Hiking at Buckley Wildlife Sanctuary

Mary made an excellent breakfast casserole from a recipe for Holiday Scramble that her friend, Dawn, gave her. The mix of eggs, sausage and cheese was excellent and we all enjoyed it. While the casserole was baking, I put a pound of bacon in the oven and we had a few slices with the casserole.

Sampling bourbon at Castle & Key Distillery

Mary, Cindy and I went to the early service at church then came back to the house and changed clothes to go for an outing. We drove to the Glenn’s Creek area near Frankfort where we stopped at Castle and Key Distillery in the old E. H. Taylor Distillery that had sat vacant for many years before the recent renovation. The grounds at Castle and Key are beautiful and we walked around the botanical trail then bought a flight of bourbons made at the distillery. I believe that everyone preferred the wheat whiskey over the other offerings.

Castle & Key Distillery

We drove the short distance to the Glenn’s Creek Distillery in the former Old Crow Distillery. We didn’t go into the distillery but just turned in the parking area. Our hike for the day was at Buckley Wildlife Sanctuary, a privately owned property. We put a donation in the box then selected one of the longer hikes taking us through the wooded areas and meadows. There wasn’t much elevation change making the hike easy. We pulled some invasive garlic mustard plants as we walked. Once we returned to the parking area, we sat in the bird blind and watched the large variety of birds at the feeders. There were several bird identification books in the blind and pictures lined the walls of some of the birds that are frequently seen from the blind.

Hiking at Buckley Wildlife Sanctuary

After leaving the nature preserve we drove to Woodford Reserve Distillery. We hadn’t scheduled a visit so we briefly walked around the visitor center and gift shop then came home.

Mary made her popular Schmidt’s meatloaf recipe with spätzle, Caesar salad and a few stalks of asparagus from our garden. We watched some episodes of Swamp People and Serpent Invasion on Philo before going to bed.

Castle and Key Distillery

The Old Taylor Distillery near Frankfort, Kentucky has long interested us because of the appearance of the limestone structures that resemble a European castle.  Built by the flamboyant Col. E. H. Taylor in the late 1890s after a trip to Europe where he was taken with the beauty of the medieval castles. 

Aristocratically born and descended from two U. S. presidents (James Madison and Zachery Taylor), Col. Taylor had expensive tastes and was accustomed to getting what he wanted.  His title of Colonel was not from service in the military but, like Colonel Sanders, was because he was a Kentucky Colonel.  Taylor came to distilling because of his role as a banker in funding several distilleries.  He was very innovative in his introduction of copper fermentation vats, column stills and the use of steam heat in rickhouses.  Perhaps his greatest contribution to the bourbon industry was his influence in establishing the Bottled in Bond Act of 1897.  This provision assured purity of bourbon at a time when getting unadulterated spirits was nearly impossible.  The Bottled in Bond Act required bourbon sold with the designation “Bottled-in-Bond” to be 100 proof, be distilled in one six month season, stored in government inspected warehouses for a minimum of four years.  Bottled in Bond bourbon labels included the location of distillation and bottling in the U. S.  Probably not coincidentally, many of the provisions of the Bottled in Bond Act favored Col. Taylor’s bourbon operations.

Castle and Key bourbon in storage

After launching Old Fire Copper (OFC) Distillery (now called Buffalo Trace Distillery) in Frankfort, Taylor wanted to build a distillery that was a destination center.  While most distilleries at the end of the 1800s were intended to produce whiskey quickly, Col. Taylor wanted to make his distillery as well as the bourbon to be an attraction.  He set to have the grounds of the distillery beautifully landscaped and prepared for visitors.  His political influence brought a rail line to run by his distillery along with many visitors.  He also had the world’s longest masonry rickhouse.  This steam heated storage facility could age an unbelievable quantity of bourbon barrels to maturity.  The distillery was in operation from 1897 through 1972 when it closed and was abandoned.  The facility began a decline that appeared to lead to demolition over the 40+ years that the facility sat empty. 

Restored gardens at Castle and Key

Since the former Old Taylor Distillery is just a stone’s throw from the Woodford Reserve Distillery along Glenn’s Creek near Millville, Kentucky, we have driven past the abandoned structure many times.  We have admired the beauty of the limestone castle and wished that we could walk through it.  A couple of years ago it appeared that our wish would some day be granted when we saw renovations taking place.  Although the temptation to trespass to see the progress of the restoration was very tempting, we settled for taking photos from the road.  When we read that a group was planning to return the Old Taylor site to the former glory of 100 years ago, we were overjoyed.  We learned that a talented young master distiller was recruited who has big plans to make great spirits in an inspiring location.  The name, Castle and Key, was chosen because of the castle appearance of the main distillery building and the keyhole shaped spring from which the water for the bourbon is drawn. 

