It wasn't that far away (about 30 miles) so it made sense to give it a try. Besides, we love to drink Manhattans occasionally, and they are made with bourbon, so it had a special attraction for us.
We were immediately impressed with the well manicured grounds and the very clean looking buildings:
The tour was very interesting to us, since we have been to wineries in the past, and we were anxious to see the differences. There were several more steps - and ingredients - in whiskey making than in wine making. Without going into all the steps (they can be seen in the link above), we went through several buildings where our tour guide explained the whole process:
One of the unique characteristics of their product is the red wax that is present on each and every product produced by them. The process was being done on glasses yesterday, but all of their bottles are hand-dipped in this red wax before going to market:
Just like the wineries, we were given the opportunity at the end of the tour to "taste" the product. We were given a tiny sample (really just a taste) of their main product - Makers Mark Bourbon - and their newest product which is called Makers Mark 46, - another bourbon which is aged longer, producing a different flavor. The tasting area was also part of their gift store which is how they make their money from the tour guests:
It was a fascinating experience and ended with our getting a stamp in our Kentucky Bourbon Trail Passport that is used like the National Park Passport so you can keep track of the bourbon distilleries you've visited. Whether or not we get to the other 5 distilleries remains to be seen.
As we left the distillery and started home, we came across the sign for Abraham Lincoln's boyhood home which was in the area. Why not?
This was the home where he spent most of his early years - until age 7 - before his family moved on to Indiana, and eventually Illinois. It is amazing that a family of 4 could live in such close quarters.:
It was a 1 room home, with only 1 window. I commented to Josie that, if the kids misbehaved, they weren't told to "go to their room" as we did with our kids.
It turned out that Lincoln's family had to live here as a result of a title dispute over the home and property where he was actually born - about 10 miles south of this home. We also paid a visit to his birthplace:
which was (a replica) enclosed in a beautiful memorial that was erected on the exact location of the home:
As you can see from the pictures above, the sun eventually came out and it was a great day to visit these historical locations. The fact that we basically "stumbled" onto these Lincoln landmarks is a testimony to the fact that Kentucky is loaded with interesting, historical attractions. There will be more of these excursions and, maybe, another visit to one today...
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