Exploring Kentucky Bourbon's Legacy in the Bluegrass Region

  Let Napa Valley have its Wine Trail; the Bluegrass Region has the Kentucky Bourbon Trail...well, part of it, at least.

  The approximately 100-mile Trail wends its way through Franklin, Anderson and Bourbon Counties before winding up in Lexington where an entire district has been resurrected to celebrate America’s only native spirit.

  If Thoroughbreds are King in the Bluegrass Region, then bourbon is the Crown Prince – not just the drink, but the interesting cast of characters associated with it.

    From Master Distiller Jimmy Russell of Wild Turkey Distillery, the longest-tenured Master Distiller in the world, to Buffalo Trace tour guide Freddie Johnson, whose winning charm and knowledge of bourbon has earned him superstar status.

  Just to refresh your memory before setting out to sample our signature product – all bourbons are whiskey, but not all whiskeys are bourbon.  To be called bourbon, the mash bill must be at least 51% corn; it must be charred in a new oak barrel (for a minimum of two years to be labeled as straight bourbon), and while it doesn’t have to be made in Kentucky, it must be made in the United States.

  Now, you’re ready to do some tasting.

  The Fab Five:

  Although not officially a part of the Bourbon Trail, Buffalo Trace Distillery in Franklin County is arguably the most famous distillery in Kentucky.

  Just north of Frankfort, Buffalo Trace sits in a picturesque setting of rolling hills, where the Kentucky River intersects with the historic trace, down which buffalo, Native Americans and settlers all traveled.

  It is one of America’s oldest continuously operating distilleries (for more than 200 years), and the first distillery to market single barrel bourbon commercially.  The names of those who have contributed to its legacy read like a “Who’s Who” of the bourbon industry:  Colonel E. H. Taylor, Jr.; George T. Stagg; Albert B. Blanton; Elmer T. Lee and Pappy Van Winkle.

  Now owned by New Orleans-based Sazerac Company, Buffalo Trace is a National Historic Landmark whose signature product, Buffalo Trace Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, is a tribute to the mighty buffalo and the rugged pioneers who followed in their path.

  Fun fact:  During Prohibition, Buffalo Trace was allowed to continue distilling whiskey for “medicinal purposes.”

  Anderson County boasts two of Kentucky’s most legendary distilleries.

  Wild Turkey, which sits atop a hill overlooking the Kentucky River, opened in 1855 as a general store specializing in coffee, tea, and of course, spirits.

  However, it didn’t get its name until 1940 when a distillery executive brought a private supply along to enjoy with friends on their annual wild turkey hunt.  It proved so popular that the next year the group requested some of that “wild turkey” bourbon.

  Master Distiller Jimmy Russell has been referred to as “the Buddha of Bourbon,” but he likes to refer to himself as “plain old Jimmy from Kentucky.”

  There’s nothing plain about the man, who - like a maestro blending tones from disparate instruments to create a symphony or an alchemist transforming base metals into gold - blends corn, rye and barley malt to come up with an eminently drinkable amber liquid.

  Neither is there anything plain about the  whiskeys he has been distilling for more than 60 years, including Kentucky Spirit, an early single barrel bourbon; Rare Breed Rye, and American Honey, the world’s first bourbon liqueur.

  Today, he joins his son Eddie as the only active father-son Master Distillers in the world.  They are known for innovations such as Longbranch, a small batch bourbon refined with Texas mesquite and American oak charcoals which they produced in partnership with actor Matthew McConaughey.

  Another Anderson County distillery with a colorful story attached to its name is Four Roses.  As the story has it, a young man, enamored of a beautiful Southern belle, proposed marriage.  The coy miss replied that if her answer was yes, she would wear a red rose corsage at a ball the following evening.

  Entering the ballroom, the nervous swain spotted the object of his affection wearing a corsage of four perfect red roses.  Inspired to name his bourbon Four Roses, he won not only his lady, but a lasting legacy.

  As romantic as the name behind it is, the architecture of the distillery is equally so.  Its Spanish mission-style may seem out of place in the Bluegrass Region, but its signature Four Roses Single Barrel bourbon fits right in.

  Woodford Reserve Distillery, situated on Glenn’s Creek among picturesque horse farms in Woodford County, is the oldest distillery in Kentucky, in operation since 1812 when Elijah Pepper began crafting bourbon here.

  Its history continues with the old Oscar Pepper Distillery where Dr. James Crow worked in the mid-19th century, later to become Labrot & Graham Distillery before being acquired by its current owner, the Brown-Forman Corporation.

  While it is the oldest distillery in Kentucky, it’s not the oldest continuously operating distillery, as it was forced to cease operation during Prohibition.

  Today, Woodford Reserve has the distinction of being the only bourbon made in copper pot stills using a triple distillation process, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, as well as being designated a National Historic Landmark.

  With its beautiful stone aging warehouses tucked into hills along Glenn’s Creek, Woodford Reserve is considered one of the most picturesque distilleries in Kentucky.

  At the opposite end of Glenn’s Creek from Woodford Reserve stands an imposing castle whose turrets are reminiscent of something from a Sir Walter Scott novel.

  This is Castle & Key Distillery on the border of Woodford and Franklin Counties.  Here, where Glenn’s Creek narrows to a trickle, Col. E. H. Taylor, Jr. opened Old Taylor Distillery in 1887.  For 23 years, he produced his Kentucky elixir until Prohibition forced the distillery’s closure.

  After that, it continued to deteriorate to the point of no longer resembling one of Sir Walter’s castles, but rather one of William Faulkner’s decaying Southern Gothic mansions.

