Makers Mark - Loretto Kentucky

I have been enjoying Makers Mark Bourbon whiskey for a few years now. Back in 2010, I signed up as an Ambassador for Makers Mark to help spread the cheer. As part of being an Ambassador, Makers Mark placed my name (along with 30 others) on a plaque that is attached to a barrel of the good stuff. My barrels birthday is Nov 1, 2010. It is now as of this date 4 years and 8 months  aged. The expected maturity is somewhere between Nov 2016 and May 2018. Once it is uncorked, I will get a chance to get a bottle from this barrel.

So, anyway, I have been wanting to get to the distillery for some time now. In July 2015, we finally got the chance. This place in Loretto, Ky is not easy to find, but we drove thru some beautiful rolling hills full of fields of corn.

Entrance to Makers Mark

 Normally these distilleries charge a nominal fee for the tours and tastings, but luck was with us today. Computer was down, so the tour was free. Can't beat that. However, they still made a killing off me in the gift shop.

Courtney was our tour guide, and she did a good job explaining the process during the tour. This was the only tour we have had so far where we were able to see the complete process. From cooking the mashbill to aging the final product to labeling and bottling.

One part of the distillery had large vats where the mashbill was being cooked. We were invited to dip out fingers in each of three vats to taste the difference. Certainly did not taste like anything I would want to drink later.

From there we went into one of the Rickhouses where the barrels are stored for aging. My barrel is in there somewhere with my name on the plaque attached to it.

The labeling room is where the labels are printed, cut and laminated. This is all down by ladies feeding the old machines by hand.

Then it was off to the bottling plant where we saw the 1 liter bottles get unpacked, rinsed with a small amount of bourbon (not water), then filled, capped, and labelled. Four ladies were then hand-dipping each bottle into the hot red wax.

At the end of the tour, we were led into the tasting room where we were treated to four different tastings. One was what they called Makers White. This is normally called 'white dog', which is the final product before being put into the barrels for aging. It was good enough that I had to buy a bottle. This is not sold in any retail stores.

Makers White - Dipping by Doc

In the gift shop I bought a bottle of the Makers White, a bottle of Makers Mark Cask Strength (113 proof), and a commemorative bottle signed by Bill and Rob Samuels.  The Makers White I got to dip the bottle myself into the red wax. The lady helping me told me to dip it all the way down, instead of just the neck of the bottle.

Autographed Commemorative Bottle

Dipped Sipping Glass

All in all, it was worth the trip.

In Search of the Bourbon Trail - Kentucky

Days 1 & 2 - Starting Off With An Invasion

Left Austin Saturday morning for a 3 to 4 week trip. We hope to make Kentucky and visit the distilleries along the Bourbon Trail. I am an ambassador for Makers Mark, and my name is proudly displayed on one of the barrels awaiting to be uncorked. We figure it'll take at least a week to get there as we make our way east.

First stop was Martin Creek State Park just outside of Henderson, Tx. Nice park, price was right, and the lake was very nice for swimming. On entry I had noticed a warning about an ant invasion, but paid little mind to it. Hoo boy.

Sunday morning Jan wakes for her morning pills, and upon entering the kitchen notices millions of these little ants all over the countertop, floor, and walls. Crazy ants is one name for them since they scurry about aimlessly and fast. They are actually called Argentine ants, but you can google either one for additional info.  Immediately I am up and out the door to try and find their entry point. Apparently they traveled up the water hose and into the coach. Once that was disconnected, I went back inside to help kill them with water soaked towels. We had no ant killer with us. My skin crawls seeing this many ants inside the coach. We killed as many as we could, hooked up, and left the campground. 

First stop, the nearest gas station where we bought two cans of ant spray. That did the trick. Majority of the ants moved to the outside of the coach. How they hung on traveling down the freeway at 65 mph, I'll never know. Once we got to the KOA at Hot Springs, AR, we still saw them traveling up and down the rear end. More spray, and that was that. We were still killing a few stragglers inside, but by now it appeared the worst was over. What a way to start our trip. 

It is now Monday morning, and my eyes are still darting about expecting to see more of these invasive critters. So far, nothing, but that feeling is still there. 

Days 3 & 4 - Hot Springs, AR.

Hot Springs National Park is actually a park in a small city surrounded by low-lying mountains. Visitors still come to 'take the baths' provided by the natural hot springs in the area. Before the 1960's Bathhouse Row stayed busy providing bathing facilities for visitors. Then they started to close their doors after this traditional way of bathing started to decline. Today, there are still a couple of bathhouses still open.

There are around 47 springs in the area. Most are covered to prevent contamination, but there are a few public fountains where anyone can come and fill up their jugs and drinking glasses with the water from the springs. The average temperature of the water is 143 degrees.  In a few places where the springs are not capped, you can see the vapors rising skyward.

One of  7 Public Fountains 

Another Fountain - Filling Up Our Water Jugs

Scientists estimate that the water emerging from these hot springs are over 4000 years ago. It takes that long for the rainfall to make its way deep into the earth over warmer rocks where it is heated about 4 degrees every 300 feet. Eventually the water meets faults and joints leading back up to Hot Springs Mountain.

