Bourbon Distillery Review During our visit with my brother and his family in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, we were able to escape the kids and visit some local bourbon distilleries. Here are my general impressions, recommendations and ranking. 1 - Buffalo Trace - Free, raw, edgy, awesome and legit. We stopped by on the 4th of July only to find out we just missed their annual 5K run. Anyway, a friend turned me onto Pappy Van Winkle and I have since become a disciple their products. This is the essence of what Kentucky bourbon distilleries should be. Red brick warehouses and barrels marked experimental, I would best describe this place as the Willy Wonka Candy factory of distilleries and I fully expected Oompa Loompas to be running around and singing. Had they had a Goose that laid golden eggs filled full of bourbon, I would have tried to buy one. They put out a wide range of products from basically four recipes. While Im huge fan of the 10 yr Rip Van Winkle, I found out that the EJ Wellers is great alternative. Also.. if you ever stumble upon a small bottle thats marked Buffalo Trace Experimental... buy it without question. I fell in love with their Bourbon Cream coupled with their Root Beer along with their bourbon balls. It was kind of cool to also discover they put out a vodka, which I bought. For what ever bullshit reason, they are not listed on the official Bourbon Trail… regardless, this is a MUST visit distillery for any bourbon connoisseur 2 - Makers Mark - While Im not a Makers follower, I always considered it a really good product. They lost major cool points with me last year when they had decided and then ultimately reverse their decision to cut the proof on their primary product. Regardless, I had heard good things about the tour even though it was well off the beat and path. Had it not been for my bias toward Pappy and Buffalo Trace, the tour would have been #1 in my book. Like Buffalo Trace, it was what Kentucky distilleries where and should be. You saw the distillation and was even allowed to sample the mash at the various stages. They only have 2 products and have not bought into the honey, maple, flavored band wagon which I respect. This is small, yet big scale. Not as small as Willett, but not as large as others. They showed you the labeling and wax dipping stations. I learned more about the various processes in bourbon production in that tour than all the rest. After sampling the 46, I decided that it would be great to get a bottle at the source and wax dip it myself. 3 - Jim Beam - THE all American bourbon monster. Smart cards, automated dispensers, a wide product line. As a standard neat bourbon, Ive grown attached to their 8 yr and always fill my post Spartan race flask with the JB Maple. Coincidentally, the Maple is awesome to use to candy bacon. We sampled the Booker and single barrel JB - Booker was a bit harsh, but the Single Barrel was smooth as silk. We also tried the Knob Creek Maple and Stagg Apple Cider - both were very good, but Id still stick with the JB Maple. They have a Smoke house on site with pulled pork, ribs, brisket and bread pudding. The smoke scent hit in the parking lot which added to the vibe of the distillery. Unfortunately, we were running late and had to get to Makers before they closed so we didnt get try the food. I will go back, especially for the bread pudding with chocolate bourbon sauce. 4 - Willett Distillery - Small and sort of hard to find, it is the best product I had during my week in Kentucky. My brother and I sampled it during a local 4th of July party and we felt it warranted a visit since it was in between Makers and Jim Beam. We didnt have time for a tour and got straight down to business. I bought a bottle of Willett reserve and another that was wheat based. 5 - Four Roses - This was my first stop on the bourbon tour. Modeled after mission style architecture, they put out a good product and a had a good, informative tour. I bought a bottle of their reserve which Ive killed about a 1/3 of… that should say enough. 6 - Wild Turkey - While an American staple, Im not a huge fan of their product mainly because it was usually the penalty or forced shot I had to do during card games or drinking dares in my early years. It simply conjures up bad hang over memories. The distillery and set up are definitely worth visiting though. Their products are more edgy and harsh than my liking. A good location and if youre really daring, you can even go bungee jumping off a nearby rail road bridge over the Kentucky River. Seriously. 7 - Woodford Reserve - While they have a really good product and impressive operation, I was completely turned off with its snobbishness. It is more like a fancy Napa Valley Winery than a Kentucky Bourbon Distillery. Their standard offering is a good, mellow bourbon and the Double Oak version is also excellent. Bourbon is what it is - American and rugged and Woodford tries to be something it shouldnt be. Its worth the tour if you have time or like that level of refinement. Maybe they have on site spa… All in all, time well spent and next year, I want to visit the ultra small batch guys as I hear there are some real finds out there. On a side note, all distilleries offered discounts for Active Duty, Retired and Veterans which was cool. I didnt ask for it, but some noticed my USAA debit card and gave it to me.
Posted on: Sun, 06 Jul 2014 01:21:57 +0000
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