Bourbon Trail

The Bourbon Trail in Kentucky is not exactly a trail, but group of 10 different bourbon distilleries that are open for tours and tastings. Many people visit the area and tour all of these distilleries over several days. That is too much bourbon for us. Actually, I don’t like bourbon, but hey, I’ll try it.

 A few years ago we went to Woodford Reserve (Frankfort Kentucky). This time we went to Jim Beam. It’s the biggest producer and there are tours leaving every ½ hour with big groups of people. The pictures are showing the liquors after distillation and the packing line. After the tour, you have a choice of 2 out of 19 different bourbons to taste.  

We also visited the Barton 1792 distillery, which isn’t part of the official Bourbon Trail, but a terrific place to visit with small groups that allowed for more questions and discussion. We learned several interesting things here. As the bourbon is stored, ~2% of the ethanol leaks through the barrel every year. The ethanol and moisture in the air feeds a certain type of black fungus. The mold covers the warehouses and even the trees in the area. Apparently, the law used to find moonshine stills by looking for black trees like this.

Another interesting point was the warehouses for aging are incredibly dangerous for fires. Some have sprinklers, but really it won’t stop anything from burning if a fire starts. The warehouses are built as far apart as possible so a fire will “only” take out a single warehouse instead of spreading to other buildings.

Another cool tour was Kentucky Cooperage which makes the barrels for the bourbon.  No pictures are allowed, so all I have is a picture of incoming staves used for the barrels. Finally, we visited a Trappist monk abbey where we bought bourbon fudge.