for you.

Since we are so ahead of schedule, we have added a serious detour to the trip.  Tomorrow, we are off to Nashville, then will hit up Memphis! 

Total Miles Travelled: 620

Days on the Road: 3

Miles to go: who knows.  We keep changing the route.  We’ll get there eventually.