Keyhole shaped spring

My pal, Greg, is just as taken with the idea of touring Castle and Key as I am so we had to go visit.  Advance tickets for tours were sold on a very limited basis and tours of the distillery are to end in late May 2018 so renovation and restoration can continue on pace.  We were happy to be able to get into the facility before many changes are made. 

We left Huntington around 9 am and drive to Central Kentucky stopping at Rural King to pick up a few items.  I needed additional diesel tanks for the tractor fuel and Greg wanted to look at the bargains on blue jeans. We stopped by the Georgetown house to drop off some things and to let Greg drive the tractor around some.  We left shortly for the drive to Castle and Key arriving about 30 minutes early for our 2:30 pm tour.  We started in the original yeast room that was done in white tile that would have been easy to clean for maintaining the yeast cultures.  

Steel fermentation vats

We went to the fermentation room and was shocked to learn how many large fermentation tuns were in the room.  I didn’t fully understand why the steel tanks with a thin coating of oxidation didn’t cause problems with the fermentation.  I know that iron is the enemy of bourbon which is why the barrels have no nails so I want to learn more about the steel vats.  Our guide told us that the distillery is currently making spirits for other distillers until production gets in full swing on Castle and Key products. 

Stainless steel column still for making vodka and gin

We saw where the giant old column still once stood which was removed to make way for a smaller Vendome copper bourbon column still that is more efficient on the scale that is expected at Castle and Key.  There also a small stainless steel column still for making vodka and gin.  This still has a chamber that can be packed with botanicals.  The gin can pass through the chamber as a vapor to pick up flavors to give the gin the characteristic flavors. 

Formal gardens for event venues

We walked through the beautiful gardens that will once again host weddings, corporate gatherings and other events.  There is also a garden where herbs are grown to be used in the making of gin and flavored vodkas.  These gardens were so overgrown that the restoration crew didn't even know that there was a concrete pond at the center.  The over half century of neglect had nearly destroyed all of the structures that were once so elegant.  We continued to the huge brick rickhouse where the barrels of bourbon are stored.  They also store many barrels for other distillers to help make ends meet until the Castle and Key bourbon is ready to sell in about four years.  It was interesting to learn that the income from storing other distillers’ barrels ($2 per barrel per month) keeps the company in the black even before any bourbon is sold.  

Large brick rickhouse

Because time had done so much damage to the rickhouses, a lot of work had to be done to make it functional as a place to store bourbon for many years.  Although we were unable to enter it, we saw another large concrete rickhouse that had been gutted and all of the metal barrel racks had been sold for scrap.  New racks are being constructed for the facility that will return as a rickhouse once completed. 

We completed our tour in the bar area adjacent to the gift shop.  Our guide served mixed drinks to us made from Castle and Key gin and vodka since it will be several years before there is bourbon.  Although neither Greg nor I are fans of vodka and gin, we enjoyed the drinks.  We took a few photos on the way out and started the drive back to Huntington.  We stopped at Mount Sterling so Greg could get his Krystal Burger then we drove on to Owingsville near Morehead where we stopped at good local Mexican restaurant for dinner. 

Barrel ramp

We had a great day at Castle and Key.  Getting to spend a day with Greg was fun enough but getting to see the Old Taylor Distillery being brought back to life was a thrill.  We hope to come back for future tours as the renovations progress. 

Kentucky Bourbon Trail with Rex

I had some vacation days that I needed to use before the end of 2017 so I took off on the afternoon of Thursday, December 7 to drive to Central Kentucky to visit some nearby distilleries.  It was especially great that my friend of 40 years, Rex Dillinger, was able to make the visits with me. 

I picked up Rex at noon and we made the drive to Georgetown, Kentucky in a little over two hours.  Once there, we unloaded a few items at the house and walked around the property.  The weather was windy and cool but not uncomfortable in the sun.  We took a drive around the Georgetown area and stopped at the Royal Spring Park that was the site of Rev. Elijah Craig’s distillery.  The spring is now the source of city water for Georgetown residents.  The Bourbon 30 Distillery is across the street from the spring but since we were there after business hours, we were unable to visit and only looked into the windows. 

