The home was owned by a John Rowan who was a noted defense attorney of the early 1800's and was a cousin to Stephen Foster, who visited the home often. It became the inspiration for his song "My Old Kentucky Home" which became the state song for Kentucky and is sung each year at the Kentucky Derby. There was a statue of Stephen Foster on the beautifully manicured grounds:
The tour of the home was very good, although we were not allowed to take any pictures of the inside (?). The home was part of the State Park system in Kentucky and our research showed that it had a campground and also a very nice picnic area. Since it was such a beautiful day, we packed a picnic lunch and took advantage of the picnic area:
Our research also showed that there was another Bourbon Distillery nearby - 1/2 mile away. Of course, we had to get another stamp in our Bourbon Trail Passport, so we went.
The Heaven Hill Distillery:
was much larger than the Makers Mark Distillery we visited the day before. They produce many more products for worldwide distribution.
Our tour was also very different as we never went into the production facility. It was conducted by a very knowledgeable person (Joan) who took us through one of their many warehouses (below) to explain the process:
It seems that 95 % of the world's bourbon is produced here in Kentucky. The (stated) reason for Kentucky being the top producer is the fact that Kentucky sits on a Limestone shelf that naturally filters out the iron content from spring water used in the process, and replaces it with other minerals. Anyway, following our walk through one of the many warehouses storing the products, we went to the tasting room and tasted 2 of their products:
The tasting room was adjacent to the gift shop, which was well stocked with their products and other logo items:
The most interesting item to us was a bottle of bourbon that you can buy for $500:
This bourbon was aged 27 years - as opposed to the normal 3-5 years - and is 126 proof - as opposed to the normal 90 proof. It obviously would provide a nice "kick" for anybody willing to pay that much for a bottle. We were also told that bourbon (or any whiskey) doesn't continue to age like wine does. Once it is bottled, the age is set. Shucks, that means that my 18 year old scotch I bought in 1975 isn't any better now than the day I bought it, so I may as well open it.
Today is the day we expect to hear from Amazon regarding our drug test results and orientation schedule. For that reason, we will stay close to home and do our other chores...
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