Adventures on the Bourbon Trail

So Kentucky is a really cool place. Seriously. This was one of those places that was added to the trip that I thought could be either really amazing, or just a stop over. Well I’m happy to report that it is awesome. We came for the bourbon but stayed for the cool vibes, the gorgeous horse farms, and OK, also the bourbon. I liked Kentucky so much that I made us stay an extra day.

We stayed in Lexington and ventured into the downtown area for a drink before exploring, stumbling into a bar called Parlay Social where the bartender made us delicious bourbon-infused drinks. Mine actually utilized a smoked cherry which I witnessed the bartender smoke by hand. And it tasted like bad decisions. Or bourbon and smokiness. So it was definitely a good decision to come here. As we walked along the small downtown area, catching Pokemon, wondering where to eat for dinner, it came to me that this laid back southern town really has it going on. It’s a small area you can walk around in about 15-20 minutes but also very close to other parts of Lexington, like horses and bourbon.

I did not know that Lexington is the “horse capital” of the world. We have heard of the Kentucky Derby, but that is in Louisville; Lexington is home to Keeneland, which is where there is mile upon mile of horse farms. We learned that people who have far more money than I will probably ever have come here to buy million dollar horses. And I’m still stressed about still renting my apartment. Driving past Keeneland on the way to bourbon tasting is an experience in itself. These are seriously the most beautiful farms with the most perfect white fences. No wonder people come from all over the world to buy these horses. They must be the most well cared horses ever because all you see is the greenest grass ever and beautiful horse stables. I would seriously move in there because I’m sure it is nicer than some apartments I have lived in. Being a horse in Lexington is seriously the life.

Now let’s get into the main reason we came here. Bourbon, of course. Kentucky makes some fine ones. Now we approached this bourbon adventure similar to wine tasting. Meaning we didn’t really have a plan but just kind of went with the flow. We decided on Four Roses first, and despite their actual distillery tour being on hiatus (they are building a bigger one!) it was still my favorite distillery we visited.

It was a really great history lesson followed by drinking delicious bourbon. Our tour guide was stellar which totally makes the bourbon tasting experience. Our tour guide was not shy with the bourbon which was so nice of her and made me actually purchase our first of many bottles. Our tour was so small that she just gave us 4 glasses to take home. Which of course fit in the car. Move over, Ella, make room for bourbon souvenirs. The others we visited were all so different so you feel like you got a good experience of what it is to make bourbon, past and present. Each one offered such a different experience allowing me to learn many things:

Bourbon is delicious (Four Roses)
The distilling process is really like a superfun chemistry experiment (Woodford Reserve)
Bourbon has been through a lot and now it’s back, kicking ass and taking names (Bulleit Bourbon)
Bourbon MUST have at least 51% corn but it can have much more. Which makes it sweeter. Because science. (Buffalo Trace)