Town Branch

The Bourbon Trail: Our First 2 Days

~ Bill Thornley ~ 1 Comment

Lynn and I just got back from a fun weekend on the Bourbon Trail and I’m going to spend the next couple weeks sharing all our tips and suggestions from the trip. We had a great time! But hit a big snag – the weather.

The Bourbon Trail in January would normally not be a huge challenge. We flew into Nashville because we needed to tour Corsair and MB Roland to complete our Craft Bourbon Trail passport to get our Julep Cups. When we arrived in Nashville it was in the 60’s and people were walking around in T Shirts. But that didn’t last long. When we got up the next morning it was starting to snow (the news predicted 6 inches so everything was closing) as we headed to MB Roland. Lynn got on the phone knowing they may not open. MB Rolland was not opening but Corsair said to come on over to Bowling Green!

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Corsair Distillery was named for the privateer or pirate Corsairs. They are a smaller private distillery that does things in a different way.   They make a lot innovative and adventurous spirits, they experiment with new methods, ingredients, and are privateers. With the weather the way it was we got a private tour and met Aaron Marcum, the Head Distiller.

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They were bottling while we were there. We got to ask Aaron a lot of questions and after the tour Steve the Assistant Distiller did our tasting. There are so many different spirits to choose your 7 tastings from you will be there quite a while.

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**That is my first tip on planning your Bourbon Trail trip. Leave time in your schedule to linger at your tastings, ask questions, take pictures, and shop. You will immediately notice how friendly everyone is and how many times you end up in great conversations with the employees.

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We bought a bottle of Ryemageddon and finished up at Corsair. And, luckily, the Kentucky Bourbon Trail folks still gave us our Julep Cups even though we didn’t make it to MB Roland!

We then scraped some ice off the car headed toward Heaven Hill, Maker’s Mark or Wild Turkey. It was a trek from where we were, especially considering the weather, and we knew they might be closed. As we got closer we realized EVERYONE was probably closed. We drove to Wild Turkey as they had nothing posted on Facebook only to arrive to be the only ones there.

We took one last stab and went to Bluegrass Distillery since it was in Lexington and not on a country road. They were open and were gracious enough to give us a tour before they left for the day. They are very small which makes for an intimate tour.

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The next morning we awoke to another 3 inches of snow on the car. We checked the Bourbon Trail online and Town Branch was open.

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We had been there before but wanted to see it again. They have a beautiful facility. And despite the weather there was a big crowd. We did some tasting and bought a few bottles. Lynn loved the “Bluegrass Sundown.” It is a dark roasted coffee infused with Kentucky bourbon and sugar. We also bought a bottle off their Town Branch Bourbon with the Christmas labeling. We will hold on to it and to serve next Christmas.

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From Town Branch it was a short 5 minutes to  Barrel House Distilling Co. It’s one of the founding members of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail Craft Tour and features many unique products to sample.

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Barrel House, true to its name, is housed in the former barreling house of the James E. Pepper distilling complex, a bourbon distillery which operated from 1879-1958. They also have a new bar with a fireplace in it – a very inviting environment on a cold day.

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Up next – Day 3 in Louisville, which could be more than 1 blog in itself. The restoration of Whiskey Row in Louisville has been a true renaissance.

Visiting the Bourbon Trail

~ Bill Thornley ~ 5 Comments

A great adventure for spring is hitting the Kentucky Bourbon Trail.  Lynn and I did the Bourbon Trail in the Fall a few years ago. Kentucky is a big state and you can’t cover it all in a day, or even two. Before hitting the road, you definitely want to have a plan of attack to see the distilleries you want to tour.

But first, if you are going to earn the official Bourbon Trail t-shirt or Julep Cup, you need to decide which trail you will follow. “Which trail?” you say. Yes! There are 3 trails: The Bourbon Trail (mostly the big distilleries you’ve heard of), the Craft Bourbon Tour (smaller distilleries) and the Urban Bourbon Trail (Louisville’s distilleries). All 3 are unique and offer different experiences, and can also be mixed and matched together.

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Lynn and I drove to Kentucky after visiting our daughter in Richmond, Virginia – so that kind of determined where we began. If flying in, your could start in Lexington and end in Louisville, or vice versa.

We started at “Old Pogue” without reservations. It was during sequestration and while we had planned to drive the Blue Ridge Parkway through Shenandoah National Park, we were shut out, so we went on to Maysville, Kentucky. We showed up at Old Pogue for the first tour of the day. We knocked on the door and when John Pogue opened the door we said we were there for the first tour. John said, “I didn’t know I had a tour this morning,” and we said, “You do now.” It was just the 3 of us.   What a great way to start the week.

Old Pogue is a great little Craft Distillery. Founded in 1876, it closed after prohibition and was re-opened by 5th and 6th generation Pogues. They even bought back the old antebellum home of the family which sits next to small distillery.

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We then continued on to Town Branch

And then it was on to the rest of the distilleries on the Bourbon Trail passport. Although they are big they are all different. Lynn had read about the “Corn to Cork” tour at Woodford Reserve. It was a great education and they do very small groups. Its more expensive and you have to book in advance but well worth it. We sampled some bourbon right out of the barrel at Woodford Reserve. Lynn also got to fill a barrel at Jim Beam, and while there also filled her own bottle of Knob Creek. Along the Bourbon Trail, we also visited Wild Turkey, Four Roses, and Evan Williams.

Four Roses
Four Roses
Jim Beam
Filling a barrel Jim Beam
Wild Turkey
Woodford Reserve
Woodford Reserve
Woodford Reserve

The Craft Tour gives you the chance to see things even more up close and have a more intimate experience. We haven’t completed that passport yet, but did a lot of it. I will write about the Old Pogue experience later. It deserves a whole blog.Willett Distillery was another great experience and well worth the stop.Limestone Branch also offered another unique experience.

We also visited many others that technically aren’t part of the branded “Bourbon Trail.”  Makers Mark is another incredible experience and tucked into this beautiful valley. Another “must see” is Buffalo Trace – purveyors of Pappy Van Winkle, E.H. Taylor, Blanton’s, Stagg, and a number of other great bourbons.

Bufalo Trace
Blanton’s bottles
Where’s the Pappy?

The Urban Bourbon Trail is a bar hopping experience that allows you to experience all that great bourbon you have been tasting and reading about all week. When you combine that with the food in Louisville it’s an evening you will not forget.

We ended our trip in Louisvile, and stayed the night at the Seelbach Hotel, a great old historic hotel. While we were in Louisville, we stopped by the Brown Hotel for a Hot Brown – a must do in Louisville!

Feel free to leave a comment below if you’re planning your Bourbon Trail visit and are looking for additional suggestions on your trip!