To begin our Bourbon Trail trip, we headed from our home in Cincinnati to Bardstown, Kentucky. We had made reservations at a nice little campground - White Acres Campground - who allowed us to select two adjacent sites and pull-in facing opposite directions so that we essentially shared a large open space with the other couple who was camping with us. The campground staff was in a meeting when we arrived, so about 30 minutes after arriving and setting up, the host came to our site personally to apologize and check us in at our site. The sites we selected were mostly level and very shady - in fact most of the campground sites were quite shaded from the beautiful mature trees there. We did not use the showers (we tend to shower in our own RV on short trips), but the restrooms were fine - not the best we've seen, but certainly not the worst. Interestingly, the campground host told us that the meeting they were attending was about the upcoming installation of a solar array in the field in front of the campground. Within the next year, the campground intends to be a completely solar campground! That's a bonus in our book, considering we live in a passive-solar, solar-electric green home! We had a full day of distillery touring planned, so we set up quickly, grabbed a quick lunch in the RV, and headed out to our first stop - Heaven Hill. See the map below for all of our Day #1 stops:
At Heaven Hill, we signed up for the more in-depth Concierge Tour, which ended up being a private tour for the four of us - SCORE! Before our tour, we explored the onsite bourbon museum which illustrated the history of distilling and the history of whiskey and bourbon in the U.S. including why Kentucky, specifically, is the bourbon capital of the world (the limestone spring water!) Then we spent over 30 minutes listening to our guide give the history and modern facts about Heaven Hill, including the fire in the mid-1990's that both my husband and I remember. The fire almost ruined the business, but they were able to persevere and rebound the company. Then we began to taste the bourbon, first learning "how" to properly taste the bourbon and what to look for - color, scent, flavor, and finish. We learned the definition of bourbon (what it is, and what it's not), and we learned the difference between ingredient blends that use rye, wheat, and other grains in their recipes. For example, my husband and I learned that we tend to prefer sweeter wheat blends that are tasted on the front of the tongue (like Maker's Mark), rather than the rye blends that are more bitter and hit you on the back of the tongue. The finish can range from a mild, smooth finish with a burn that is slight and goes away quickly - only warming the mouth area, to the bold spicy finish that warms you all the way to your toes. We also learned to smell and taste for the flavors brought out by the aging process in the white oak barrels - caramel, vanilla, cloves, cinnamon, etc. Keep in mind that these flavors are not additives, but naturally occurring flavors from the wood in the barrel. We learned how charring, aging, and weather conditions affect the flavor of the bourbon. Then we were able to taste three bourbons (Pikesville Rye, Henry McKenna 10 Year Bottled and Bonded, and Elijah Craig), and unfortunately, we also tasted a really bad (spoiled?) 25 year old whiskey.
(Please note: for this trip, I opted not to carry around my DSLR camera, so these photos are from the camera on my phone - which still does a great job for a camera phone. I love my Samsung Galaxy S6!)
Overall, Heaven Hill's Concierge Tour was the PERFECT way to start our tour of the Bourbon Trail. We learned so much and felt confident going into other tastings knowing what we were doing and what to look for in flavors. We also learned about how adding a few drops of water can make your bourbon "bloom" and why not to swirl or swish your bourbon in the glass (but I'll leave that for you to discover on your own!) The most important thing we learned is that the best way to drink bourbon is . . . any way you like it. Some like it straight up "neat" (room temp, no ice), some like it with water, some with ice, and some mixed with other things like Coke, coffee, eggnog, etc. We've recently purchased some "sipping stones" because most of the time we like our bourbon chilled a little, but not bloomed or watered down, although I don't mind one cube of ice every now and then.
After we left Heaven Hill, we headed to two other smaller distilleries in Bardstown - Willet and Barton. At both, they were either just starting production after a summer break, or just shutting down for a summer break, so instead of a tour, we just did a tasting. At Willet, they had many bourbons to choose from, and we were able select 2 different bourbons per person, but we ended up trying many more because we shared sips with each other. So we all tried to pick three different choices and share with each other. We tried Willet Pot Still Reserve (in its very unique bottle), Rowan's Creek, Pure Kentucky, Kentucky Vintage, and Noah's Mill. The Willet Distillery is small and rural in a beautiful location.
The Barton Distillery was in a more urban location, right in downtown Bardstown. The ladies there were super-fun and nice, and we were able to taste their 1792 Small Batch Bourbon, Chocolate Bourbon Ball Cream Liqueur, and something else I don't remember the name of and forgot to write down (sorry!) The Chocolate Liqueur was yummy and we bought some - it will be great in hot chocolate or coffee at Christmas!
After tasting bourbon all day, we made our way to the My Old Kentucky Home State Park where we were able to tour the historic mansion and walk through the grounds and gardens where we had some fun at the Stephen Foster statue.
After leaving the State Park, we headed to Talbot Tavern for dinner - a historic restaurant in downtown Bardstown. The interior atmosphere was more casual and less historic than we expected, although it was quiet and fine for us. Ken and Christopher ordered the Kentucky Hot Brown, Stefanie ordered a burger, and I ordered the fish over rice and green beans. Stefanie said her burger was good, Christopher and Ken said the Hot Brown was good, but small, and my fish was horrible. The fish was dry and crusty on the edges, and the rice was ice cold. I never do this, but I sent the rice back and asked for the mashed potatoes instead. They were warm, but so dry they flaked off my fork - even Ken tried them and said "Uh, those are terrible." My entire meal except for the green beans, tasted like it had been sitting out on a counter for at least a day. The green beans were good. Sigh. So, with dinner over, we took a quick stroll through the historic downtown area (much of which was closed) then headed back to the campground where we sat outside and chatted while we enjoyed various drinks.