We drove around a bit more then met Emily at New Thai Garden in Georgetown.  Emily had her usual drunken noodle, I had my usual Pad Thai and Rex had yellow curry.  We all enjoyed our meals.  After dinner, Rex and I drove back to the Finnell Road house and chatted until around 9 pm before turning in.  Since there is no television or Internet at the house, we enjoyed talking and reading until we fell asleep.

We awoke early around 4 am and had a couple cups of tea and did a few things around the house.  Once the sun came up and we got hungry we grabbed a quick McDonald’s breakfast then stopped at Frank’s Donuts for a treat.  We drove south on I-75 then west on I-64 to the Four Roses Distillery.  Since the distillery was still under construction, we were unable to visit the operation but had a nice talk from a guide who shared the history of Four Roses with us and explained the 10 recipes that make up Four Roses bourbon.  We thought that it was especially interesting that Four Roses was one of the most popular bourbons in the 1930s and 1940s.  In fact, the iconic Alfred Eisenstaedt photo of a sailor kissing a nurse in Times Square on VJ Day shows a billboard for Four Roses in the background.  Because of the preference for Four Roses by American military personnel, the Japanese are a major market for Four Roses.

Since we didn’t take a full tour at Four Roses, we had some extra time so we drove the short distance to the Wild Turkey Distillery.  We were thrilled that Master Distiller, Jimmy Russell, in the visitor center.  I was able to chat with him for a good while and even took a few snapshots.  Jimmy is a legend in the bourbon industry and is such a great ambassador for bourbon.  We had been on a tour with his son, Eddie, in March 2015 but meeting Jimmy was a special treat.  We did the tour of the operations with our guide, Edwina, then came back to the visitor center for a tasting of several of Wild Turkey’s spirits.  The room with dozens of stainless steel fermentation tanks, each of which holds 30,000 gallons, was especially impressive.

From Wild Turkey we drove to the Old Taylor Distillery that was built in 1887.  The distillery is being refurbished to reopen as Castle and Key Distillery.  The building is an attractive structure modeled on castles that Col. Taylor saw while traveling in Europe.  We look forward to visiting the new distillery soon.  We also drove past the now closed Old Crow Distillery where Jim Beam Bourbon is now stored.  The historic rickhouses are still in good shape but the distillery building appears to be in ruins.

We made the short drive from Old Taylor to the Woodford Reserve Distillery.  We had scheduled a 1 pm tour but since we were running early, we were able to get a tour at 12:40.  The copper Scottish pot stills used at Woodford make a much lower volume of bourbon than the giant column stills at Wild Turkey.  We especially enjoyed the beautiful limestone rickhouses that date back to the 1830s.  Our guide took us through the fermentation room where cypress tanks holding 7,500 gallons convert corn, rye and malted barley into alcohol.  We visited the room with three copper pot stills that were imported from Scotland.  After our tour we sampled Woodford Distiller’s Select, Woodford Double Oaked and Woodford Rye.

After leaving Woodford, we drove to Town Branch Distillery and walked around the visitor center that is modeled on a street scene from Dublin, Ireland which was the home of Town Branch’s founder, Pearse Lyons.  We especially liked the highly lacquered finish on the storefronts.  We didn’t take a tour or do a tasting but chatted with a few people in the visitor center.

From Town Branch we drove to the Liquor Barn in Hamburg where we bought a few things including some Christmas presents.  We continued on to the nearby Woodcraft Store where Rex bought some screws for Kreg joints.  By then we were hungry and went to Zaxby’s for lunch.  We both had the 5 piece chicken meal which we both enjoyed.  After finishing our meal we make the two hour drive home.

May Kentucky Bourbon Trail Visits

To complete the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, Mary and I took a day of vacation to head to some of the distilleries in the Lexington/Frankfort area. We left home at 6 am and headed West on I-64 toward our first stop in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky.

We have been to the Four Roses Distillery several times before and we really like their bourbons. The regular Four Roses Yellow Label is a very good bourbon and an excellent value. The last time we did a tour at Four Roses, we were very disappointed. Apparently, one of the tour guides didn't come in and another distillery employee was reluctantly conscripted to take our group on a tour. Throughout the tour he made it very clear that he didn't normally guide and didn't enjoy taking groups through the distillery. All in all, we didn't have the most pleasant experience on our tour. Because we like Four Roses Bourbon and we knew that one bad guide shouldn't shape our opinions of the distillery, we decided to take the tour again today.

