Day two on the Bourbon Trail

We stayed at a bed and breakfast in Bardstown Kentucky and after a wonderful breakfast resumed the bourbon education at Woodford Reserve. This distillery is a corporate owned operation and as such has a much different feel than Wild Turkey. However that being said it is an old family started operation and only produces small quantities. It's Woodford Reserve Distillers Select is the official bourbon of the Kentucky Derby. O-I makes the bottles for Woodford Reserve so we had the privilege of a private prearranged tour. Our guide was a retire teacher who gave us a history lesson in bourbon and the law as well as the production process. Woodford still uses the original copper pot distillation method however the 3 copper pot stills are relatively new. This is a picture of Steve standing in front of an original copper potstill that was found on the property.

Steve and I by the copper stills

 

 The red cypress fermentation tanks

 

 



 

 

The Visitors Center

 

 

After the visit to Woodford Reserve we traveled a few short miles to Four Roses. This is another corporate owned distillery that until only recently sold all of their bourbon in Japan. Interestingly, with the resurgence of cocktails in America they have brought 3 products back to retail sales in the States. Their distillery was a combination of old and new. They used 8 red cypress fermentation tanks and in addition some stainless steel tanks. We didn’t go into that area so I am not sure how many. The total production quantities seems to be one of the secrets the distillers want to keep.

Four Roses uses a unique method of blending using 2 different mash recipes and 5 yeast strains. Thus having 10 different combinations. We began to see where the science ends and the art of bourbon making begins. The art of bourbons continues on the aging racks because Four Roses has changed from the normal multistory warehousing of the barrels to single story storage. We did not see the warehouses or barreling at Four Roses because this is done at another location.



We were able to taste all 3 products and I found the lower end Yellow Label Four Roses Bourbon best. Steve liked the Single Barrel best.

　

As we continued along the path back to the bed and breakfast we decided to wander off the official bourbon trail and visit a distillery right in town in Bardstown called Bartons. We only knew of this distillery because I had tried one of their bourbons the night before on the recommendation of our bartender. When we mentioned our mission to Amanda the bartender and I told her I liked the Woodford Reserve bourbon best of those I had tried she suggested trying a bourbon called 1792. I did and it was a very comparable product to the Woodford Reserve.

We were greeted at the Bartons visitor center and told a tour would be leaving shortly. Our guide, another retiree, Rick asked around the visitor center if anyone else wanted to tour and it turned out we had another private tour. Bartons runs a bottling plant onsite that is an extension of the distillery. They bottle many different types of liquors having somewhere between 3-5 bottling lines running 5 days a week. Both Steve and I have seen enough bottling plants to find this somewhat boring. The distillery tour was short and sweet. A look at the grain delivery site and quality check area, a few pictures of the fermentation operation and a peek into the room with the still. Then it was a walk to the warehouse and some information about the barrels. For $5000 Bartons will sell you your own barrel of bourbon that will be packaged with your own label. This was the second location that this was offered at and I guess it is a new marketing tool. The tasting at Bartons was good and they also offered some of the best bourbon ball candies we had had. I liked their 1792 product but not so much their lower proof called Old Barton.
With the completion of 4 distillery tours I began to feel like I understood the fine points of making bourbon. My education will now continue with the tasting tests.