BARDSTOWN, Ky. -- As visitors to California's wine country can attest, there's nothing like driving through rolling hills of beautiful greenery, making periodic stops for complimentary sips of the homegrown beverage.
Which is what my friends Jeff, Kelly and I were doing - hundreds of miles from the Pacific Coast. No wine snobs we (though, truth be told, we kind of are), our little threesome was traveling the byways of Kentucky and quaffing bourbon - a real man's drink and America's native spirit.
We were riding the Bourbon Trail, a cluster of seven open-to-the-public distilleries packed into about a 1,000-square- mile parcel of bluegrass country, roughly southeast of Louisville and clustered around Frankfort, the state's capital.
We booked a couple of rooms at an inn in Bardstown (the trail's second-southernmost point), started up north and worked our way south, reasoning that by the time we had too much whiskey, we'd want to be as close to our hotel as possible.
Bourbon is, at its essence, whiskey. But a couple of important points distinguish bourbon from the pack. First, bourbon is distilled from mash that contains at least 51 percent corn, along with other grains. Second, bourbon is aged in oak barrels, and the barrels are charred on the inside; contact with the charred wood is what gives bourbon its characteristic caramel and oak flavor notes. There are also restrictions regarding proof levels and such, but I don't want to spoil the tour for you.
There is a Bourbon County in Kentucky, whence the name, but bourbon need not be made there to earn the name (bourbon need not be made in Kentucky, for that matter, though nearly all of it is). Indeed, none of the Bourbon Trail distilleries is in Bourbon County, though a couple are close.
You'll hear a lot of superlatives during your tours. Jim Beam is the world's largest bourbon-maker, Woodford Reserve is one of the oldest (and the official bourbon of the Kentucky Derby), Maker's Mark is the oldest working distillery on its original site, and so on.
Most tours are free (Woodford Reserve, the sole exception, charges $5), and reservations are unnecessary, unless there are more than 10 in your group. In theory, one can visit all seven distilleries in a single day; in practice, it's nearly impossible to hit more than four, because the earliest tours don't start until 9 a.m. and the last tours of the day start between 3 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. (It only took three stops on the trail to send us packing.) And though the distilleries aren't far apart, you'll do much of your driving on winding country roads with low speed limits.
Besides, after four to six shots of bourbon, you shouldn't be doing much driving anyway. A DUI citation makes for a lousy souvenir.
Jim Beam
Our first stop of the day was at the Jim Beam distillery, a mere 25 miles south of downtown Louisville. The world's largest bourbon producer doesn't invite visitors into its huge production area. Instead, there's a largely self-directed tour of beautifully landscaped grounds, dotted with buildings with displays of historic interest.
We started at the souvenir shop, which contains all things Jim Beam, including Jim Beam leather jackets, Jim Beam bar stools, pool-table lamps and, more practically, miniature bourbon bottles and bourbon-flavored chocolates. After a little film on the "First Family of Bourbon" in the adjacent theater, guests receive a complimentary bung, which is what they call the wood plug that seals the barrel hole. Then it's on to the grounds, where you can see a vintage still and several outbuildings, including a cooperage (barrel-making) display - nonfunctional but interesting.
We ended up at the gracious T. Jeremiah Beam home, whose parlor contains the tasting room. On our visit, the parlor was offering complimentary tastings of two of Jim Beam's small-batch bourbons, the peppery Basil Hayden's and the high-octane (more than 120 proof) Booker's - a little too much for me, way too intense for Kelly and just about right for Jeff. Fortunately, there was water available (and there should be; a few drops of water added to bourbon actually opens up the flavor).
"Which one do you like best?" asked our hostess, smiling.
"I can't decide," I said. "Can I try them again?"
I could. Love that Southern hospitality.
Maker's Mark
This small distillery is the southernmost stop on the Bourbon Trail. Maker's Mark is difficult to find and takes you miles out of your way.
But you should go anyway.
The Maker's Mark property, through which trickles Whiskey Creek (naturally), is beautiful. And the guided tour is just terrific.
We were led by a gentleman who described the facility with the zeal of a religious convert. He regaled us with history. He walked us through the huge warehouse, explaining that the barrels are rotated so that no barrel spends all its time way up top (the warmest area) or on the floor (coolest). He took us to the production line, where bottles of Maker's Mark are still hand-dipped in red wax (the wax seal has long been one of the bourbon's most recognized features). Not a single detail, including the bottle-shaped cutouts on the buildings' wood shutters, was overlooked.