Since we arrived at the Four Roses Distillery a little before their opening at 9 am, we walked around the grounds and enjoyed the beautiful cool spring morning. While waiting outside the visitor center, we met some nice couples from Maryland and Virginia. They were planning to spend several days in the area visiting distilleries and doing some shopping.

We were able to get in the first tour which departed the visitor center at 9 am. In addition to the Maryland and Virginia couples, there was a group of people from a local winery who were studying the success of the Bourbon Trail and evaluating whether some of the marketing could be applied to the wine industry. 

Before starting the tour, we watched a short video that described the bourbon industry in central Kentucky and the 10 mashbill/yeast strain combinations made at Four Roses. The tour group built to over 20 people by the time we left the visitor center.

The young man guiding our group had a headset microphone and a speaker on a sling but he appeared to have trouble using the technology. He didn't get the speaker to work until about midway through the tour so we had difficulty hearing much of the information. The guide took us through the areas where grains are received then ground and cooked into a mash that converts the starches in the grain into fermentable sugars. From there, we went to the huge fermenters where the cooked grain, water and yeast are allowed to ferment converting the sugars into alcohol. The smell in this room was great with the aroma of working yeast, cooked grain and wafting carbon dioxide. Some of the older mash tuns were constructed of wood while others were new stainless steel tanks. These giant tubs have a capacity of over 16,000 gallons of fermenting mash. We were surprised to learn that one inch of mash in the fermenter has over 95 gallons of mash.

The Four Roses column stills were beautiful copper structures that extract the ethanol or white dog from the relatively low alcohol concentration of the fermented mash or “low beer” coming from the fermenters after several days of fermentation by the specified yeast strains. The white dog flows through a try box in a gushing stream.

The guide told us that after aging in new white oak casks, the bourbon is bottled at the Cox's Creek facility near Bardstown, Kentucky. We made a note to be certain to visit this location on our next trip to Bardstown. It was interesting the Four Roses uses single story rickhouses to age their casked bourbon. They contend that this gives uniformity to the aging process since it is well documented that bourbon ages differently in different levels of the rickhouses. Having only one level eliminates that variable. We made our way to the tasting room as our tour neared conclusion. The guide had to refer to notes on his phone as he described each of the Four Roses selections he had available. 

Although we were hoping to sample some of the Four Roses bourbons that are only available in Japan, we were able to compare the Four Roses Yellow Label, Four Roses Small Batch and Four Roses Single Barrel. Because we tend to prefer bourbon with less rye in the mashbill, we liked the yellow label best among the group. The added rye spiciness of the other Four Roses bourbons would be great for mixing but I would likely buy a less pricey bourbon if I were going to mix it.

We made a quick walk around the gift shop as we were leaving then made our way to the car. Although this tour at Four Roses was better than our 2011 visit, this is still the least informative distillery tour that we have taken. The Mediterranean architecture of the distillery is beautiful, the process is interesting and the bourbon is good. Unlike some distillery tours, Four Roses takes visitors through many production areas of the distillery where there is informative signage in multiple languages. However, we believe that the guide's training and personality makes the difference in an acceptable tour and one that is truly memorable.

The trip from Four Roses to Wild Turkey was a short drive through a pretty part of Kentucky. When Sarah and I visited the Wild Turkey distillery in 2002, the bourbon boom had not started and the distillery took few tours and didn't have a major visitor center. In fact, because Sarah was so young, they staff there was reluctant to allow her to tour and wouldn't give her a souvenir shot glass. When we were there the last time in 2011, the visitor center was small but well organized. The tour was very good through the high capacity fermenting and distilling operations. It is apparent that Wild Turkey is well positioned to take advantage in the resurgence in the popularity of bourbon.

When we arrived this year, we first noticed that the old visitor center appeared to have been leveled and a winding road took us to a beautiful new visitor center that is modern in appearance yet maintains the look of an old rickhouse. As we entered the visitor center, an industry group was departing in the Wild Turkey tour bus being guided by Eddie Russell. Since we had taken the tour at Wild Turkey at least two times in the past few years, we opted to not take the tour on this visit. Rather, we wanted to see the new visitor center. There was a nice display of posters and artifacts describing the history of the Wild Turkey Distillery and the making of their bourbon. We didn't stay long at the Wild Turkey visitor center before leaving to make the drive to Woodford Reserve. As we were leaving the visitor center and walking to the parking lot, we saw several people from our Four Roses tour walking toward the Wild Turkey visitor center.

