Wednesday:
We started the day by finishing the Bourbon tour.
We stopped off at Four Roses in the morning. It was at the end of a winding road. Surrounded by horse farms. Four Roses had an interesting history. They were bought by Segrems many years ago and the quality of the whiskey went to the bottom shelf. Then about 5 years ago it was bought out by a family owned operation and the quality went way up. I will tell you that their small batch was my favorite of all I tasted.
Quick explanation:
Single Barrel: Bourbon from one barrel. Can be variable.
Small Batch: Bourbon blended from less than 100 barrels. More consistent
Blended: Very consistent, blended from many barrels.
Also, apparently, in the first year, 5% of the Bourbon is lost to evaporation and 3% every year after that. This is called the angel's share. So from a very old barrel, you could lose as much as 1/3 of the contents. Each barrel holds about 52 gallons.
Four Roses did a good job of explaining each step of the process with yellow signs.
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Then on to Wild Turkey. It was surrounded by horse farms. At the end of a winding road. Nothing too special here. They had the most expensive, and extensive, gift shop of all the distilleries we saw. They did have a honey liquor based in Bourbon that was different.
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| Jim rides the turkey |
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Our last stop was Woodford Reserve. It was NOT at the end of a winding road, but it was surrounded by very expensive horse farms.
Woodford was very high class. Their warehouses were made of stone. They distilled the old fashioned way in huge copper vats. The same kind as are used for Scotch distillation. Their tour was 5 bucks, but it was really extensive. Their blended bourbon was my favorite.
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| this is only the upper half of the vat!! |
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| distilling the old way |
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| Tagged barrel |
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| track for rolling barrels to the warehouses |
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That it was it for the bourbon. I did come back with a keepsake from each distillery we visited, as well as with a bottle of 4 Roses small batch and a personalized bottle of Woodford Reserve.
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| Bourbon country fondly *hic* remembered |
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We made our way back to Lexington. I got a shot of one of the stone hedges. Apparently, if you are a horse farmer you either have to have a stone hedge or a black wooden fence. I wonder if it is legislated?
We went back through Lexington and found a restaurant downtown for lunch. It had the BEST black bean salsa I have ever eaten. I think they had mole in it. Most of the people in the restaurant looked like locals, so we knew it was good.
Then we hit Altech Brewery. Makers of Kentucky Ale, Kentucky Light Ale and Kentucky bourbon barrel ale. We got a tour, but not a tasting. Apparently, the week before we were there, they had been granted regional status, from microbrewery status, and this disallowed tasting. I don't know why that would be. Anyhoo, the bourbon barrel ale was phenomenal. Apparently, they buy the bourbon barrels from Woodford, ship them quickly and fill the barrels with ale within 12 hours. There is up to 5% bourbon still in the wood of the barrel and it comes out in the beer. I fell in love. But, their straight ale is even better. Unfortunately, they don't ship to NC. Yet. They are trying to get national shipping status. So far they only ship to 6 states. We brought back as much as we could, but it is gone now.
Sob.
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| antique bottler |
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| antique capper |
In the evening we went to Willie's Locally Known to listen to a bit of bluegrass. We had some really good fried green tomatoes. And the band was fun.
Then home and to slumber.
bak bak
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