The high point of the tour was the Still House, where the bourbon is made. Visitors can handle the grain and watch the distilled liquid - which is pure water-clear (the eventual color is derived from those charred-oak barrels) - come rushing out of the distilling tubes. In the fermenting room, you're encouraged to plunge your hand into the open, 12-foot-deep vats of sour mash (the product at this point is giving off warmth and has the consistency of runny oatmeal).
Lick your fingers and, behind the sour tang that hits your taste buds initially, there's the faint hint of what this mess will become. Sad to say, that taste of sour mash is the only free tasting you'll get; Maker's Mark doesn't dispense complimentary snorts at the end of the tour.
But there's a nifty gift shop and if you purchase a half-sized bottle of Maker's Mark ($15), you get the honor of dipping it in hot wax.
Heaven Hill
We took a different route back to the hotel from Maker's Mark, once we discovered that, thanks to a missed turn, we already were on a different route. Luckily, we were aiming for Bardstown, and most of the state highways in that area lead to Bardstown or get you pretty close.
But by the time we arrived it was nearly 2 p.m., so we grabbed a late lunch and zipped over for the last tour at Heaven Hill.
Where the previous distilleries were almost aggressively rustic, the Heaven Hill property is unabashedly corporate and modern. The visitor's center, Heaven Hill Bourbon Heritage Center, as it's called, is a gleaming round building with a tapering roof and a linear annex. Here you sign up for the tour and kill any extra time gawking at the numerous interactive displays (visitors can't resist the machine that duplicates the aromas of bourbon-making).
After a 10-minute film, we were off on the bus, zipping past the production building and on to a couple of "rickhouses" (warehouses), where barrels of bourbon are stored.
The guide interpreted the coded numbers that reveal each barrel's age, and spoke on the history of the Rev. Elijah Craig (dubbed by some "the father of bourbon," whose name adorns one of Heaven Hill's bottles).
The bus returned us to the Heritage Center for the complimentary tasting, which takes place in a large, circular room decorated inside and out to resemble a bourbon barrel. It's a very formal and detailed tasting, focused on helping visitors identify specific flavors within the bourbon before graduating to the "which do you like best?" phase of the two bourbons we sampled.
The exit door leads straight into the gift shop (surprise!), a by-now-familiar array of merchandise. Best of the bunch: A corn-squeezin's-style jug of bourbon that you can have personalized.
Phil Vettel writes for the Chicago Tribune.
IF YOU GO
GETTING THERE
Wherever you begin your Bourbon Trail tour, Bardstown, Ky., is a good place to end up. The historic town, about 25 miles south of Louisville, has historic buildings packed into a few city blocks.
BOURBON TRAIL
My No. 1 tip: Pack the car with water bottles. Tasting bourbon is thirsty work. For total bourbon immersion, there's the Kentucky Bourbon Festival, held in Bardstown annually. The 2007 dates are Sept. 11-16, when it rarely rains but definitely pours in Bardstown. There will be tours, entertainment and black-tie galas (800-638-4877 or kybourbonfestival.com).
Jim Beam Distillery
-- 149 Happy Hollow Road, Clermont. 502-543-9877 or jimbeam.com
Maker's Mark Distillery
-- 3350 Burks Spring Road, Loretto. 270-865-2099 or makersmark.com
Heaven Hill Bourbon Heritage Center
-- 1311 Gilkey Run Road, Bardstown. 502-337-1000 or bourbonheritagecenter.com
Buffalo Trace Distillery
-- 1001 Wilkinson Blvd., Frankfort. 502-696-5926 or www.buffalotrace.com
Four Roses Distillery
-- 1224 Bonds Mill Road, Lawrenceburg. 502-543-2264 or www.fourroses.us
Wild Turkey Distillery
-- U.S. Highway 62 East, Lawrenceburg. 502-839-4544 or wildturkeybourbon.com
Woodford Reserve Distillery
-- 7855 McCracken Pike, Versailles. 859-879-1812 or woodfordreserve.com
INFORMATION
Bardstown-Nelson County Tourist Convention Commission
-- 800-638-4877 or visitbardstown.com.