Seeing The Sights - 1 -The Bourbon Tour

With a week to see things in KY and no pre-planning, we took the lead of our two friends from GRKO (Myra & Jim) who are also here at Amazon and are traveling the Bourbon Tour. If you visit all six distilleries in the area, you get a free t-shirt! Uh...okay, I know that is fairly lame, however, it is an opportunity to travel the back roads of the state. Bourbon is unique to the United States and the majority of producers are in Kentucky. Today, we visited three: Maker's Mark, Heaven Hill and Jim Beam. I'm sure the last is most recognized by everyone reading this. However, we found the Maker's Mark to be the most enjoyable and with the most historic location...over 200 years old. We enjoyed a tour of that facility with a very friendly and knowledgeable guide who also hosted our "tasting" of the two products produced at Maker's Mark.

Maker's Mark was opened on the site of a former distillery founded in 1805. All of the buildings have been restored and are listed on register of historic buildings. 

The process of making bourbon was interesting and we enjoyed comparing it to the process of wine making.

During our tour, we saw where the corn is ground and where it is cooked with pure, spring water.

Next, yeast is added to the mash and it "cures" in huge vats 
(8 ' high X probably 10' across) for about a week.

We were invited to dip in a finger and "taste" the product in vats at different stages.
The resulting product is distilled twice in a copper housing that is about 20' feet tall before being placed in white oak barrels that are custom, hand-made of white oak and charred to bring the sugar of the oak to the interior surface.

The barrels are placed in huge warehouses with probably 20 levels of shelves where the bourbon ages for around six years before the "tasters" declare that it is ready to be combined with other similar barrels and bottled.

Each bottle from this distillery is double-sealed when the workers dip each full bottle and cap into red wax.

Following the tour, we participated in a tasting of the two bourbon varieties from the distillery...and also some bourbon-flavored chocolates! It was a good way to spend a beautiful morning in Kentucky.