The Kentucky Bourbon Trail

I feel like I have to add a disclaimer before I go any further because I know I have some school-age kids following along too. On that note: Though I may mention alcohol in this blog, it is strictly meant to give you a better understanding of the local culture and history. I do not endorse the use of any substance that may alter or impair your judgement or behavior.

We've taken it pretty easy this week. I've been working on school related paperwork for the kids and have been slowly getting into the mindset of returning home. There's still a lot to do to prepare but I'm getting excited for it. I wonder how it will be. Will it be like we never left or will it be like we just got off a carousel? I guess we'll see soon enough!

While we've been here in Kentucky my husband and I have had fun visiting places with the kids. We've also been taking time for ourselves to explore the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. Basically what that means is that we've driven from distillery to distillery to take tours. Most of the big distilleries are relatively close to each other so it's not hard to visit several in one afternoon.

I've really had a great time learning about the history and science of making bourbon. Each distillery is different and so are their tours. Some give a very basic explanation of the process while others have created an almost theme park-like experience for visitors. All of them share bits of information about their particular operation and products but some really go above and beyond to create a living history lesson. I think I've learned more about Kentucky culture on these tours than in all the other places we've visited so far combined! On more than one occasion I've found myself wishing the kids were with us so they could see and hear what we were experiencing too. Here are some tidbits we picked up along the way.

Kentucky countryside between distilleries

We saw several quilt barns too.

The legal requirements of making bourbon:
1. It must be made in the United States.
2. You must use a brand new charred white oak barrel for aging. You may not use it again afterward.

3. It must be made from a grain mixture that is at least 51% corn.

4. Only water may be added to it.

5. It must be distilled to no more than 160 proof (80% alcohol by volume)

6. Entered into the barrel for aging at no more than 125 proof (62.5% alcohol by volume), also called "white dog".

7. Bottled at 80 proof  or more (40% alcohol by volume)

- Four Roses was one of the few distilleries to remain open during prohibition because they had secured a license to produce bourbon for medicinal purposes. I talked about this distillery a little bit in Horses and Food and Graves, Oh My! .

- Wild Turkey was also in the aforementioned blog post. We started noticing that wherever we saw a sign for a distillery, there was always a church nearby... coincidence? You can draw your own conclusions. 

Interestingly enough, one theory about the origin of bourbon is that it was created by a Baptist minister.

- Woodford Reserve is one of the few distilleries left that is still owned and operated by an American company. The building is the oldest in the United States and it has been designated a National Historic Landmark.  Woodford Reserve is also "The Official Bourbon of the Kentucky Derby" and their bourbon is made in old-fashioned copper pot stills (as opposed to modern column stills) and then aged in a 100 year-old stone warehouse instead of the large wood ones more commonly used by the other makers. When we visited this one the emphasis was on how they held to traditional practices, which was interesting.

- Evan Williams- This tour took place in downtown Louisville in a building that was located near the original site from the 1700's.

Another theory we heard about the origin of bourbon is that Evan Williams created it. He was the first major distiller and one of the founders of Louisville. This tour was one of my favorites, which I wasn't expecting when we drove up to the storefront. At Evan Williams you start with a short movie recreating one of Louisville's original town meetings. Then you walk along hallways that have been built to look like original storefronts in various time periods on each floor. By the time we were finished we really had learned a lot about Louisville history and the part Evan Williams played in it.

Did you know that in America's early history, each state printed their own money and often times the states wouldn't recognize another states currency. Whiskey could be used as cash during this time period and everyone accepted it.

The vapors that are released from the barrels as they age is called the "Angels Share." At one of the distilleries the guide told us the legend that if you give the angels enough, they'll protect the bourbon warehouses from fires- bourbon is extremely flammable. At another distillery the guide told us what the vapors were called and then followed up by saying "...those greedy, greedy angels." Haha!

The bourbon that is absorbed into the barrels as they age is called the "Devils Cut."

This is an example of the ratios of grains that go into making bourbon. Corn is always the main ingredient.

One of the hallways with the historic storefronts.

