Bourbon Trail Part 2!
James came down from Cincinnati and joined Cardinal Hill PT kids, me, Mary and other James. We had a great Saturday and really enjoyed the Bourbon Trail! These distilleries are a little bit further from Lexington, out toward Louisville and we really enjoyed our scenic drive!
Fun Fact: In Kentucky, they say the trees talk.... what does that mean? Well, especially during prohibition the law enforcement looked for these black trees. Distilleries create a mold that will take to the trees so during prohibition the trees gave away who was making moonshine! :)
First Stop: Jim Beam
- Immigrants from Germany named Boehm came to America. They later changed the spelling to Beam, and fortunately for us, seven generations of Beams would—and still do—ensure that their name would remain synonymous with the world's finest and best-selling bourbon.
- What did the family do during Prohibition (1920-1933 in case you forgot your US History...)?
- They tried their hand at citrus farming in FL, and Coal mining in KY, nothing was satisfying to them therefore when Prohibition was repealed in 1933 Jim Beam rebuilt the distillery in 120 days. Crazy!
- Below is the budget that Jim Beam sat down to crunch the numbers and below is his list.
Next Stop: Heaven Hill
- We were on a time crunch and Heaven Hill's complimentary tour was full & us poor PT kids didn't want to pay the $$ for a long tour.
- Heaven Hill's portfolio includes both domestically produced products, such as Evan Williams Bourbon and Christian Brothers Brandy, as well as a growing line of selected imported brands from around the world, such as Hpnotiq Liqueur and O'Mara's Irish Country Cream.
- Oh well, not much to share here but we got our stamps for the passport!
Last Stop: Maker's Mark! 
- What's in a name?
- Marjorie Samuels always had a special knack for marketing our little bourbon. She was a fan of fine pewter pieces, which were known for the mark their maker put on them. Hence our name.
- But to truly embrace the name, she felt that we needed our own special mark. This led her to the SIV symbol, which stands for Samuels 4th generation.
- Fall 1959: Maker’s Mark® was finally available for market after 6 summers of aging. The first bottle was a four fifths of a quart and sold for $6.79 a bottle. 250 cases sold in year one. All of which happened to be in Kentucky. The first case sold to Keeneland Racetrack in Lexington.
- We got to dip our own bottles at Maker's Mark!!
 |
| My completed passport! |
So you totally forgot to mention the scene where 4 hungry PT students walked into a bar... All music stops, all conversation stops, 6 locals sitting at the bar all turn and look at us, and we freeze in the doorway... (insert awkward silence here) one of the Jame's ask "uhh, so, do you guys have food here?" Bartender looks down on the ground behind the bar searching for food and responds: "well, not that I see, but we have beer. The restaurant down the street has some food." We awkwardly exit still starving and feeling defeated. Drunk local at bar yells: "But you guys should come back and drink with us!"
ReplyDelete