"All Bourbon is Whiskey but not all Whiskey is Bourbon." We learned that fact plus a lot of other information. Bourbon can be made anywhere but only Kentucky can put its name on the bottle. Originally shipped through Bourbon County, Kentucky the barrels were stamped with the county's name and soon this Kentucky whiskey became known as Bourbon. In order to be called Bourbon at least 51% of the grain used in making the whiskey must be corn and it can be as high as 75%. Other grains like barley and rye are usually added to the mix. Another ingredient is yeast and each distillery has their own brew which is a closely guarded secret. Another factor is the water. Central Kentucky spring water has a very high limestone content and a low iron content.

Bourbon is aged a minimum of two years, but usually four or five years and as long as eight years, in white oak barrels that are charred inside. The charred wood gives Bourbon its golden amber color and enhances the flavor. The barrels can only be used once which adds to the cost of Bourbon. Each 53 gallon barrel contains about 250 fifths of Bourbon. Nothing can be added to enhance flavor, add sweetness or alter color. Now that you know more than you need to know about Bourbon lets begin the tour.

Jim Beam

Jim Beam Distillery, the nation's best selling Bourbon, is located in Clermont, Kentucky. If you blink you miss the town - actually the distillery "is" the town. We started our tour at Jim Beam American Outpost where we saw a fifteen minute film "America's First Family of Bourbon" which explains Bourbon making and the eight generations that have run Jim Beam. The American Outpost also contains a museum and souvenir sales plus free coffee, lemonade and Bourbon candy. Next we toured the Hartmann Cooperage Museum to learn the art of barrel making. Nearby was America's oldest still dating back to the 1700s. We watched workmen off loading barrels of new Bourbon and place them in a large warehouse and our final stop was at the T. Jeremiah Beam house that contains history on the Beam family and a tasting room. We tasted two Bourbons including Booker's that retails for $52.95 a bottle. Remember, a barrel contains 250 fifths so a barrel holds over $13,000 worth of Booker's Bourbon. OK, a warehouse stores about 2,500 barrels so one warehouse can hold over $32,000,000 (that's 32 million dollars) of Booker's Bourbon and Jim Beam has about 52 warehouses. One disappointment of Jim Beam is they do not allow tours of their brewing and bottling but all the above is open daily for tours.

Heaven Hill

Heaven Hill Distillery at Bardstown continually ages more than 25 million gallons of Bourbon, approximately 10% of the world's Bourbon supply, including their top selling brand Evan Williams. Unfortunately we arrived at the wrong time. Tours are offered twice daily at 10:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. and we did not have time to wait for the one hour tour which includes touring the entire operation from brewing to bottling. However, there is no tasting.
 

Maker's Mark

Just down the road in Loretto, Kentucky is Maker's Mark Distillery, a National Historic Landmark. Originally built in 1806 as a gristmill distillery, Maker's Mark is the oldest operating bourbon whiskey distillery and is listed as so in the Guiness Book of World Records. It is located on picturesque grounds and visitors are encouraged to bring a picnic lunch and relax. The entrance is by an old toll road house with rates still posted including Buggy (15 cents), Horse & Rider (6 cents), Person on Foot (2 cents), but Persons Going to Church (free). On down the road we walked through a covered bridge over Whiskey Creek and by the Quart House, believed to be the oldest remaining "retail whiskey store." In by gone days customers brought quart bottles and had them filled with whiskey for a quarter.

Our tour started in the visitors center where coffee and Bourbon balls were free, but there was lots of Maker's Mark merchandise for sale. An hour long tour took us on a scenic walk and into the distillery were the brew begins. Locally grown corn is ground and mixed with winter wheat,  malted barley, a secret yeast recipe and limestone water. One hundred year old wood vats hold 100 gallons of mash and we witnessed the fermenting process with bubbles that looked like the entire mash was boiling. Our tour guide encouraged us to stick a finger in the mash and taste it. At that point in fermenting it had a sour taste and that taste stayed with us the rest of the tour. We watched the bottling operation and Maker's Mark is unique that every bottle is hand dipped in a red wax so no two bottles are the same. Our next stop was in a warehouse where hundreds of barrels of Bourbon were aging, then we returned to the visitors center. Tours are given daily on the half hour.

Norm wanted to dip his own bottle of Maker's Mark and create his own red wax seal. He wrote his name and date on a bottle and wore an apron and rubber gloves as required before dipping. He turned the bottle upside down, dipped it in red wax then righted the bottle and spun it as directed. Now we have our own hand dipped and sealed Maker's Mark Bourbon bottle.

Oscar Getz Museum of Whiskey History

Back in Bardstown we visited the Oscar Getz Museum of Whiskey in an old building that has served as college, seminary, hospital, orphanage and a preparatory school. The museum displays rare artifacts and documents concerning the American whiskey industry dating from pre-Colonial days to post-Prohibition years. Did you know Abraham Lincoln had a liquor license when he ran a tavern in Illinois in 1833? Did you know E.G. Booz, a Philadelphia liquor dealer, designed his own bottle and that is where the word "booze" originated? The entire world of whiskey and Bourbon is explained in this excellent museum.

Kentucky Derby Day

Norm's son Darren and his wife Martha invited us to attend a Derby Party on their mini farm near Mt. Sterling, Kentucky. They have a beautiful home that is large enough to seat fifty people for a party and there were sixty present so a few had to stand. The afternoon started with snacks, then we watched the Derby on TV and followed with a full course buffet. After some visiting a bonfire was lit and we shot fireworks for twenty minutes.

The Rest of the Month

We spent most of the month taking care of Norm's parents' business. The month before we placed them in a nursing home and this month we held a yard sale and sold all their furnishings, then we sold their car and house. When we sold everything we owned to become fulltimers (house, furniture, cars and van) we said "Whew, we're glad we'll never have to do that again." Well, we did do it again.

Newmar and Spartan (makers of our motorhome and chassis) had a recall on our tires. Last year we replaced our front tires to the tune of $880 and Spartan reimbursed us the entire amount. Spartan sold us four new tires for the rear for $955 including tax and a truck tire facility mounted and balanced them for $188. So a set of six tires that normally cost $2,640 including mounting, balancing and taxes, ended up costing us $1,143. The tires were nearing end of life so it was nice to have new tires before hitting the Lewis and Clark Trail.