During prohibition, the only way you could get alcohol was if a doctor prescribed it. When the 18th Amendment went into effect, thousands of Kentucky natives who had depended on the bourbon industry for generations were left with no way to support their families. These are some of the bottles used by the local pharmacy during prohibition. I had to laugh when I saw that one that advertised "to increase liver health".....

- Jim Beam- It was pretty busy when we arrived, so we weren't able to take a tour. We did check out the gift shop and smoke house, though. At the smoke house you can order barbeque and ice cream for lunch. It smells heavenly! Jim Beam also sells benches and other items made from the used bourbon barrels, which was really cool....but expensive.  

The grounds were so picturesque!

One of the bourbon barrel benches

The aging bourbon is stored in warehouses like this. These are painted black, but as the bourbon ages a natural black fungus starts to grow all over the place anyway. See how it's darker at the bottom? We've noticed that many farms here in Kentucky have black barns too.

Mmmm. I can smell the barbeque on the smoker now,,,,

More Kentucky sightseeing...

- Makers Mark, also a National Historic Landmark, really began as a partnership between husband and wife. Bill Samuels Sr. purchased the distillery and perfected the product. His wife, Margie, came up with the ideas for marketing and dipping the bottles in wax and stamping them with a makers mark to show people it was a quality product, like pewter craftsmen did. Mrs. Samuels was so influential in the industry that she was the fifth woman to be inducted into the Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame in 2014.

The family also has a connection to Frank and Jessee James as well as Abraham Lincoln. Recently Makers Mark partnered with Dale Chihuly and is showcasing art glass sculptures around the property. Everything is beautifully displayed and I highly recommend checking them out!

Here, we were able to taste the sour mash as it was fermenting... it was sour. This is a step in the process of making alcohol. Look at the yeast in action!

You can't see it here but behind this blue sculpture is a newly built storage facility to keep products aging for long periods of time in a natural temperature-controlled setting. It was constructed to impact the environment as little as possible by being built into a limestone hillside. The landscape above it was left alone and continues to grow.

Can you see the barrels behind this glass basket? This is in that limestone warehouse.

The water that runs in these canals comes from the same source used to make the Makers Mark bourbon.

- Buffalo Trace has the distinction of being the oldest continuously operating distillery in the United States and is also listed as a National Historic Landmark. They got their name from the American Bison who used to roam the area. Like Four Roses, they were able to remain open during prohibition because of their medicinal use permit.

Here we learned another theory of the origin of bourbon. When whiskey makers would ship their product down to New Orleans in the 1700's, they would use old barrels. Every flavor previously in that barrel was infused into the whiskey and the people in Louisiana hated it. So, the distillers decided to char the inside of the barrels to clean them out and seal them for shipping. By the time they were able to ship their product down the river to New Orleans the whiskey had been in the barrels for a little while and the char had combined with the whiskey. The people of New Orleans loved the product and kept ordering more "Bourbon", which is what was stamped on the outside of each barrel in recognition of the Kentucky county it came from.

Regardless of how bourbon came to be, it's a big deal to a lot of people here in Kentucky and I've really enjoyed learning about it. I hope you have too.

Today is our youngest son's birthday so we're off to celebrate our not-so-little-anymore guy. Until next week!

- Jen

Glaciers and Borscht

Once again, the look of the blog has changed and I think it's pretty close to done at this point (unless you are a super awesome web developer and want to help me overhaul it into something unbelievable for free... ;-))

This post is a day early because tomorrow morning we leave for Valdez (pronounced val-deez) and wifi will be spotty at best. Valdez is located in Prince William Sound and is home to all kinds of wildlife, glaciers, and so much more. You'll just have to check back next week to see how it went.

We actually spent last Saturday in Prince William Sound too. Being the hybrid of local tourists that we are, we wanted to ride the rails and take a glacier cruise. Those are just basic must-do's when you're in Alaska. Especially if you're like us and love trains. So, we booked our trip with the Alaska Railroad and Major Marine Tours and headed to Anchorage to board the train to Whittier.

