Bourbon

Bourbon is one of the oldest products in the United States but is somehow still very misunderstood.  First off, it can be made and bottled anywhere in the United States, not just Kentucky and not just Bourbon County Kentucky, the later being completely impossible because no distilleries have operated in Bourbon County since the beginning of prohibition in 1919 until 2014.  With so many bottles of Bourbon Whiskey on back bars there must be a lot of distilleries.  Actually there are only 57 distilling licenses in Kentucky and not all of those make Bourbon.

 

We will discuss Bourbon in detail later but these are some moments taken from a recent trip to Kentucky.

Jim Beam

Jim Beam is so successful that they have two distilling facilities.

The tour is around the historic campus in Clermont.

I love the smell of a fresh mash in the morning.

A nice take away is the distillery has Knob Creek that you can see being bottled and get one etched for yourself or a gift right in front of you.

These used to be a regular feature around our house the Jim Beam collector decanter.  For years a Poulan chainsaw bottle sat on top of the refrigerator at my parents house.  On the tour, you see about 10% of the entire collection.

This is a great illustration of the color change and the evaporation in the barrels over the 9 year life of a  Knob Creek Whiskey.

It is amazing to see all of the barrel rooms.

Luckily, Jim Beam has a small lunch counter on property because you are a long way from nowhere.  BBQ Pulled pork nachos except the tortillas are fried pork rinds and yes friends that is an ice tea.  You can sample at the distillery but no alcohol served at the lunch counter.

On the up side there is a great view of the valley while you enjoy your ice tea.

The end of a beautiful day at Jim Beam.