After teaching my evening class on Monday night, I picked up
my pal, Greg, and got on the road by 7 pm to head for Georgetown for our fall
distillery visits in Central Kentucky.
We were stopped on I-64 at exit 181 westbound because of an accident
around mile marker 177 that had all westbound lane blocked. We wound around US 60 for 12 miles at around
10 miles per hour for nearly two hours behind semi-trucks before getting back
on the interstate at Grayson. The rest
of the drive through steady rain was uneventful. We stopped for a late dinner in Morehead and
arrived at the Finnell Pike house a little after 10 pm. We took advantage of an abatement in the rain
to unload a few items from the van. We
didn’t turn in until nearly 11 pm.
Because he was fighting bronchitis, Greg didn’t sleep well
and had to sip Nyquil throughout the night.
The air mattresses were comfortable and we arose around 6 am. Because of the cold morning air, I got up
around 4 am to turn the heat on. This
was the first time that we tried the geothermal heat from the Water Furnace. We were pleased that the central heat worked
fine and warmed us up nicely. However,
the dust in the air ducts caused the smoke detector to go off around 5 am. That was our cue to get out of bed and get
dressed.
We ran out to McDonald’s at the Cherry Blossom exit for a
quick breakfast. After a quick stop by
the house, we drove to Paris to visit the Hartfield & Co. Distillery. The distiller, Andrew Buchanan, met us at the
door and shared his love of the spirits that are being made at his small
facility in an old Paris building.
Although Paris is the county seat of Bourbon County, Kentucky, no legal
whiskey has been made in Bourbon County since prohibition. Andrew wanted to change that. Unlike most craft distillers, Andrew did not
attend Moonshine University or understudy with another master distiller. Rather, he read up on every distilling
resource he could find. He watched and
learned from countless online videos to find best practices in distilling. Andrew wanted to have the ability to experiment
and be responsible for his products. He
and his wife, Larissa, didn’t want to make distilled spirits like anyone else,
he wanted the freedom to make the mistakes and to have the successes on his own
terms.
Because a movie was being filmed at the Hartfield & Co.
distillery, we were unable to tour the complete distillery. However, Andrew was very generous with his
time and explained a great deal of his philosophies on making the very best
spirits he can make. At this time
Hartfield & Co. makes high rye bourbon, wheated bourbon, American whiskey,
white whiskey, rum and aged rum. Because
of the disruption from the filmmakers we were unable to have a tasting. Besides, I don’t know if we would be too
interested in sipping whiskey at 9 am.
We left Andrew to his work and drove back through the beautiful horse
farms of Bourbon County to the Finnell Pike property.
I walked Greg around the property lines and checked on our
work clearing the brush from the tree line on the north end of the
property. The burn pile on the back
field is starting to dry and should be ready to burn in a couple of weeks. The field looks much better since the vines
and brush have been cleared away and the debris has been loaded for the Scott
County landfill.
Our afternoon distillery appointment wasn’t until 1 pm so we
had a little time. We drove to the Royal Spring in
Georgetown where Rev. Elijah
Craig built the first distillery in the area. Rev. Craig, a Baptist minister, is reputed to
have made the first bourbon and shipped it to New Orleans for sale. Most historians have disputed that he was the
first person to make bourbon but there is no debate that Rev. Craig was
instrumental in the history of bourbon and in the founding of Georgetown,
Kentucky which he maned for then president, George Washington.
Royal Spring which now supplies drinking
water for residents of Georgetown was flowing well, no doubt due to the recent
rains in the area. Because of the cool
rainy weekday weather there were few people out that morning so we were free to
walk about the small park surrounding the historical spring. We walked across the street to the Bourbon 30 distillery. We learning that there was a problem with the
distillery’s license that prohibited them from conducting tours and visits for
a few weeks. The distillery looked interesting
from the outside and we plan to visit on another trip to the area. Because the late October morning was
unseasonably cool in the mid 30s, I ran to the nearby Walmart to buy a knit
cap. I was a lot more comfortable with
the additional warmth. We stopped at Frank’s
Donuts for a mid-morning snack. I had
my usual bear claw and Greg enjoyed the cream filled donut. We were both pleased with our choices.