Lately we have been watching 'The Making of the Mob' on AMC. On the show it mentioned that Lucky Luciano, Al Capone, and other gangsters once frequented Hot Springs. We came upon the Ohio Club that boosts having these gangsters as frequent visitors. It opened in 1905, and has been in business off and on since then.  The bar itself was pretty cool, with a very elaborate bar back. It was made of hand carved mahogany around 1870-1880. It was found in Cincinnati and brought down the Mississippi by barge. The bar itself was a speakeasy back in the prohibition days.

Ohio Club

There is also a brewery that took over one of the old bathhouses that brews its own beer from the hot springs. It has a very unique beer tap as seen from the picture below. We tried a sample flight of four of their brews, and was not impressed. Gimmee a good ole Mexican beer anytime and I'll be happy. 

Unique beer Tap

We did a lot of walking, drinking of the hot springs water, and mountain driving. We had a great time. I think we'll be back here someday to try out the baths.

Day 5 & 6 - Memphis, Tennessee

Our next stop was Tom Sawyers RV Park in West Memphis Arkansas. This RV park is right on the banks of the great Mississippi river. The two days we were there, half the RV slots were closed due to flooding. We picked a spot that was relatively dry and set up camp. After settling in, we decided to head out to see the town. After getting on the wrong interstate, we headed south towards Tunica in Mississippi to check out the casinos. We were not impressed, so after a free buffet, we headed back to Memphis in a pouring rain. 

Watching the barges on the Mississippi

While driving back we wanted to try out a new casino (to us) in West Memphis, Arkansas, but we missed our turn and ended up in Tennessee. So we turned around and headed back over the bridge and finally found the Southland Park Casino. This casino is huge, and also had a dog track. We watched the dogs race, played some craps, and then played some slots with the casino's $20 in free money.

All in all, that evening, in just a matter of a few hours, we drove from 

Arkansas -> Tennessee -> Mississippi -> Tennessee -> Arkansas -> Tennessee-> Arkansas. 

The next day we headed into Memphis to see the new Bass Pro Shop complex. This store was built inside a gigantic pyramid that used to be a sports arena. It is huge inside. It was pouring down rain as we entered, and while shopping inside, all power was lost inside the store.  A few minutes later the emergency backup generators kicked in, and a few lights came on. So we headed out the store and left. 

Outdoor World

At 11:00 am we ended up at the Peabody Hotel to watch the Peabody Ducks come down from the elevator and waddle across their red carpet to  the fountain in the center of the lobby of the hotel. This is done every day, and it draws in the crowds. 

Next was Beale Street, known for its partying and BBQ. We stopped at the 'Pig on Beale' and had a delicious BBQ Pulled Pork sandwich.

Day 7 & 8 - Nashville, Tennessee

Our first day in Nashville was a hot one. We headed down to the Visitor center on Broadway and found a street that rivals 6th street in Austin and Beale street in Memphis. Broadway in Nashville puts these two to shame. Every other storefront was a bar with live music.

Good food, good music, and lots of cold suds.  

While trying to find a distillery we came across a full size replica of the Parthenon. Yep, the one in Greece. This was built in 1897 for the Centennial Exposition.

Parthenon in Nashville

I recently found a new liqueur that I like called Sweet Lucy. Looking at the bottle, I found out that it was from the Prichards Distillery outside of Nashville. So I looked up the directions and off we went. Sweet! The tour was rather lacking in substance, but we enjoyed the tasting. We sampled a few of their other products and ended up buying a Sweet Lucy Creme that is very smooth.

Days 9 thru 12 - Bardstown, Kentucky

We pulled into My Old Kentucky Home State Park in Bardstown early on Monday, After acquiring an RV spot for 4 nights, we headed off to find our first Bourbon distillery. Bardstown is the Bourbon Capital, and there are distilleries everywhere.

The first distillery we visited Monday afternoon was Heaven Hill Distillery. The one hour tour educated us on how their bourbon was made. For instance, to be called a Bourbon, the product had to be made with a minimum of 51% corn. Anything else, and the product has to be called a Whiskey.

Once the product has been distilled, and is ready to be aged, the barrels are stored in these rickhouses. Each rickhouse can hold about 20,000 barrels, roughly 1 million gallons of the good stuff. Barrels are normally stacked 9 high.

Bourbon Rickhouse

Inside the Rickhouse - Heaven

Tuesday we headed down the road to Mammouth Cave National Park. We took the first tour at 8:45am called Domes and Dripstones Tour. It was 2 hours long, and about 3/4 mile walk. Did I mention 500 steps. Up and down. The temperature was about 56 degrees, and on this hot and humid day, it felt incredible to be down in the cave for two hours.

Next stop was Abraham Lincoln's birthplace.

Log Cabin (below) is inside this structure

Log Cabin 'thought' to be Lincoln's birthplace

More Distilleries

Wednesday, we got up early to get down to Loretto, home of Makers Mark. Now those who know me know that Makers Mark is my favorite beverage of choice. This particular distillery will get a post all its own.

