Barton
Four Roses
Buffalo Trace
In April of 2006 I returned to Kentucky for the Bardstown Bourbon Sampler. The Sampler is a one night social event featuring local bourbon and food. Most of the local distillers have a table where they pour samples of their top shelf bourbons. Food is provided by local restaurants.
For many people the Sampler is really just an excuse for bourbon enthusiasts from around the country (and the world) to get together socially for a few days. Activities include special distillery tours and many get togethers to taste and trade whiskey.
I was fortunate to participate in three specially arranged tours while I was in town, details below.
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Barton |
Four Roses |
Buffalo Trace |
I had a fantastic three days. The activities were amazing and the people I met were simply the best. My only complaint was the meager amount of sleep squeezed in each night between days with so much to do. I could tell stories all day long, but will leave you with a few modest anecdotes.
Brush with Greatness - We ate dinner on the first night at Bourbon's Bistro in Louisville.
This place is amazing.
As you would expect, they have more bourbon on the bar than you can shake a snifter at.
But what you might not expect is the first class restaurant.
The food is outstanding; you'd have to look long and hard to find a finer meal.
As we were preparing to leave, I made a quick stop in the rest room.
Washing up, I heard the door handle jiggle.
I opened the door and it's none other than Jimmy Russell, the legendary Master Distiller from Wild Turkey!
(I saw Jimmy again two days later at the Sampler, where he was kind enough to sign my Wild Turkey barrel head)
Impress Me - After dinner at the Bistro, we hit a few Louisville liquor stores looking for local treasures. One stop was Evergreen Liquors, a very nice store where we picked up several bottles. The manager was very excited and proud of their upcoming tastings. He told us "We're going to have Jimmy Russell in tomorrow, and then Jim Rutledge of Four Roses. We're also getting Chris Morris (Woodford Reserve) and that '1792' guy (Greg Davis of Barton)". I thought to myself, I ran into Jimmy Russell earlier tonight, I had a private tour with Greg Davis earlier today, and I have a private tour with Jim Rutledge tomorrow morning. I haven't seen Chris Morris this week, but I did spend a day with him last year at his "Bourbon Academy". How lucky am I!
No really, I've had everything - There are a number of tastings around the Sampler and the selection gets larger every night.
On the third night I was surveying the open bottles and made the comment "I think I've tried just about everything here."
Now I wasn't just mouthing off.
Between the more common labels, and the bottles I had already tasted on previous nights, I really had covered the spread.
Someone overheard my mumbling and challenged the seemingly obnoxious comment.
"You could not have tried everything on this table.", he stated.
"No really, I think I have", I replied.
He carefully scanned the table and settled on a freaky little mason jar with fruit slices floating in it.
"Have you tried this?" he challenged.
"Yes, it's homemade Rock and Rye, and that lady over there brought it. It's quite good.", I stated flatly.
His face drooped in defeat.
"I guess you have tried everything ..."
Vatting - At the Friday night banquet I decided to test a recipe I had read on StraightBourbon.com. It described how to make a very close approximation of the $200/bottle "Masterpiece Port Finish 20 Yr Old Bourbon". I gave the inside of my snifter a good coating of 1933 Henriques Malmsey Madeira provided by the always generous Tim. The recipe then calls for a Beam product such as Knob Hill, but I added a small pour of Woodford Reserve low batch number I had handy. Give it a good swirl and Voila! Instant Bourbon Masterpiece! It was actually quite good; give it a try sometime with whatever port or Madeira you might have on hand.
The following night at the Sampler I decided to make my own Four Grain. I started with a pour of Four Roses Single Barrel since it has a very high rye content. I then added 1/4 Bernheim Wheat courtesy of Parker Beam at the Heaven Hill table. The result was pretty good, give it a try sometime.
Kentucky Bourbon Festival
The Kentucky Bourbon Trail
