We did
it; The Bourbon Trail! Now we await our trophy which will proclaim victory; a free(?) T-shirt.
When we visited the first distillery, Makers Mark, we acquired a passport. To
be victorious, you must visit all seven of the distilleries on the “Trail”, and
get your passport stamped at each one. After completion, you mail the passports
to the Kentucky Distillers Association, and wait for 4 – 6 weeks to receive the
shirts. To complete the “Trail” we spent $34 each for admission fees, while all
are not free, Wild Turkey and Four Roses are. (As usual, click on any image to
enlarge.)
First on
our list was Makers Mark in Loretto, KY. The winding narrow road traverses
through the rolling hills through some dense forests that are completely shaded
even on the sunniest of days. Once you arrive, you can proudly proclaim you are
in Hillbilly Heaven.
The
process for making all bourbons is basically the same, but each distillery
alters or tweaks some of the steps or processes to make each unique. All
bourbons are whiskeys, but not all whiskeys are bourbons. Congress enacted
legislation in 1964 outlining what criteria are needed for a whiskey to be
labeled Bourbon.
In order
to be labeled bourbon, the whiskey must be made in the US and contain in its
recipe at least 51% corn. It must be distilled to less than 160 proof (80%
alcohol) from fermented grain mash, and matured in new charred white oak
barrels at no more than 120 proof. Nothing further can be added, except water,
and must be bottled at 80 proof or higher. Maker’s Mark introduced a new
bourbon recently, Makers 46, which is actually the char level of the barrel,
and added internal staves of a different char level, to add depth and dimension
to the finished product.
Maker’s
is a relatively small distillery, and has remained with the same family for eight
generations. The tour was very informative, considering this was our first distillery,
and culminated with a sampling of their products. By law, they cannot serve
over one ounce in total of all the samples; about ¼ ounce per sample.
Next, we
decided on Jim Beam. What a difference, as Beam is the largest bourbon
distillery in the US. By comparison, Maker’s Mark bottles 3,000 cases per day,
and hand dips each bottle in wax, while Jim Beam’s automated line is running
30,000 cases per day!
I, for
one, was surprised by the number of brands under the Jim Beam umbrella; not
being a bourbon connoisseur. By comparison, Maker’s Mark has two products, and
pictured below are but a sampling of Jim Beam’s offerings.
The
entire bourbon making process at Beam is automated, and monitored by 2 – 4
employees in the control room. Each step is carefully scrutinized, and
samplings are taken often from each step to ensure quality control.
And so
we did, sample that is. Here at Jim Beam, they give each guest a debit card
with a two sample balance on it. You have the opportunity to sample any two of
their products you choose at automated kiosks; very high tech. Again, less
than ½ ounce per sample.
Shortly after prohibition
ended in 1934, Heaven Hill Distilleries was founded by a group of Bardstown
area investors and the five Shapira brothers. The company had 12 employees at
the time of its founding. Today, the company is the largest independent, family
owned and operated producer and marketer of distilled spirits in the country.
According to industry analysts, Heaven Hill is now the seventh largest spirits
supplier in the US, and second largest holder of aging Bourbon whiskey in the
world with an inventory in excess of 900,000 barrels. (Each barrel holds 53
gallons); that’s almost 17 million gallons of bourbon!
CC and I were somewhat
disappointed with this tour. Their distillery is 40 miles away in Louisville,
and the bottling plant here was not part of the tour. They do have a nice
museum/heritage center, so the only actual thing we were able to tour was one
of the many rick houses where the bourbon is aged. For the $5 tour cost each,
not a great value for your money, IMHO.
The sampling room was very
new and modern, and our guide let us sample two of the four choices available.
As CC and I were sniffing, sipping, swirling, and tasting, I was interested in
the design aspect of the tasting room and my thoughts wandered to my past
career. As my eyes moved from one design feature to the next, I was for a
moment perplexed as to why the Star of David would be incorporated into the
ceiling’s design at its highest point, and then it hit me; the reason, not the
bourbon. I’ll be the first to admit I’m not always the sharpest knife in the
drawer, so you are probably one step ahead of me.
The oldest
and smallest distillery in Kentucky traces its origins to 1797 when Elijah
Pepper began distilling in Woodford County. This National Landmark crafts
Woodford Reserve Distiller’s Select, the Official Bourbon of the Kentucky
Derby, along with their new expression Double Oaked. The only distiller to utilize copper
pot stills and triple distillation process used to handcraft Bourbon today.
All
whiskeys, including Bourbon, begin with the grinding or crushing of grains and
malted barley. If it’s bourbon, it MUST be a minimum of 51% corn, and usually
rye to add flavor. This mash is cooked for 3 -4 hours to break down the
starches in the grains. The mash is slowly cooled to around 120 degrees and the
malted barley is added. The barley contains an enzyme that converts the
starches into sugars. This sour mash is transferred to the fermenting tubs, and
the yeast is added. The fermentation process converts the sugars into alcohol
and as a byproduct of that process, carbon dioxide is released. The sour mash
is allowed to ferment for 3 – 4 days. Sound like making beer? It should as they
are almost identical. Each distillery has as another flavor enhancer, the
option of using a variety of materials for their fermenters; some use stainless
steel. Woodford Reserve uses cypress, and they claim it adds another layer of
flavor to their bourbon(s).
