ALF.....

While Saturday was "almost like summer", Sunday was more "almost like fall".  The clouds had moved in, and it was breezy, but still warmish.  This was the second day of a four day weekend, and with the advent of "drop top" weather we decided we would take the hard top off the 'Bird for the first time since Whidbey Island.  

We headed over to Campbellsville U for Brunch with our friends (Rick, Pat, Jim and Sharon) and after a laugh filled meal we bid them adieu and headed out to Loretto, KY to visit one of the numerous Bourbon distilleries  in Kentucky......Maker's Mark Distillery.  I have rarely, if ever, had Bourbon......I have always been a Scotch man, but I had heard from many Amazon friends that we should hit the "Bourbon Trail" and taste some good Kentucky Bourbon.  

Maker's Mark is only 27 miles from Campbellsville, so it was an easy 30 minute jaunt over rolling, winding country roads......roads identical to those we drove the coach on from Elizabethtown the day we arrived.....it was nice to drive on them in a car made for those narrow roads.  TLE was in her element as she carved through the many turns on the way to Loretto.  

We arrived at the Distillery around 1:15pm, and were surprised how many people on a Sunday afternoon were visiting this out of the way Distillery.  Tours start every 20-30 minutes and are capped at 30 people per tour.  The charge is $7.00 per person.  The grounds of this Distillery are immaculate, and it would actually be a nice place to go for a picnic, or a long walk.

 They used to have their own on site fire department

Maker's Mark makes what they call a "sweet" Bourbon.  Their facilities are immaculate.  Their formula includes 75% corn, with the balance a mixture between red winter wheat, and barley.  The sweetness comes from the red winter wheat.  They age their Bourbon in American White Oak barrels for 3.75 to 4.5 years....how long depends on how long it takes to get it to that "special" taste.  

There are 8 of these 9,600 gallon vats that are two stories tall.  Out of this volume approximately 1,000 gallons it poured into the aging barrels seen below to age.  The water is the key to Kentucky Bourbon....no matter which Distillery makes it.  There is no iron in the spring water used that filters through limestone.  Iron in the water tends to make the product more bitter.  Maker's Mark has their own spring fed lake on premises where all the water comes from to make their Bourbon.  

 One of the specially made barrels cut away

Two of their trade marks are square bottles, and hand dipped in red wax.  The middle bottle below is the well known Maker's Mark Bourbon.  The bottle on the left, Maker's White, is aged Bourbon not aged in barrels.  It can only be purchased at the Maker's Mark Distillery.  The bottle on the right is a new Bourbon they have begun producing called Maker's 46.

Of course, at the end of the tour we get a chance to taste their product.

In the bottling building there are a bunch of these posters....I found this one particularly humorous.

The tour, including tasting, lasts about an hour,  but it doesn't seem that long.

We arrived back home around 3:30 and spent the rest of the day napping, watching NFL football (reading for TLE), and then later spent time watching a few of our recorded TV shows (Revolution, Burn Notice, Bones and CSI N.Y.) .

It was a great day.....tomorrow, Monday, winter returns, and the forecast is for rain all day long.

Thanks for stopping by!