Here, some 57 premium bourbons are backlit behind an
almost-60-foot-long bar spilling over with a crowd so young and
trendy, you'd swear this is Hollywood. Bourbon comes by the flight
or within a dazzling list of creative cocktails like the Miss Smith
(Maker's, Berentzen apple liqueur, and apple juice). A meal here,
where upstart chef Anthony Lusiak works
Kentucky's liquid gold into
ridiculously tasty tapas like pepper-grilled filet tips in a smoky
bourbon béarnaise sauce, is the perfect jumping-off point for
touring Kentucky's Bourbon Trail.
The trail winds through four main counties: Nelson, Jefferson,
Franklin, and Anderson. Bourbon County, the one from which the
spirit dates back to the late 18th century, is, funnily enough, a
dry county these days (Christian County, incidentally, is wet). And
until just last year, state law prohibited tasting bourbon on
premises along the trail's main distilleries (Jim Beam, Maker's
Mark, Wild Turkey, Four Roses, Buffalo Trace, and Heaven Hill).
Nowadays, most have sipping licenses, and those who don't offer
unique and different experiences. Their free tours are worth
checking out, as well (especially since you might find a little
sobering-up time helpful). At Buffalo Trace Distillery in Franklin
County, for instance, you can watch the tedious hand-bottling
process bestowed upon Blanton's. At Four Roses in Anderson County,
you can dip your finger in the fermenting vats and taste the sweet,
cooked yeast and unsweetened mash. And at Wild Turkey, killer
bourbon brownies are served to patrons craving a nip. You get the
picture. Let's drink.
"To cut or not to cut?" That is the question I'm asking myself at
9:00 a.m. inside the T. Jeremiah Beam House at the Jim Beam
Distillery (as opposed to something more appropriate, like, "Why on
earth am I drinking bourbon at 9:00 a.m.?"). Located 25 miles
southeast of
Louisville, just off I-65, Beam is most people's first
stop on the trail.