A taste of Kentucky Bourbon

My father and step mother have lived in Kentucky for roughly 7 years now. These last couple of years I’ve picked up a whiskey habit. Crown Royal on the rocks please. My mother’s favorite and it’s been mine since I hit my quarter life crisis at 25 years old. And I’ve asked myself, “Why haven’t I traveled the Kentucky Bourbon trail?”. Something so historical as a piece of America’s young culture. Now there are quite a few distilleries, so I chose to visit 2 of my favorites. Maker’s Mark and Bulleit have been my favorites lately and if I missed out on your favorite Kentucky Bourbon, I apologize. I’ve had Wild Turkey and it nearly burned a whole in my chest, Jim Beam was ok, and Evan Williams never made it to my glass. The plan is to check out 2 new distilleries every year I’m in town.

Kentucky Bourbon doesn’t get enough love. Roaring in America for decades before prohibition. Once that ended and newer types of alcohol (like Vodka and wine coolers) were introduced to Americans, bourbon took a hit over time. As of lately with the introduction of new cocktails made with bourbon whiskey, Kentucky never needed to completely shut their doors. What was most surprising, there were some brands that became popular among the Japanese. Matter of fact, Jim Beam and Makers Mark are partially owned by Suntory, a Japanese brand specializing in Alcoholic and Soft drinks.

What makes Kentucky Bourbon so special?

You can’t call it Kentucky Bourbon without it being produced in Kentucky and sit in Oak Barrels. To be considered real authentic, every new batch of liquor needs to be packaged in a brand-new oak barrel that’s been charred within. No other wood can be used for the barrel but oak. If you reuse the barrel for a new batch, then that new batch simply becomes a cheap whiskey. The state sits on a natural water filtration system of limestone, tons of it. What limestone does is help clean the water and benefits the pH balance to make it great to drink out of the faucet or to mix with the cooked mash to create bourbon.

You know another place that has great tap water? Washington State, now that I think about it, that may be why the Greater Pacific Northwest makes such amazing craft beer.

Whiskey actually gets brewed similar to beer, still there’s a few more steps to follow and completely different ingredients needed. There’s no hops in whiskey. Beer doesn’t get distilled. Both have a milling, cooking, and fermenting process to follow however.

Another reason why Kentucky Bourbon has such a distinct taste, the barrels are stored in facilities that endure the seasons of the Midwest. The hot summers and ice-cold winters benefit the aging process of every batch.

Touring the facilities has become a fairly new attraction in Kentucky. When I toured Maker’s Mark and Bulleit, there was a diverse crowd of young and old fans of whiskey. Although I was the only black guy on these field trips, I felt welcomed. The love for alcohol can really bring people together from anywhere. The most amusing piece to this trip was the feeling of a plantation I felt walking through the place. Brick laid walkways leading to immaculate visitor centers and vintage tile laid by someone’s great grandfather. The idea probably came from the lack of Wi-Fi service and the increasingly hot weather that seemed to get warmer every time we exited from a building.

Bulleit’s location was on the historical Stitzel-Weller distillery in Louisville, KY. Bulleit was founded by Tom Bulleit who pretty much remixed his great-great-grandfather’s recipe and started selling it around 1987. There, you’ll be greeted by some elderly men who have some history with the place and they’ll point you in the direction you need to go. One thing I’ll warn you about, their gift shop is a bit pricy.

They even had their logo stitched into such brands as Patagonia and Nike. And depending on the technology in manufacturing those wearables, the retail price was nothing less of $70 apiece.

For the $12 ticket, our well-informed tour guide and the 80 photos I took should suffice.

Maker’s Mark was located down a hill with a stream separating the visitors center from the plant. The most fascinating idea behind this company is the vintage appeal. Being introduced in 1958 with relation to Jim Beam, they still incorporate traditional practices in their brand. There’s the hand dipped wax tip, the labels are printed and torn by hand, and their barrels routinely get rotated.

The best part about touring distilleries is learning how to properly taste and smell whiskey. Usually I drink my whiskey on the rocks in combination with a hearty meal. Attending these taste tests in the morning with somewhat of an empty stomach was a little dicey. As an experience, consuming real bourbon at room temperature for taste was surprisingly delectable. Looking forward to the next distilled destinations in the future to come. If you’re in the area this is something definitely worth checking out.

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