After
fermentation, the mixture is filtered, and transferred to large holding tanks
waiting to be distilled. Again, each distillery uses a different style of
“still”, but they all accomplish the same thing. The mixture is heated and as
the steam (alcohol) rises it is condensed and collected. This condensed product
is now referred to as “low wine” at around 120 proof. The low wine is run
through a “doubler” still and the product is now referred to as “high wine”
somewhere around 150 – 160 proof. The high wine is now ready to be placed in
barrels for the aging process. However, Woodford Reserve is the only distillery
we toured that uses a triple distillations process. So the high wine is distilled
one final time before barreling. Just another example of what makes them
different from the rest, and one they feel can justify a higher cost to the
consumer for their product(s).
Woodford
Reserve is small, by comparison, and uses different chars on their barrels,
depending on the product to be aged. Below are four different barrels that are
used. The char level is increased moving from left to right. They obviously
would not divulge which barrel is used on what bourbon. Another marketing ploy,
or does it actually change the flavor profile?
We were
allowed to sample three different bourbons (their choices). CC and I both liked
the Distillers Select, but honestly my taste buds are not sensitive enough to
taste much of a difference. We could both identify which sample had the
greatest percentage of alcohol, but as far as taste difference; not so much.
Maybe that is why neither of us are fanatical about the beverage. IMHO,
everything they claim sets them apart from the other bourbon distilleries, is
just that; claims. Overall the tour was great, and the distillery is one of the
only ones constructed from limestone. The $7 tour cost was relatively cheap
entertainment for the hour and a half tour.
Founded in 2011, Town BranchDistillery is owned and founded by Dr. Pearse Lyons, an Irishman. He came to this country
and founded Alltech, a company that specializes in the production of industrial
yeasts. A natural offspring, Alltech Brewery followed, and in 2011 came the
distillery.
This is by far the smallest
distillery on the Bourbon Trail, and we had to ask ourselves why this one would
be included, while Buffalo Trace is excluded. I’m sure it has to be the yeast
connection, as while Town Branch is new, and the only distillery in Lexington,
the tour at $7 each is IMHO, the worst value on the Trail. It is so small, that
the fermenter and copper stills are located in the same room.
The two cypress fermenters
at Town Branch, by contrast to Wild Turkey’s 26, look like they have barely
been used in their two years of production.
Wild Turkey is a brand of Kentucky straight bourbon
whiskey distilled and bottled by the Austin Nichols division of Campari Group. The distillery is located near Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, and the tour is complimentary.
The
onsite grain elevators are constantly being re-filled. The large one on the
right is corn, and it contains enough corn for one day of production. The
smaller one for rye, and hold about five day’s worth of production.
Wild
Turkey offers nine different bourbons, and three different whiskeys.
The
30,000 gallon fermenters are stainless steel, and for cooling the mash, they
draw water from the Kentucky River, which flows through the cooling coils
inside the fermenter. Interestingly enough, the reason this tank is empty, as
is all their fermenters this time of year, they cease production when the water
levels in the river drop, and the temperatures increase. Production will begin
again in the fall, when water levels rise and temperatures fall. This is a
normal practice for all of the distilleries we visited.
The
new, year old distillery, is the most modern, high tech one on the Trail.
Almost every aspect in the process is mechanically computer controlled. Humans
are used to steam clean the fermenters between batches, and perform routine
maintenance on the equipment.
Every
step in the bourbon making process is taste tested. On the left are samples of
low wine, high wine, and “White Dog” (moonshine). On the right are samples of
bourbons being considered for bottling, provided they match a specific flavor
and color profile.
On
our way to the sampling room, CC pauses by a mega-barrel of this distilleries
namesake.
Just down the road from Wild
Turkey, we make our way to our final stop on the Bourbon Trail; the Four RosesDistillery, and for the first time will tour two distilleries in just one day, and
this tour is also complimentary. YaHooo! This distillery has a unique style of
architecture, one usually not associated with bourbon; southwestern adobe
complete with clay tile roofs.
Four Roses was at one time,
the “Premier” bourbon of choice. It was sold to Seagram’s, who over the process
of ownership managed to take it from number one, to one many bourbon drinkers
referred to as “swill”. Now, under new ownership it is slowly building its way
back to the top, and in 2012 was named “Bourbon of the Year”; old school in
every aspect of production, right down to the cypress fermenters.
This is a good visual
representation of the distillation process, which occurs in the still, aptly
located inside the stillhouse.
Most commercial stills are
two to five stories tall, and the one at Four Roses is no exception. Here, an
exterior picture of the “Stillhouse”; all five stories.
Well folks, that completes
our requirements for The Bourbon Trail. We are only about 15 miles from the
Buffalo Trace Distillery, and will more than likely take that one in as well,
since we are so close, AND, it is complimentary as well. Double YaHoo!! Thanks
for taking time to stop by, and see what a couple of fulltimers do on a day to
day basis. It is not for those that are faint of heart, but we do live a
blessed life. Until next time, take care and stay well…………………