The drive on winding country roads from Wild Turkey in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky to Woodford Reserve in Versailles, Kentucky was absolutely gorgeous. The weather couldn't have been better and the horse farms along the way were beautiful. Like many of the Kentucky distilleries, the buildings are beautiful at Labrot and Graham Woodford Reserve Distillery. Unlike other distilleries we have visited, many of Woodford's rickhouse are constructed of local Kentucky limestone. These rickhouses give unique aging conditions for the barrels of Woodford Reserve.

The interior of the Woodford Reserve visitor center has been completely remodeled since our last visit three years ago. The tasting room, reception area and gift shop are all very attractive, very open and bathed in natural light. The front porch at the visitor center is a great place to sit and enjoy the day, perhaps with a snack from the snack bar inside. We saw a number of people from our 9 am Four Roses tour who were preparing from the Woodford Reserve tour.

We had done the tour at Woodford Reserve several times recently so we didn't feel a need to take the same tour again today. We would like to come back and take the “Corn to Cork” tour which is a more in-depth look at processes at Woodford Reserve. However, this tour requires reservations and is only available on Tuesdays and Thursdays so we decided to take this tour another time. We got our lunch of roast beef on rye sandwiches from the cooler and ate as we left the parking area at Woodford.

We drove from Woodford Reserve to Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, Kentucky. This is our favorite distillery tour by far. In addition, Buffalo Trace makes our favorite bourbon, Eagle Rare. Although we have taken the tour at Buffalo Trace several times in the past two years, it just never gets old so we decided to take the tour again. Our guide, Jimmy, was very well informed about the history of the Buffalo Trace Distillery, the process of making bourbon and the types of bourbon produced by Buffalo Trace as well as other major distillers. Perhaps the best thing about our guide was that he had a ton of charm and a generous dose of humor. He patiently answered questions and educated the group about making Buffalo Trace bourbons and other spirits like Wheatley Vodka.

Jimmy started in the visitor center with a little history of distilleries in Kentucky and how each survived (or failed to survive) restrictions of thirteen dry years during prohibition. We took a short walk around the grounds then saw a short video of the area's history and the making of bourbon. From there we entered a rickhouse where barrels of some of the experimental bourbons are being aged.

We learned that Buffalo Trace uses different mashbills in their bourbons. Mashbill #1 is a balanced blend of grains that is lower in rye (about 10%) than other mashbills. This formulation is used in Eagle Rare (our favorite), Old Charter, George T. Stagg, Col. E. H. Taylor, Buffalo Trace and Benchmark bourbons. Mashbill #2 has more rye and is used to make Ancient Age, Elmer T. Lee, Rock Hill Farms, Hancock's Reserve and Blanton's Reserve. The wheated mashbill from Buffalo Trace goes into the W. L. Weller and Van Winkle bourbons. Buffalo Trace also makes Sazarac and Thomas Handy rye whiskeys.

On our way to the bottling room where Blanton's Reserve, Eagle Rare and Van Winkle bourbons are hand bottled we passed barrels of newly casked bourbon rolling from the filling cistern to the rickhouse elevators on specially designed tracks. The tracks are laid out with a gentle slope so the heavy filled barrels of bourbon move from filling to the rickhouse mostly by gravity.

In the filling room, barrels of each bourbon are emptied into stainless steel tanks, passed through a filter to remove any particulates from the barrels and tested for alcohol concentration. Some bourbons are adjusted to a standard proof with only filtered water being added. Other bourbons like Blanton's Reserve are bottled at barrel strength with the proof of the bourbon being hand written on each label.

Watching the Buffalo Trace employees in the bottling area it is evident that they are proud to have a role in making fine bourbon available to bourbon lovers. Although the bottling, corking and labeling are all done by hand, the rate of production is amazing. These people are consummate professionals.

We ended up at the tasting room where we sampled Buffalo Trace bourbon and Wheatley Vodka as well the white dog that is aged to make Buffalo Trace Bourbon. Although we are not generally vodka drinkers, the Wheatley Vodka was interesting. The Buffalo Trace master distiller, Harlen Wheatley, makes this vodka from wheat grain that has been distilled 159 times for incredible purity. We finished with a shot of Buffalo Trace Bourbon Cream and a bourbon ball candy, both of which were very good.

As always, our guide was excellent and the tour of Buffalo Trace Distillery was very pleasant. Although we have taken a number of tours there, we always leave anxious to come back. We promised to make our next visit one of the Hardhat Tours that visits areas of the distillery that are not normally seen on the regular tours. We walked around the gift shop but since we have a generous supply of Eagle Rare and Buffalo Trace Bourbon Cream on hand at home, we made no purchases but started back toward Lexington, Kentucky.

