Lebanon, Kentucky

Greg & I were awake at 5 am since that is the usual wake-up time for both of us so we chatted a bit and planned our day before going down to the breakfast area of the Ramada Inn in Elizabethtown.  We departed for Lebanon, Kentucky by 8 am and arrived at Independent Stave around 9 am for a 9:30 tour of the cooperage.  We were very impressed with the quality and craftsmanship of barrel production at the facility that produces aging casks for most Kentucky Bourbon producers as well as for many wines and other products.  The tour took us through the stages of making barrels from the point where the logs enter the facility to the finished barrels that are ready to hold raw white whiskey for many years in the rickhouses to make fine Kentucky Bourbon.  Many of the barrels from Independent Stave are reused after storing and aging Bourbon.  These barrels may hold Tennessee whiskey, Scotch, hot sauce or other liquids that would benefit from aging in a 53 gallon charred white oak barrel.

There was a group of about 10 men from Wisconsin on the tour of Independent Stave with us.  These men are a bunch of friends who enjoy Bourbon and are visiting some of the Central Kentucky distilleries.  They were a very friendly group and we saw them several times throughout the day as well traveled to distilleries.

When we left Independent Stave around 10:30, we drove the short distance to Limestone Branch Distillery where Steve and Paul Beam make their moonshines and whiskeys.  We were met by a pleasant and gregarious host, Stephen, at Limestone Branch who gave us updates to everything that Limestone Branch is doing since our last visit there in April 2014.  Perhaps the biggest news is the release of Old Yellowstone by Limestone Branch.  This is an old brand that was made by Steve & Paul’s maternal ancestors, the Dant Family.  Old Yellowstone has been considered a bottom shelf recently and the Steve Beam wanted to restore the pride in the family’s product. 

To that end, he found some great old barrels of 7 year old Bourbon, 7 year old rye and 12 year old rye and blended them together to make an excellent whiskey.  Old Yellowstone is bottled at 105 proof to honor the 105 years that the brand has been out of the Beam family control.  Because of the blend, Old Yellowstone has an excellent taste and mouthfeel with an incredible finish.  The 105 proof made the first taste start a bit hot and the high rye in the mashbill made it seem very spice forward but the second sip of Old Yellowstone was an explosion of taste with the infamous “Kentucky Hug” in the chest.  With supplies of the component rye and Bourbon going into Old Yellowstone, the supplies are very limited and the price is a bit high at $150 or so for a bottle.  However, the experience was quite good.

While at the tasting, we tried Limestone Branch’s Precinct No. 6 whiskey.  This whiskey is corn whiskey that has been aged in used Bourbon barrels.  Like all of Limestone branch’s other products, this is another quality spirit.  There were distinct vanilla and cinnamon notes with just enough oak in the nose.  The taste carried the subtle corn flavor with hints of smoke and almond.  It was a pleasant drink.  We also tried some of the moonshines while we were there.  I always enjoy the T. J. Pottttinger Sugar Shine and Mary likes some of his flavored moonshines.  I decided to sample the jalapeno pepper moonshine this time.  It wasn’t unpleasant but just not what I expected.  I don’t know that I would purchase a bottle because I will stick with his regular Sugar Shine.  While we were at the tasting, Steve Beam came out and chatted with us.  It is clear how much passion for the spirits at Limestone Branch and for the Beam family name he has.  Steve shared a ton of information with us about many of the members of the Beam family from Jacob Boehme to Minor Case Beam, Jim Beam and Toddy Beam.  Having Steve Been come and meet with us was a highlight of the trip.

Our guide, Stephen, took us into the small but efficient distillery where we saw blue plastic drums and used oak whiskey barrels for mash tubs and the copper pot still at work.  We sampled the 160 proof white dog that, after taking our breath momentarily, was actually very flavorful.  We saw the small storage area where Limestone Branch spirits are barrel aged and the two bottling lines.  The entire operation was very compact and designed to operate with a small staff.  We finished our visit to Limestone Branch in the gift shop, buying a few things before heading to Maker’s Mark.

We got to the new Maker’s Mark visitor center at noon and got tickets for the 12:30 tour.  The trip to Maker’s Mark from Lebanon was much easier since there is a new road that is far less winding.  We also learned that there is a new larger parking area and a new visitor center.  Greg’s Coast Guard service got him a free tour and mine was only $9.  We walked around the grounds some as we waited for our tour to begin.  The group was very large and included a variety of people.  There was even a man there wearing a Marshall sweatshirt who was visiting from Berlin, Germany.  He apparently has family in the Huntington area. 

