Day 29 - The Bourbon Trail

Sunday was my birthday, I am 46 and dyslexic. We planned to cover some of the bourbon trail as we work our way east and north.   Our first stop was Jim Beam, one of the oldest and largest distilleries in Kentucky. We arrived at 11:30 AM and waited for their 12PM open time. 

Unfortunately when they opened we found that there were no tours to be had, so we just browsed and went back to the Serenity somewhat miffed. We did not realize that if you are going to do the Bourbon Trail, and want to do a tasting or tour at any of the name brand distilleries, you need to have reservations well in advance.

We got on the internet and found that many of the tours are booked out 3 months.  We really only wanted one or two since we are driving; you really can't do that many in a day.   I eventually found a tour at a distillery I was not familiar with 'The Bardstown Bourbon Company' for 4PM.  It was only 1PM and it was only 45 mins away so we decided to see what we could find on the way. 

We found the Four Roses Bottling and Warehouse facility in Cox Creek was on the way, so we just pulled in to check it out. It was a fun stop. I was introduced to Four Roses Bourbon by my friend from Japan, Gaji. We were not only able to get a tasting but a tour of the storage facility, and we learned a lot about the company and the bourbon. It is registered and located in the USA but is a Japanese owned company. The company went through several owners in past years including Seagrams. 

The tasting session was like sitting at a bar with your buddies, very casual and intimate. 

The Rickhouse was impressive.

After our tour at Four Roses we set off for Bardstown.  We expected a small distillery but the complex is huge.  Bardstown Bourbon Company was established in 2014, but now distills spirits for more than 30 brands. It is one of the top 10 distillers in the USA by volume, 7 million gallons per year. In 2019 it launched its own line of bourbon, Bardstown Bourbon. 

The storage buildings for aging bourbon, called Rickhouses, are massive and too many to count. 

We arrived with about an hour to spare so we sampled one of their special Old Fashioned drinks, it was yummy. 

Our tour guide, Ashley, was very nice. The sampling process started with pure moonshine (unaged spirits) and ended with small batch bourbon. Even I could not drink the moonshine.

After the tasting we moved onto a tour of the distillery, it was much like what we saw at Jack Daniels in Tennessee only more modern.

The smells were awesome.

At the end of the tour Ashley took us out to one of the Rickhouses for a sample straight from a barrel. I got to go first because it was my birthday, :-)

We very much enjoyed our tour and will be looking for Bardstown Bourbon in the future.  

We set off for our final stop for the day, Country Boy Brewing in Lexington Kentucky. We arrived around 7PM, the place was hopping but we had no problem finding a parking spot or a table. 

Country Boy Brewing had good brews and good food. It was our server's second day on the job, she was still learning but very attentive and friendly. It was a great way to end our day. 

It was a long day on the Bourbon Trail, it was good that we only had to walk to the Serenity and go to bed. 

Monday we are unsure of our plans other than we will work our way north.