We had no problem finding Town Branch Distillery in Lexington. I had been to this newer distillery last year with my future son-in-law, Ian but Mary had never visited here. The owner of Alltech, Pearce Lyons, had the distillery reception area and gift shop designed to resemble an Irish street scene. The wooden displays at Town Branch were so finely lacquered that they appeared to be made of plastic. We paid the $7 fee and started the tour. Only two other people were on the tour with us, two friends from the Lawrenceburg area.

We started in the area where the beers are made, many of which are stored in used bourbon barrels prior to putting in bottles or kegs. The first tasting room was for the wide selections of beer, ale and cider made at Town Branch. Neither of us is especially fond of beer, some of the choices were very pleasant. IPAs (India Pale Ale) are generally too bitter or hoppy for us but I liked the Kolsch, a beer variety from the Cologne area of Germany. Mary liked the Kentucky Peach Barrel Wheat best. The tasting area also had a stout, porter, ale and barrel aged beers. Their best selling product is Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale. When we checked prices at local discount package stores like Liquor Barn, we saw that this beer sells for over $2 per bottle in a four pack.

From the beer tasting area, we walked into the room with the two beautiful large copper pot stills. We were met by master distiller, Mark Coffman, who shared interesting information about making the spirits produced by Alltech. It is obvious that Mark is very hands-on and takes a lot of pride in maintaining the highest quality of products at Town Branch. Like the rest of the facility, the room with the stills is very attractive. The stills are the room's focal points with the condensers coming together at the copper try box. The walls are covered with local limestone and displays are placed in the room to educate and inform visitors about the bourbon making process. Fermentation takes place in large wooden tanks filling the room with the sweet smells of grain and fermentation. Town Branch stores their aging bourbon in rickhouses owned by Four Roses but the spirits are returned to Town Branch for hand bottling.

At the tasting area, we sampled Town Branch Bourbon and Pearce Lyon's Reserve malt whiskey. We were very familiar with Town Branch Bourbon having just finished a bottle that was a gift from my friend, Dennis Adkins. The bourbon is in a beautiful square bottle that is just too nice to dispose of once the bourbon is gone. Although not our favorite bourbon, Town Branch is very drinkable and is attractively priced at most stores. The Pearce Lyon's Reserve is a malt whiskey that is somewhat like the Irish whiskeys of Dr. Lyon's home country. In some ways, the Pearce Lyon's Reserve is like a single malt Scotch whiskey but lacks the smoky peat nose and taste. Our last sample for the day was the most interesting, Bluegrass Sundown, which is a concentrated coffee infused with bourbon and sugar. Bluegrass Sundown is mixed with hot water and heavy cream is floated on top for a very pleasant after dinner cordial. We cruised the gift shop and reception area before leaving the Town Branch Distillery.

Our visit to Town Branch was the final stop in Kentucky Bourbon Trail so we attempted to submit our completed passports as evidence of our visits and redeem our Kentucky Bourbon Trail T-shirts. However, after walking around much of downtown Lexington looking for an office for the Kentucky Distillers’ Association without success, we decided to give up and mail our passports to the mail drop address given in the passports.

We met Emily and Ian at their apartment and decided that we were in the mood for Mexican food. Each of us have had good meals at the nearby Mi Pequena Hacienda so we made our decision to go there. Ian had a burrito, Mary had roasted pork and vegetables, Emily and I had mole poblano. The mole there is some of the best I have ever had. It was dark and rich but with no burnt flavor or off tastes. It wasn't red or sweet like many mole recipes but was thick and savory with hints of coffee and cocoa complementing but not hiding the flavor of toasted sesame. We all enjoyed our meals.

We dropped Emily and Ian off at their place then drove home. By the time we got home then returned the rental car to Enterprise, it was after 10 pm and we went to bed straightaway. It was a very long but quite good day. We always enjoy our visits to the distilleries of Kentucky and this trip was among the best. We had perfect weather, none of the locations was especially crowded and we had planned our route to sequence our visits in the most efficient way. We are already looking forward to returning to several distilleries, especially to the Hardhat Tour at Buffalo Trace.

We visited each of the eight distilleries on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail in April and May of this year. In addition, we visited seven of the nine craft distilleries Craft Tour leaving only Old Pogue in Maysville and the newly opened New Riff adjacent to The Party Source in Newport, Kentucky. Since both of these on the route to Cincinnati, we plan to visit these two distilleries soon.

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