The drive to our next distillery visit near Shelbyville was
a little over an hour drive from Georgetown.
The Jeptha Creed Distillery is
a beautiful new facility just off the Taylorsville exit of Interstate 64. Since we were a little early for our tour, we
walked around the building and admired the owner’s displays of antique cars. The cars are beautifully restored and many of
them run. The visitor center is well
stocked with glasses, flasks, clothing and spirits with Jeptha Creed
advertising. We had to laugh at one of
the men’s shirts with “Bourbon
Badass” on the front. We wondered
just where that would be an appropriate shirt.
The visitor center and gift shop are among the most attractive we have
ever seen. A nice bar features snacks
and a number of mixed drinks made with Jeptha Creed spirits.
The distillery is on a large tract of land
that was settled by Squire Boone, brother of famed frontiersman, Daniel
Boone. He named the area Jeptha Knob
after the Israeli judge in the Old Testament book of Judges. Most of the grains and fruits used in making
the products used in Jeptha Creed spirits originate on or near property in
Shelbyville owned by the Nethery family.
We met our tour guide, Brittany, who was a former
professional wrestling ring girl. She
was very knowledgeable about the whiskey made by Jeptha Creed. The family owned distillery makes bourbon and
American whiskey from a four grain mash bill of corn, wheat, rye and malted
barley featuring locally grown Bloody Butcher red
corn. They also make vodka from
Bloody Butcher corn that is available straight as well as infused with a
variety of flavors. At the end of the
tour, Brittany treated us to five samples each of the products of the distillery. Greg and I both enjoyed our samples before
walking around the grounds and seeing the event center where parties and
weddings are held and a venue for concerts and entertainment.
We left Jeptha Creed and drove to Millville to drive past
the Castle & Key Distillery at
the site of the Old Taylor Distillery.
The structure, built in 1887, was designed by Col. E. H. Taylor inspired
by historical castles that he saw on his travels through Europe. The distillery has been shuttered and in a
continued state of decay since ceasing production in 1972. However, a group of investors bought the
property in 2014 to turn into a state of the art distillery and event
center. The first female master
distiller of a major distillery was found in Marianne Barnes and preparations
were made to resume production. The
grounds are being given a major facelift to prepare the parklike distillery
campus for hosting parties, weddings and corporate events. We were pleased to see that the gardens are
taking shape and much of the masonry is being repaired. It was also exciting to see smoke coming from
the distillery and to smell the scent of mash in the air. We understand that the distillery is making white
spirits to sell until bourbon can begin the long aging process. The huge rickhouse appeared to be in good
shape at least from the outside giving hope that bourbon will be again aging
there.
After taking photos at Castle & Key, we drove the short
distance to the former Old
Crow Distillery. The distillery and
most buildings are in disrepair with weeds and vines growing on the limestone
exterior walls. One of the Old Crow
rickhouses is being used to age Jim Beam bourbon. We stopped briefly and savored the smell of
the again whiskey coming from the barrels in the rickhouse.
We drove from the distilleries in Millville, Kentucky to
Georgetown where we met Ian for dinner at Mi Casita, a Mexican restaurant
across Rt. 25 from Ian and Emily’s home.
Since Emily was in Atlanta for a conference with the CDC, Ian was happy
to have company for dinner. I had a pollo poblano which is strips of grilled
chicken and poblano peppers covered in cheese sauce. Ian had a chimichanga and Greg had a vegetarian
platter. We all enjoyed our meals. We returned to the Finnell Pike house and
chatted while Greg scanned for interesting channels on the shortwave
radio. Because we were so tired, we went
to bed around 9 pm.
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