  All that changed in 2018 when Castle & Key re-opened, distilling first gin and then rye.  It wasn’t until 2022 that its Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon became the first bourbon produced at the historic distillery in nearly five decades.

  Today, the distillery is an architectural and botanical showcase with its spiffed-up castle, Springhouse with its restored chandelier and elegant columns, peristyle, quarter-mile botanical trail, and sunken formal gardens re-created from Taylor’s original garden by Lexington garden designer Jon Carloftis.

  The showiest time for the gardens is summer when the hydrangeas are in bloom, and the scent of lemon verbena and rosemary fills the air.

  A Sampling of one-of-a-kind Distilleries:

  Just as there are boutique Thoroughbred farms with a few horses, there are distilleries which prefer to keep their operation on a smaller scale.  These five distilleries may not be as immediately recognizable as the preceding five, but they are known for their innovation.

  Bluegrass Distillers, described by many as “a hidden gem,” becomes less hidden every day as knowledgeable bourbon lovers discover its two locations - in downtown Lexington and at Elkwood Farm in Midway in Woodford County, where they produce the award-winning blue corn for the first Kentucky Blue Corn Bourbon on the market.

  Fresh Bourbon Distillery on Lexington’s Main Street holds a unique distinction.  Owners Sean and Tia Edwards have been recognized by the Commonwealth of Kentucky as the first African-American distillery owners, and the first African-Americans to produce bourbon in the state since slavery.

  In a twist of irony, Bourbon County had no bourbon distilleries following Prohibition.  That changed in 2014 with the opening of Hartfield & Company, a small batch distillery and the first to be officially licensed in the county since Prohibition.

  The folks at Wilderness Trail Distillery in Danville  not only have a terrific tour, but a terrific sense of humor as well, referring to themselves as “the city’s oldest legal distillery” (Boyle only became a fully wet county in 2010).

  If distilling bourbon was a scientific experiment, they would be the scientists, focusing on the science rather than the romance behind the bourbon.

  In addition, Wilderness Trail is the only distillery in the Bluegrass Region that makes sweet mash instead of sour mash.

  If you are looking for the oldest craft distillery on the Bourbon Trail, you’ll find it at Whiskey Thief Distilling Co. in Franklin County, which describes its bourbon as being “straight from the barrel, at the proof that nature intended.”

  This unconventional distillery takes a different approach to sampling their product.  The only way to taste it is to ‘thieve’ your own bourbon, using a ladle to siphon a sample straight from the barrel.

  Lexington’s Distillery District:

  Sandwiched in between two historic bourbon distilleries – the defunct Old Tarr (reborn as the Manchester Music Hall) and the re-opened James E. Pepper – is an area that doesn’t exactly scream tourist hot spot.

  Gritty rather than genteel, seedy rather than sanitized, urban rather than urbane, it nevertheless attracts locals and visitors alike to participate in its bourbon-fueled entertainment.

  Situated alongside the Town Branch Creek which wraps around it like a greenish-gray arm, the 25-acre Distillery District tells the story of Lexington’s distilling past.

  The storytellers are businesses such as Barrel House Distillery (maker of Devil John Moonshine and Devil John Dark Shine), the Break Room, Elkhorn Tavern, and the Pepper Distillery, where you can tour a working distillery and taste its award-winning small batch whiskeys.

  The general consensus from those who love the district and don’t want to see it become all spit and polish – “a little grime is good.”

  Fun Fact:  Barrel House has broken ground on a $1.8 million distillery in Cynthiana in Harrison County.  Expected to be completed in summer, 2025, it will be a stop on both the Bourbon Trail and the Moonshine Trail, the latter linking the Bluegrass Region with Eastern Kentucky.

  An Annual Bourbon Event:

  Head to Frankfort the first Saturday in October for its annual celebration, “Bourbon on the Banks.”  Spirits enthusiasts stroll the historic path along the Kentucky River in the city’s River View Park to sample bourbons at various stations set up along the route.

  Bourbon Bars of Note:

  While you’re in Frankfort, expand your bourbon horizons by checking out a perennial favorite and a newcomer to the city’s bar scene.

  Bourbon on Main may be a full-service restaurant, but its commitment to bourbon is absolute.  What else would you call it when their bourbon menu is larger than the food menu, coming in at a whopping three pages and 300 bourbons?

  It also has a certified bourbon steward who will guide you through a curated tasting with a selection of three to six bourbons to suit any price range.

  A Frankfort newcomer, the House of Commons Bourbon Library is an elegant throwback to sophisticated cocktail lounges of earlier decades before the advent of the sports bar.

  You might think you’ve had one too many Mudslinger Martinis when you see what appears to be an upside-down octopus with glass-globe tentacles suspended from the ceiling.  Don’t worry – it’s just the bar’s centerpiece chandelier.

  House of Commons’ bourbon list features more than 250 bourbons, the goal being to have at least one bourbon from every Kentucky distillery.

  The grandaddy of Bluegrass Region bourbon bars has to be the Bluegrass Tavern in Lexington.  With more than 900 bourbons to choose from, it has one of the largest collections in the United States, and they stock what you can’t find anywhere else – George T. Stagg or Four Roses Limited Single Barrel, anyone?

  If there is hallowed ground for the bourbon lover, this is it.

Comedian Johnny Carson perhaps best summed up the Bluegrass Region’s love for its bourbon when he quipped, “Happiness is having a rare steak, a bottle of bourbon, and a dog to eat the rare steak.”