Bourbon. It's America's spirit. And some of the best is distilled a mere three hour drive South of Indianapolis. The Kentucky Bourbon Trail makes for a great weekend getaway, with it's history, its scenery, and (let's be honest) it's libations. In honor of my brother's 30th birthday and deep love of bourbon, six of us packed up for a weekend on the trail.
Our first stop, Buffalo Trace Distillery. Buffalo Trace is one of the oldest, continuously operating distilleries in the country. They managed this distinction by making a deal with the US government to distill medicinal whiskey during prohibition. Wait, I think I'm feeling a bit feverish...
I highly suggest you make time for both the tour and a tasting at Buffalo Trace. The tour includes an explanation of the bourbon making process and some of the guidelines bourbon makers must adhere to, a tour of a barrel warehouse, walkthrough of the bottling line, and a trip back in Kentucky history. The tour ends with a tasting. If you are not a big bourbon drinker - like me - try the Bourbon Cream. It's a lot like Bailey's Irish Cream, but made with bourbon. So it tastes like America. Freedom.
Buffalo Trace is an amazing site - perhaps partly because it was our first stop - but mostly because you can see the history in everything they do. From their hand-bottling line - no animatronics here folks - to it's distinguished brick barrel houses, this place is a great stop along the trail.
After Buffalo Trace, we headed to Woodford Reserve. While Buffalo Trace is steeped in history, Woodford Reserve is quintessential Kentucky. The drive from Buffalo Trace to Woodford Reserve takes you through rolling hills and past one horse farm after another. And, in case you haven't figured out that you are in the middle of horse country, you are greeted by a horse sculpture, made from old bourbon barrels at the entrance to Woodford Reserve. Unfortunately, we weren't in time for a tour at Woodford - be sure to watch your time if you want to tour every distillery, they all have scheduled tour times. However, the woman in charge of scheduling groups for tours graciously gave us tickets to the tasting room. So we each had our sample of Woodford Reserve bourbon and then headed out to explore the grounds on our own. Woodford is located on some pretty spectacular land. If you are looking for a place to break for lunch, this is a pretty amazing one. We set up a picnic on the banks of a little stream and enjoyed a peaceful break from our bourbon-drinking adventures.
Our last stop for the day was the Wild Turkey Distillery. Again, we did both a distillery tour and a tasting. Wild Turkey is interesting because it is a BIG distillery. What it lacked in history or refinement, it made up for with pure manufacturing science. At Wild Turkey you see first hand the business of bourbon. The fermenting vats, stills, and bottling rooms are streamlined for highly efficient bourbon production. You see quality control rooms, decked out with analytical instruments and staffed by chemists and techs. It's pretty incredible to see just how much bourbon this distillery can produce. As for the tasting experience, hope for a pretty day. We had one so we did our tasting on the back patio, in the sunshine. Wild Turkey offers about nine different tasting options (you can actually sample only two) so you can customize your tasting experience to your own preferences. A big hit with the other two women in our group was the bourbon infused with honey. I personally thought it was a little too sweet, but I rarely like honey-based drinks. The true bourbon enthusiasts in our group enjoyed the rye and also some of the older bourbons offered.
One of the most challenging aspects of our trip into Bourbon Country was finding a place to stay. We had six people in our group and we really wanted to be able to spend a lot of time hanging out with each other. While bed and breakfasts are plentiful throughout the trail, they were not precisely what we were looking for. So, after several weeks of scouring Yelp, Google, and Tripadvisor, we happened upon the perfect place: Walnut Grove Farm. I cannot recommend strongly enough a stay at Walnut Grove Farm. It is AMAZING. Seriously, call Leon (the owner) and book a weekend.
Accommodations at Walnut Grove Farm are in an old dairy barn that has been completely rehabbed and converted into a lodge. It has four bedrooms, a loft, a full kitchen, three patios, a sitting room with fireplace, and a dining room. Leon is so incredibly welcoming and friendly and so very helpful. The location is spectacular - with hiking trails, a creek, a horse, a trampoline, and beautiful panoramic views of the Kentucky countryside.
Before leaving Indianapolis, we had loaded up on meats from Claus' Meats in Fountain Square, wine from Mass Ave Wine Shoppe, beer, bread, cheeses, and veggies. So we had a grill-fest for dinner. Naturally, some bourbon was also consumed. We hung out on the patios, jumped on the trampoline, hiked the trails, waded the creeks, and enjoyed time together. Seriously, Walnut Grove Farms was the perfect spot for our overnight stay down in Bourbon Country.
On Sunday we headed to Bardstown, KY. Bardstown is a quaint little town, steeped in its bourbon heritage. Heaven Hill distillery is located in Bardstown - and this was our eventual goal. However, we had some time to kill, so we spent about an hour walking through downtown Bardstown, taking in the sights. At noon we headed over to Heaven Hill to do a mini-tour and a tasting. Honestly, Heaven Hill was the least remarkable of the five distilleries we visited. Perhaps the highlight for me was being able to sample all of the sauces, jams, and syrups they have made that are infused with bourbon. It's an interesting mix of sweet and savory flavors they sell. I ended up buying a bottle of their Fighting Cock barbecue sauce to take home because it was such a great balance of heat and bourbon sweetness.
Our final stop on our two-day bourbon adventure was Maker's Mark. Now, I know it looks a little out of the way when you look at a map but I would encourage anyone looking to experience the bourbon trail to make the time and effort to get there. It is gorgeous. And, well, it's Maker's Mark. Maker's Mark was unique to our trail experience because it was the only distillery that used sweet red winter wheat in its bourbon instead of rye. This makes Maker's Mark a smoother, sweeter spirit than other bourbons on the trail. Maker's Mark is another big distillery, yet they have made a concerted effort to make their site a destination. Every building on site honors the heritage of the Maker's Mark brand - check out the shutters if you don't believe me - and is designed to be both visually pleasing and historically accurate. The fermenting vats on the tour wood, the barrel house is rustic, and the entire grounds is beautifully landscaped. It's truly a lovely destination. Perhaps one of the coolest tourist attractions at Maker's Mark is the bottle-dipping station. You are able to purchase an un-dipped bottle of Maker's Mark and then, with the assistance of a staff person, dip you own bottle in the iconic red Maker's Mark wax.
The Kentucky Bourbon Trail makes an incredible weekend adventure for when you are looking to get out of the city and enjoy some peace, quiet, and bourbon. However, if you aren't a bourbon drinker, don't let that keep you from making this trip. I'm not a bourbon drinker, and no amount of tasting convinced me otherwise, but the countryside and distilleries offer enough in the way of history and scenery that the trip was still a complete success. I always like to remind readers to make sure they take some time for themselves. The Kentucky Bourbon Trail is a great - and inexpensive - weekend getaway for any adult.
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