The train ride alone was beautiful. We've driven through Anchorage, along Turnagain Arm, and down the Kenai Peninsula several times since we've been here, but it's an entirely different experience taking the train. The rails go along paths where cars just can't go and you pass a lot more scenery that you wouldn't normally see, especially if you're the one driving. You're also able to hear some of the history about areas you're moving through from one of the high school student interns who make up part of the crew. They're a part of the tourism program at their schools and really have a unique local perspective on the area. Plus they are friendly and enthusiastic, and that really makes all the difference.

Whittier is one of the main hubs for marine traffic in Alaska but it is very secluded. Yes, some people live there, but not many. In fact, most of the people who go to Whittier never even leave the docks before they're whisked away by either train or ship. The ones who live there live in one of two buildings and really have to pull together for the months where food is scarce and the snow is high.

There's only one single lane tunnel, for both inbound and outbound traffic that is shared by both automobiles and trains. It's only open for fifteen minutes at the top of the hour for one direction, and fifteen minutes at the bottom of the hour for the other direction.

Once we arrived, we boarded the boat for our tour of Blackstone Bay.

A Chugach National Forest Ranger was there to greet us and promptly enrolled the younger two in the Junior Ranger Program. All along our ride, the ranger told us about the area we were in, what we were seeing, and the history surrounding the areas. She also had books about the wildlife and people could look through binoculars to see things like this Bald Eagle.

We took a cruise through the Inside Passage for our tenth anniversary and had seen Glacier Bay, so that was the experience I was expecting. Just being about to sit back and enjoy the scenery. Boy was I mistaken! Because this boat was much smaller than the cruise ship we were on in 2009, we were able to get a lot closer to the glaciers. It was so cool! Amazing and freezing at the same time. It was raining, so that's why the pictures are a little fuzzy, but you get the idea.

This one's for scale. See that boat in the water? These glaciers are massive!

At one point, one of the crew threw out a net and snagged a couple of floating chunks of glacier ice that had broken off and were floating nearby. One chunk was for pictures and close examination, and the other was for breaking apart for drinks! They offered alcoholic and non alcoholic options, so our whole family tried a drink with glacier ice in it. I ordered the non-alcoholic drink, which was a mixture of pineapple juice and something else (guava?). It was delicious! The glacier ice tasted just like regular ice, but was crystal clear, a little bit colder, and a little bit harder (more dense). Just the experience of drinking glacial ice while steering next to glaciers was an experience of a lifetime.

The captain of the boat was very skilled and when we were passing next to a glacial waterfall, he steered us up right next to it- like splashing on the boat close! Our youngest had a great time reaching out to touch that icy water from the deck. The water below us was that milky turquoise blue.

After our waterfall experience, the boat was turned around and we headed back to Whittier. Our kids finished the requirements in the Junior Ranger booklet and helped the ranger pass around animal pelts and a small vial with an ice worm in it. Then she lined up all the kids who were participating and officially swore them in as Junior Rangers. Each one received their own badge.

It was a great experience, and one I would recommend. You can even opt to purchase an all you can eat salmon and steak lunch, complete with dessert, which was wonderful and very tender.

The rest of the week has been spent doing the everyday things that we all need to do, like laundry, cleaning, and grocery shopping. My daughter and I went to the local junk store (as we like to call it) yesterday and had fun checking out the offerings. After that, we walked the strip mall next to it and found an Eastern European market and deli. If you know me, then you know I love all kinds of food. Especially Mediterranean and Eastern European. This little shop didn't disappoint. We bought some hot borscht with warm, freshly baked, bread for lunch, along with pierogi and sour cream for dinner. Some gingerbread cookies and a few other sweets may, or may not, have made it into the basket as well....

Visiting this little store was part of a history lesson in itself. Alaska was once a Russian territory (and before you ask, no. You can't see Russia from Wasilla ;-)). This is a fact we knew from growing up in the lower 48, but being up here brings a whole new perspective and curiosity that we never had before. We have been learning about the history of relations between the Russians and the native people, the Russian communities that still exist up here, and the traditions and art that the descendants of these people practice today. It's really interesting and something I would encourage you to research for yourself.

Hope you all have a great weekend! As for me, on to packing!

- Jen