The holidays brought family and friends to town. And around here, a distillery tour is grand entertainment.
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Bardstown is the Bourbon Capitol of the World. That’s what the sign says, and there’s about two dozen distilleries within jumping distance.
We took our far-flung family to visit Lux Row – a newer distillery with a short history.
A video presentation started the tour, explaining the abbreviated history of Lux Row. What all these bourbon makers have in common, whether new or old, is a good dose of Hero Worship for their Master Distiller. He’s the guy with the refined tastebuds, and it’s typically a man, who determines the blend that ends up in a bottle.
A factory tour came next, walking between the fermentation tanks and vast piping systems. The still column is a central part to the distilling process. If you’re fancy, you’ve got a copper still.
The latest trend is to imbibe in tasting samples during the walk-around tour. It used to be a sit-down affair in a special tasting room, but now you stroll and sip.
A visit to the rickhouse is usually included in a distillery tour. That’s where several stories of oak barrels sit and age until the Master Distiller declares the spirits are ready to bottle.
A week later, we met up with a group friends for a different tour at the historic Willett’s distillery.
Willett’s copper still has a distinctive shape, which they mimic in their glass bottles
Again, we walked among pipes and tanks as part of the factory tour, sipping samples along the way.
The big bubbling fermentation tanks are always fascinating. You can see the yeast working the mash, rolling and foaming.
A final stop inside the aromatic barrel warehouse, and the tour was over.
Even after ten years, we still haven’t visited all the distilleries in this area. There’s at least a dozen more on our list to see.
By now you’d think I would know how to make my own moonshine!