JJ was so excited to visit, and I had heard from some friends that this was their favorite distillery, but even with those two factors this distillery visit really blew me away. When we pulled up, for instance, next to the parking lot was a garage with an old firetruck. To what purpose or historical significance was the truck- I have no idea, but look how cute it is!
The visitor center is meant to feel like it is the original home of the Samuel’s family. The Samuel’s are the family that created Maker’s Mark. They didn’t give the bourbon their name so they wouldn’t be looked down on, but their brand name SIV is located on all the bottles (you can see it here in the room with the mash cookers/fermenters). SIV stands for Samuels and the IV stands for the fourth generation of distillers (Bill) of the family that started the Maker’s Mark company as we know it today.
Back to the visitor’s center, inside they had lots of what I imagine was authentic antique furniture; you could sit at a desk and go through Marjorie Samuels notebooks. She was the wife of Bill Samuels and incidentally the person who came up with the name of the bourbon, as well as the colors and the red wax (girl power!). They had imaginary baby books, cookbooks, and postcards with her notes in them, my little nosy self had a good time. In the “kitchen” they had bourbon flavored coffee and red wax in pots so you could imagine Marjorie hard at work. My favorite touch were the pictures of the family hanging on the wall of the “office” that started talking to each other (à la Harry Potter style) when you walked by them. So definitely get there early just to explore this adorable visitor center!
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| Red wax filled crocked pots |
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| The room with Marjorie’s notes and talking pictures! |
When the tour began I was just as impressed with the rest of the grounds as I was with the visitor center. (How nerdy do I sound, being so excited by a visitor center?!) All the buildings were black with red shutters, and upon closer inspection I noticed the shutters had bourbon barrels carved into them.
Not to go totally girly and dorky, but just look at the colors of this place! One thing we had noticed here as well as at the other distilleries is that everything nearby (the buildings, the walls, the plants) turns black. We were told it was caused by a fungus that grows because of the distillation process- which used to be a dead giveaway that people were making bootleg whisky back during prohibition. So you either would have to get used to power-washing everything or just go with it- and therefore having black buildings totally makes sense! The trees, despite this mold, still grow and produce leaves and flowers, and I think it looks beautiful.
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| Some of the black trees that are seen all around the bourbon distilleries |
Continuing with the official tour, visitors are taken in to see the high and low-wine vats, the fermentors,
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| JJ wanted to lend a helping hand on the line |
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| The wax dipping station |
And we can’t forget the samples! Maker’s Mark allows visitors 4 different samples. We both really liked the special bourbon called 46, a newer addition. If you see the picture below of a barrel with what looks like planks on the inside, those are called “oak staves”, those are added after the barrel has already aged for an additional 10 weeks, giving it an even smokier taste- super tasty!
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| JJ demonstrates how to correctly smell Bourbon, stink your whole nose right on in there and open your mouth slightly to take it all in. |
When the tour was over, I got to do another thing that is unique only to Maker’s Mark- add the wax to a bottle of bourbon. One must buy the bottle, but the waxing was free!
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| To wax first you must put on the super stylish safety gear, don’t you love the sleeves, and learn the proper technique. |
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| Hold the bottle with two hands, dip, twist twist twist and voilà! |
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| Thanks awesome tutor! |
And that was it for Maker’s Mark, but visitors can feel free to spend some time wandering the grounds, one last look…perfection!
Stop #2: Kentucky Cooperage, Lebanon, Kentucky
Our second stop on day two was not a planned stop until our awesome guide at Barton 1792 had suggested that we check out a cooperage, the Independent Stave Company. That’s when JJ and I thought “Oh yeah, where do those barrels come from?”. As it was right along our route, we re-planned our second day so we could do this tour.
They only do two tours a day, one at 9:30 and the other at 1:00, Monday-Friday. The tour is (my favorite) FREE! And it was awesome, it only lasted about 45 minutes, during which time we saw three videos, but we were also allowed to go into parts of the factory and were given demonstrations on how the barrels are actually made (by hand!). By the end we understood every single aspect, and I can definitely say that it is an art-form. Most of the distilleries in this area get their barrels from this cooperage, and all the wood panels are put in by hand, fitted with metal pieces to hold it together and fired a specific way for each bourbon distillery. Unfortunately there are no pictures allowed, but I found a couple that demonstrate the kinds of things you will see when you visit. This is definitely a must-see if you are doing the Bourbon Trail.
Our next distillery was a smaller, craft distillery known as Limestone Branch.
Then we were taken through work area. Yes, it was much smaller than what we had seen at other distilleries, but it was so apparent the passion that Mr. Beam has for his craft, and the employees were hard at work. This business only started in 2011 so they don’t have a lot of bourbon to show for their hard-work yet, but they have been making lots of delicious moonshine. We got to try several of them, including their award-winning Moonpie Moonshine, pretty tasty, though my personal favorite was the Apple Pie Moonshine. Definitely check out this distillery, and I’m wishing them well for the future; hopefully next time I’m on the tour they’re making waves with their bourbon!
Stop #3: Wild Turkey Distillery, Lawrenceburg, KY
Our last Bourbon distillery was Wild Turkey, and we arrived just in time for their last tour of the day at 4:00. The tour cost $7 a person and by the way, all of the distilleries were free if you’re in the military! Way to give props to our military men! Most of the distilleries close at 5pm but the last tours are at 4:00. The Wild Turkey visitor center was a pretty new addition, as were a couple of the other buildings at this distillery, but I thought that took away from some of the charm that the other places had. This tour felt very cold and impersonal; very factory feeling. We did have an awesome tour guide who was very informative.
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We were able to check out the yeast room by looking through some windows. As a matter of fact, windows were a big part of this tour; we were allowed to see the bottling plant (where they also bottle other liquors, like Skyy Vodka and some tequila), but no pictures were allowed and we had to view the process through windows. We were able to walk through the fermenting room and see their mashes being distilled, and we walked through a warehouse to check out their barrels being aged.
Did you know that some tanker trucks are actually transporting alcohol? I had no idea, but I’ll never look at these trucks as I drive by them the same again.
And to end the evening, more drinks and dinner!
We were done with distilleries for the day, but I had read that there were a couple wineries in town, and since JJ was getting his fill of bourbon, I insisted that we squeeze in time for my favorite adult beverage, wine. Which is why we ended up at Rising Sons winery in Lawrenceburg (where we were also staying for the night).
The winery closes at 6, and we showed up at 5:30 but the owner, Francine, greeted us and treated us like we were old friends. We tried 7 wines that the family makes, and Francine has also figured out how to make some of her wines even tastier by turning them into sangrias, which she made for us on the spot! We also got to sample some local cheeses (super delicious), as well as some jams that Francine has made herself. This winery is definitely a must-visit, one of the best ones I’ve been to, tasty wines but amazing host. Thanks so much Francine! She also suggested our dinner spot, Napa Prime in nearby Versailles, KY. We pulled up to a renovated Pizza Hut, but inside was totally transformed.
And I have to say that my dinner was DELICIOUS. I had the fish tacos but with crispy shrimp instead. The tacos were a bit spicy (a good thing in my opinion) and perfect. I got them with tater tots, but JJ, who ordered the lamb burger, ordered french fries and they were SO good, seasoned and zesty and yum. We also ordered crab mac & cheese and it was delicious. Check this place out if you are on the trail.
And thus, with saited and happy bellies, concludes day two of the bourbon trail. Check out day three, soon to come!
Catching Katie 