From the Marker’s Mark Distillery in Loretto, Kentucky, I write… For the truest form of love for American heritage, one must explore the backcountry roads and small towns of the Midwest. Of all of the spirits celebrated around the nation (and even the world), bourbon is the only creation that is native to the USA. Its burst of vanilla and caramel tones compliment the warm lasting finish like no other spirit in the world. Irish whiskey has long been a favorite of mine, but a very close second is Kentucky bourbon – there’s just something oh, so grand about the whole experience.
To kick off my 2014 USA road trip, my traveling partner Matt and I set out in search of the best bourbon in the state, but due to time constraints, we didn’t get to try enough bourbon to make an unbiased case for one or another. However, with my healthy experience of tasting brews, wines, and spirits, I can say that my tongue is rather accustomed to challenges such as these.
We drove through miles of winding country roads until we arrived to the distillery. As I stated here, I thought that it was likely that Maker’s Mark was simply just the the “love-baby of a major corporate alcohol conglomerate.” But I came to find out after enjoying our private tour of the facilities that Maker’s Mark is as authentic as you could possibly dream of. Everything seemed so fragile and antique, and a lot of the way they do the distilling process amazed me, because they seem to do a lot of the distilling and storage of the maturing barrels the way they would have over one-hundred years ago.
We toured the many buildings setup throughout the distillery campus – we saw where they confirm the quality of the barrels and where the Master Distiller tested each batch at every step of the process; plus, we also toured the distillation buildings, the chilling storage facilities, and where the bottling happens. One of the most interesting parts of the tour was when you enter the gift shop and there are several stations setup so that you can dip your own personal bottle of the good stuff right in the famous red wax. It’s quite a bit more difficult than you think it is to achieve that beautiful dripping look. All in all, the tour was top notch, the bourbon was delicious, and the experience was a magical one!
A huge shout out to Roy Lee, for being the best tour guide humanly possible!
We drove through miles of winding country roads until we arrived to the distillery. As I stated here, I thought that it was likely that Maker’s Mark was simply just the the “love-baby of a major corporate alcohol conglomerate.” But I came to find out after enjoying our private tour of the facilities that Maker’s Mark is as authentic as you could possibly dream of. Everything seemed so fragile and antique, and a lot of the way they do the distilling process amazed me, because they seem to do a lot of the distilling and storage of the maturing barrels the way they would have over one-hundred years ago.
We toured the many buildings setup throughout the distillery campus – we saw where they confirm the quality of the barrels and where the Master Distiller tested each batch at every step of the process; plus, we also toured the distillation buildings, the chilling storage facilities, and where the bottling happens. One of the most interesting parts of the tour was when you enter the gift shop and there are several stations setup so that you can dip your own personal bottle of the good stuff right in the famous red wax. It’s quite a bit more difficult than you think it is to achieve that beautiful dripping look. All in all, the tour was top notch, the bourbon was delicious, and the experience was a magical one!
A huge shout out to Roy Lee, for being the best tour guide humanly possible!
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