Throughout our stay in Louisville we had been meaning to make our way to a distillery. As I am sure many of you know, Kentucky is home to bourbon. Bourbon, which I came to find out, is nothing more than moonshine aged in charred oak barrels. They story we were told involves a barn fire, a priest, and a slow trip down the Mississippi which all culminated in bourbon.
I know there is Bourbon Alley or the Bourbon tour but we decided to stay in town and visit the Evan Williams Bourbon Experience. We had a blast! It wasn't busy. In fact, we had a private tour with just Rebecca and myself. Furthermore, our host, Vicky was a blast and did a phenomenal job. We learned about the history of Evan Williams, a port master, among other professions. We also learned one of the Jim Beam family members came over to Evan Williams after Prohibition to get them up and running again.
There was a free tasting at the end of our tour which accompanied free bourbon balls. I think it was around $12 or $14 for the tour. It was an awesome place and I would definitely recommend it while in Louisville. How it compares to the other distilleries and their tours, I can't compare.
After the tour we stopped next door and had some Mexican and then walked around the downtown area for a bit. Anyway, here are some photos!
(Evan Williams Bourbon Experience)
(Fun display they have set up as soon as you walk in the door)
('It's a fountain,' says Rebecca)
(Here I am and you can just see the tip of the bottle which continues to the 2nd floor)
(Since 1783 - Evan Williams Bourbon)
(Old Distilling Equipment. The tour actually took us through time beginning in the 1700s and finishing in the modern era. They did a great job and even used minutes from a meeting held hundreds of years ago.)
(The new toys)
(Someone even gets the job of testing the moonshine and bourbon - Where do I sign up?)
(Someone signs each of the toppers in the barrels)
(The barrels are actually placed in a large warehouse and the change in temperature from season to season is what causes the moonshine to move in and out of the charred wood, thus giving bourbon its color and flavor.)
(A long time ago, people used to mess up borbon, quite often. When this happened you could take it to a rectifier and they would add some ingredients to try and make it taste better and then they would sell it.)
(Our tasting room)
(Hidden within each of the tables and countertops are these secret compartments filled with scent tubes, 2 types of bourbon, and water)
(Here is our fantastic host - Vicky - as she explains the 2 types of bourbon we will be trying. You can just see her enthusiasm!)
(Each bottle is marked with date it was barreled on, the barrel number, as well as the date it was bottled on - phenomenal quality control)
(I was half tempted to steal one of these glasses because they were awesome, BUT I didn't and 'stealing is wrong')
(The 2 kinds of bourbon we tried)
(Memorabilia to add some ambiance to the room)
(Here are the ladies enjoying each other's company as well as a different view of the room)
(More goodies)
(During prohibition bourbon and liquor was sold as medicine)
(If you click on the picture you can read the purpose of this bottle)
(All different colors and sizes, each of course for different diseases and remedies)
(The 'Mad Men' room. We were not able to taste test in this room but since there was nobody behind we were able to stop in and check it out.)
(An oak barrel splayed open)
(If you look close enough you can see the large bottle from the start of the tour reflected in the glass windows)
(Jim joined us after the tour as we tried a few more types of bourbon and bourbon related products, including BBQ sauce)
(Either Lewis or Clark and Rebecca)
(I can't quite recall this gentleman)
(Rebecca tried to take a sneak shot and this is what we ended up with)
(A sweet bench so we decided to take some fun photos)
(As we were snapping away a group of women walked by and kindly took our photos)
(Here is Rebecca modeling)
(A special government building, a courthouse perhaps)
(A sweet bell or sorts with angels)
(Another sweet building, maybe city hall)
(King Louis the 16th)
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