After Makers Mark, we headed back thru Bardstown in search of Four Roses Warehouse and Bottling located in Cox's Creek, KY. The distillery for Four Roses is located in Lawrenceburg, KY. After a tour of the warehouse and bottling plant, we were treated to a sampling of 3 of the products Four Roses has to offer.

The line was shut down. These are barrels waiting to be filled.

Aged Bourbon is emptied into these troughs. It is filtered thru to a holding tank below.

Inspecting the labels on each bottle.

Single Barrel - Not bad

Free Tasting Glass

After Four Roses, we left to go find Jim Beam Distillery in Clermont, Ky. Jim Beam was huge operation. After a quick warehouse tour, we found ourselves back in another tasting room. Imagine that. The third one today. Yummmm! Jim Beam bottles 'Basil Hayden' and 'Knob Creek', among many many others. After the tasting, the tour guides told us we could keep the tasting glasses.

We had a quick BBQ sandwich at the Jim beam complex, then once again headed off for the fourth and final distillery for the day. As we drove back into Bardstown to find the Barton 1792 Distillery, the guard at the front gate informed us that the tours ended for the day. Undaunted, we headed to the visitor center anyway. Luckily, the lady at the front desk told us that we could still do a tasting if we wanted to, and we said "Hell Yea!"  These were so good, that I bought a bottle of "Very Old Barton" and Jan got a bottle of "Chocolate Bourbon Ball Cream Liqueur".

Barton 1792 Distillery

Very Old Barton

Walt Disney World

My sister is fortunate enough to have four wonderful grandchildren. As soon as one of them reaches the age of 9, she takes them to Walt Disney World in Florida. This past March, 2015, Jan and I were fortunate enough to join her and our grand-nephew at the magical kingdom.

In order to get to Orlando in time to meet them, we left Austin about a week earlier, so we could take our time getting Frances Rene 3rd (our FR3 motorhome) to her destination. First up, was Lake Charles for a couple of nights. of course we had to sample some of Louisiana's best Cajun cooking at Steamboat Willie's. After checking out the local casino's, we packed up and headed further east.

Next stop was Bucaneer State Park near Biloxi, Mississippi. Spending two nights there, we once again visited some local casinos, and a local museum that had a display on Katrina - 10 Years After. Katrina was a devastating hurricane that flattened most of the coastline.

Next stop was Falling Waters State Park in Chiply, Florida. we only spent one night there. After a good afternoon of hiking around the state park, there was very little left to do. Not much of a state park, in our opinion.

Then we were off to Orlando. We stayed for 5 nights at the Lake Louisa State Park just 30 miles outside of town. On one of our off days, we visited the Kennedy Space Center. Very impressive.

The next day we went to Epcot Center where we met up with lil Sis and nephew. Epcot is definitely our favorite. The fireworks that night were astonishing. The next day we went to Walt Disney Studios. By the afternoon, we were pretty tired of all the walking, standing in lines, and the hot sun.

After saying our goodbyes to lil Sis and the nephew, we planned out our next stops. Heading up the eastern seaboard, we were eventually going to get to Cary, NC to see Jan's sister and her family.

Since we had not made any reservations after Orlando, our next scheduled stop had no empty RV spots for us, so we had to continue on down the road to Fort McAllister State Park outside of Savannah, Ga. Savannah is a kool town to visit. This is a very beautiful place, especially the old historic town area that is right along the river banks.

After a couple of nights there, we headed on up the coast to Myrtle Beach, SC.We stayed at the Myrtle Beach State Park, which was very crowded. The RV park had very little room between RV's. But the beach was wonderful, and we enjoyed sitting out on the beach in our newly acquired beach chairs that we bought at one of the million or so souvenir shops.

We eventually made it to Jordan Lake State Park outside of Cary, NC. Although a pretty park, we'll never stay there again. Apparently they lock the gates at 9PM, and if you ain't in the park by then, you are locked out till morning. Now, we like to stay at state parks, and every one of them we have stayed at before, gives the registered campers the gate code in case they are late getting back to the campground. Not at this place. So we had to be very careful not to stay out too late at night.

Anyway, we had a great time visiting with Jan's sister and her family.

After 3 nights there,  we had been out in the RV for a little over two weeks. We were planning to head thru Tennessee on our route back home, but the weather made us change our minds. Storms and even more storms were heading west to east, right towards where we were trying to go. So we headed thru Georgia and Mississippi till we reached Natchez.

Natchez is a favorite of ours. We stayed 3 nights here at the Natchez State Park. We love to go down and have lunch by the great Mississippi. we also like to travel the Natchez Trace Parkway. On of these days we hope to travel the full 400+ miles of the Trace.

Sadly, we left Natchez, and made our way to Kinder, La, where we spent two last days before heading the FR3 home.

We were gone a total of 24 nights, and travelled 3277 miles. The FR3 performed well, and we had a blast seeing the countryside. Especially Savannah, Ga.

Unfortunately, this blog was written months after the trip, and many details have been left out, (or forgotten as the case most likely is). I will try to keep this updated as we prepare for our next trip to Kentucky to find the Bourbon Trail.