We walked to facilities where grain is stored and ground, to the mash cookers and fermentation areas.  We went to the large column stills where Maker’s Mark is distilled twice before going into the barrels for storage.  In the rickhouse, we saw how Maker’s Mark stores their aging Bourbon and that they are among a very few Bourbon makers who rotate barrels in the rickhouses during the aging process.  

After leaving the rickhouse, we went to the high tech bottling facility where Maker’s Mark bottles are filled and dipped in hot wax before being boxed for shipment to distributors.  From the bottling and shipping center we walked the short distance to one of the new tasting rooms where we tried the white dog, Maker’s Mark, Maker’s Mark 46 and Maker’s Mark Cask Strength.  We enjoyed all of the sample but we were already very familiar with Maker’s Mark Bourbons with the exception of the Cask Strength.  While it was a very high proof intense Bourbon, it was not rough at all and full of Bourbon flavor.  The wheat mashbill made for a very sweet taste with a ton of caramel and oak.  The Cask Strength wasn’t subtle at all but was a serious Bourbon that was, despite the 114 proof, very good to drink.

Of course, the tour ended at the gift shop where we bought a few items while was chatted with some of the other visitors on the tour.  We left Maker’s Mark around 2 pm and headed back to Bardstown where we hoped to visit Barton Brand’s 1792 Distillery.

When we arrived in the Bardstown, Kentucky home of Barton Brands, we saw a large group of visitors.  Fortunately, this was a prior tour that was just leaving.  As we waited on our tour to begin we enjoyed the intoxicating aromas coming from the mash cookers, fermenters and stills.  The shifting winds brought a variety of wonderful smells as we waited in the afternoon autumn sun. There were only four other people in the group with our tour, a couple from Austin, Texas and a couple from Amarillo, Texas.  Our young and enthusiastic guide, Jerica, gave us a very good tour of most aspects of the Bourbon making processes at Barton Brands.  We went from grain delivery to cooking, fermentation, distillation and storage.  Unlike other Bourbon producers that we have visited, Barton’s 13 giant fermentation tubs are not inside a building.  Rather, Barton covers the containers and pipes water around the mash to heat or cool it depending on the weather.  We hoped to see the bottling operations but that area of the distillery is being renovated and tours will not be available there until spring or summer.

The number of beverages that are either distilled, prepared or bottled at the Bardstown Barton Brands Distillery is wide and varied.  We were familiar with 1792 Ridgemont Reserve Bourbon and Very Old Barton Bourbon.  We also learned that a number of vodka, gin, tequila and rum products are produced or bottled there.  Even the Margaritaville pre-mixed drinks are made there and distributed worldwide.  Our tour ended with a tasting of 1792 and a Bourbon cream liqueur before we left.

We tried to call Ian to see if he was available to join us for dinner in Georgetown but he had to work late.  Greg and I had an excellent meal of double smoked brisket, beer cheese grits, beans and greens at Red State BBQ.  While the double smoked brisket was excellent, I will probably go back to my usual sliced brisket since the double smoked was in chunks that included more fat than I prefer.  Our server, Mandy, was very attentive and our meal was excellent. 

After leaving Red State, we drove the short distance to the Liquor Barn in the Hamburg area of Lexington to stock up before cold winter weather.  Greg picked up bottles of Buffalo Trace and Bernheim Wheat Whiskey.  The Liquor Barn was out of stock on Eagle Rare and Johnny Drum Private Reserve.  Fortunately, my friend, Janina, gave me a bottle of Eagle Rare yesterday as a gift.  I was able to get bottles of Elijah Craig, Wild Turkey 101, Bulleit Rye, Ole Smokey Moonshine, Larceny, a 1.75 liter bottle of Jim Beam, Skyy Vodka, Bacardi Silver Rum and Jose Cuervo Tequila.  I also got a bottle of Wild Turkey American Honey for my hunting pal, Dave Smith, some John J. Bowman for Steve Minor and a bottle of cream liqueur and Bourbon ball candy for my mother.  I got a premixed mojito bottle for Mary and some distiller’s grain pancake mix.  It was quite a shopping trip but we don’t plan on having to buy anything there soon.  The scarcity of many of the types of Bourbon is evidence of the current popularity of Bourbon, especially among young adults.

We left Lexington around 7:30 and enjoyed our drive back laughing about the stories of the week and the interesting people we met.  Greg and I never fail to have adventures in our travels and enjoy meeting as many interesting characters as we can.  As we drive we have to solve all of the world’s economic, educational and political problems as we reminisce on our 40 year friendship.  We can’t wait until we take another road trip adventure.  We may even let our wives join us the next time if they will have us!