Bourbon, please
I confess, I’m a lightweight when it comes to this rich juice. However, I do adore it.
Bardstown, Kentucky, opens up the bourbon experience quite nicely, and within a 16 mile radius, there are 11 distilleries that offer a taste of the good life.
I confess, that as I walked through the rick houses, sipped an Old Fashioned creation, listened to the master distillers debate recipes, and sip signature and special collections, I brought with me the years of teachings of a 1930 moonshiner whose edges were rough while his passion for brewing was honed. As one who came before these Bardstown distillers, the moonshiner defined excellence, even if it was located among trees and creek beds. Again, a confession: I compared their product to his.
At the end, the moonshiner would have been proud. In the bottles of Heaven Hill, Bardstown Bourbon, Preservation, Lux Row, Log Still, and Jim Beam, I experienced liquid passion and pride. Not that I could taste the notes or profiles (again, a confession of a bourbon lover, not a bourbon expert), but I definitely understood the elements that encouraged me to take another sip.
And from these six come the Bardstown Collection. It’s a one-of-a-kind bourbon series; distilleries have a hand-selected premium bourbon available only on-site.
This collaborative project further establishes this region as the Bourbon Capital of the World.
Release date is April 13-16, 2023. And once they are gone, they are gone.
Heaven Hill Distillery | The rickhouse on site at Heaven Hill. It’s a simple warehouse used for storing and aging bourbon. Barrels sit on the wooden ricks, usually multiple stories high. The weather, space and movement determines taste. Hundreds of barrels wait in the rickhouses for the right moment to be exposed to the light.
Bardstown Bourbon Company | Visit the history center at Bardstown and see some of the oldest bourbon bottles available.
Preservation Distillery | Bardstown first official craft bourbon operation and only pot still distillery. It specializes in small batch bourbon and unique releases.
Lux Row Distillers | Opened in 2018, Lux Row is the home of Ezra Brooks, Rebel, Blood Oath Bourbons and more. It is capable of producing 50,000 barrels annually.
Log Still Distillery | Built on a foundation of faith, family and community, Log Still unites three generations and is led by a female master distiller.
James B. Beam Distillery | Seven generations of the Beam family have been producing whiskey since 1795. Today, Freddie Noe leads the family’s bourbon production. Says Noe, “Bardstown made me who I am.”
The Bardstown Collection is available on-site at each of the distilleries, and when the collection is gone, it’s gone.
“The selected expressions will be bottled in custom packaging that celebrates the community and the history of Bardstown. The shared bottle design features iconic images from Bardstown, such as The My Old Kentucky Home museum, and will be packaged within a gold-embossed, navy blue box featuring an ornate compass and a detailed graphic of the region’s topography. The box also includes a moleskin booklet describing the product and process of every distillery.” ~ Visit Bardstown
For more information on the release, contact each distillery. Also contact Visit Bardstown.
