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By Mike Miller
Ah, , time again for the Kentucky Bourbon Festival - my favorite five day bacchanal of Bourbon.
This is the eleventh installment of Bourbonfest , held annually in Bardstown, Kentucky - and this will be my fourth trip down.
I cannot recommend this event enough, it is Mecca for any Bourbon enthusiast. So here I offer my guide to five days in Bourbon
Heaven. First off, Bardstown is the center of all things Bourbon-related. It is home to the unbelievable Oscar Getz Museum
of Whiskey History and the site of many of the events that the festival hosts. Getting acquainted with it right away is critical.
The Festival starts Wednesday, September 18th and runs through Sunday, September 22. Though attending the whole
event is not crucial, it will help you have a complete experience, mainly if you want to add visits to distilleries to your
agenda. From Chicago, Bardstown is a pretty quick five hour drive straight through Indianapolis and about forty-five minutes
South of Louisville. You will be best served by heading out of town, if you are driving, Wednesday before 3pm - getting you
into Bardstown about 9pm (they are on Eastern Time.) If you find yourself there before 6pm then your first stop should be
Toddys Liquors right in the center of Bardstown. Toddys has by far the best selection of Bourbon in the area, and the sooner
you stop in, the better your chances become of finding some unusual bottles. Also, if you get in early you can check out the
Wild Turkey Boots and Bourbon event, with some live C&W, top notch Barbecue and of course plenty of Bourbon. I also recommend
stopping by the old Talbot Tavern for some late night drinkin - but not too late as youll want to get an early start on Thursday.
Start your day on Thursday by going by the Bardstown/Nelson County Visitors Center (107 East Stephen Foster Ave.
- (800) 638-4877). There is a wealth of information to get here, with exact directions to all the distilleries being your
main goal. Then head over to the Oscar Getz Museum of Bourbon History, and take your time at this place. When Oscar Getz -
owner of Barton Brands - decided to move his collection of whiskey memorabilia to the Smithsonian, they told him it was too
much for them to handle and that it should stay right there in Bardstown - luckily for us. The old bottle collection alone
is worth coming down for.
After you have filled up with the history of our All-American Spirit, its time to see
the reality of the industry at Makers Mark - one of the most picturesque distilleries anywhere in the world. Located in Loretto,
about a twenty minute drive outside of Bardstown, Makers Mark will offer you the opportunity to witness a facility that maintains
an old world approach to whiskey making while employing the most modern possible techniques. Copper pot stills, old cypress
wood fermenters, the hand wax dipping of the bottles - this is truly a unique place. You will want to allow for a couple of
hours to get to and explore this amazing distillery. From Makers I recommend a visit out to the Jim Beam Distillery, nestled
into the hills of Clermont about thirty minutes from Makers.
At the Jim Beam facility you will be awe struck at
the worlds highest volume Bourbon distillery. Though you will be unable to enter the distillery itself, a trip to Beam is
visiting a part of American history. The old living quarters of the founders are on the grounds, an excellent film about Bourbon
and the Beam history can be seen and of course some bourbon can be sampled. In the evening the Festival offers several activities,
you can attend a really fun cooking with Bourbon seminar - which I went to a few years ago. Thursday is also a good night
to experience some of the local restaurants and make it a fairly early evening because Friday is going to be a big day.
I would definitely register for the Lets Talk Bourbon seminar, which is held at the Four Roses Distillery in Lawrenceburg.
This is a very educational event with a discussion of the Bourbon making process with master distiller Jimmy Rutherford ,
a tour of the pristine Four Roses distillery and a great lunch and Bourbon Tasting afterwards - last year there was also the
first induction ceremony for the Kentucky Bourbon Hall Of Fame, it was an honor to have been in attendance. Furthermore, when
this event ends at 2pm you are only a few minutes from both the Wild Turkey Distillery and the Labrot & Graham Distillery
in nearby Versailles. I recommend squeezing them both into your agenda.
Wild Turkey offers a look at one of the
most friendly and traditional distilling facilities in the industry.Labrot & Graham, which had become extinct and has
now been beautifully restored by the Brown Forman Company (Jack Daniels), produces small batches of Woodford Reserve. These
will give you the proper saturation to move ahead on your journey in Bourbonland. On Friday night, the Bourbon Festival kicks
into full gear and I recommend checking out the grounds in front of the museum in the evening. There are local food venders,
a battle of the bands, an antique car show and if you are so inclined a Bourbon, Cigars and Jazz dinner held in the state
park. ...And dont forget, Saturday starts early and goes all night.
Saturday is the big day for the festival itself
and there are excellent activities all day. I like the Kentucky Bourbon Breakfast which starts around 8am - Bourbon butter,
Bourbon syrup, Bourbon coffee... fun, and you will not want to miss the World Championship Bourbon Barrel Relay starting at
11am - this is one of my favorite events at the Bourbon Festival. Enjoy a Mint Julep while you witness the skills of the barrel
warehouse masters as they attempt to roll ten full bärrels of Bourbon through a course and into a rack - bung up - this is
a really fun yet serious competition. The afternoon by the museum is full of events.
I never miss the Master Distillers
Auction and my chance to bid on rare and signed bottlings - with the proceeds going to the Bourbon Museum; also, witness local
craftsmen make barrels in the park, check out the tents of each bourbon producer, meet and chat with people who have written
books on the subject, maybe take the dinner train along the old Bourbon trail for lunch. But save room for The Great Kentucky
Bourbon Tasting & Gala - the black tie highlight of the weekend. At this event you can sample every product currently
being made by every distillery and meet every principle person involved with the production of Bourbon whiskey. A fantastic
dinner is also served, plenty of Bourbon is consumed and the dancing goes into the morning.
This event is really
magnificent. If you have had the opportunity to go to some other festival events and visit some of the distilleries, everything
will come together at the Gala, it is truly the Bourbon event of the year. The fun returns to the grounds of the museum on
Sunday morning - if you can find a way to make it - with another round of Bourbon Breakfast and other Bourbon related events
to fill out the afternoon. Then its time to take a slow and easy ride back to the big city with a belly full of memories and
a fresh look at an old friend. If you are planning on going, definitely book a room and your tickets to the Gala in advance,
it has always sold out. For a more complete listing of events, times, places to stay and prices, check out the Kentucky Bourbon
Festival website at kybourbobfest.com or give them a call (502) 348-3623 and they will send you the information. Also, stop
by and have a drink with me any time at Delilahs, 2771 N. Lincoln, Chicago (773) 472-2771, and experience the Mid-Wests most
comprehensive selection of whiskey.
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kybourbonfestival.com
kybourbon.com
irish-whiskey-trail.com
straightbourbon.com
whiskeypages.com
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Distillers:
jimbeam.com
smallbatch.com
buffalotrace.com
brown-forman.com
heaven-hill.com
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