Wild & Three Thursday!

Total spontaneity kicked in on Sunday and we took ROADA and headed East to Kentucky. First night we found ourselves pulling in to a Lowe's parking lot just to get some rest and hit the road again early the next morning. Louisville is easy to navigate and we found our destinations quickly to begin the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. We are not Bourbon connoisseurs but we thought the whole idea of this trail thing sounded like fun. It was! And educational. Seriously, it was totally educational. And the tastings were informative and educational as well.

We only managed to make seven distilleries. When we originally heard about the KBT tour there were only eight or nine distilleries on the tour. This year there are 14! Yes, FOURTEEN. Needless to say we are planning to return this fall to see it we can make it to a few more.  For me the favorite tour was Maker's Mark. Favorite tasting was Angel's Envy. I loved the Angel's Envy tour, too. It was smaller and more personable but the scale and history along with the gorgeous grounds of the Maker's Mark distillery was second to none. As Angel's Envy is a young distillery their founder and original Master Distiller was not. Lincoln Henderson was the creator of Gentleman Jack and he was the Master Distiller at Woodford Reserve before retiring then coming back to the industry with the creation of Angel's Envy. Speaking of Woodford Reserve their grounds are beautiful and so very picturesque as they are nestled in heart of horse country. However, the tour there was extremely lacking. Perhaps it was an off day for our guide. And since it was our last tour for the trip we were left feeling cheated. Maker's Mark on the other hand hit it on all fronts so that is why they walked away with our vote as favorite! 

We also slipped in a tour of the Cooperage. Honestly, I did not even know what a Cooperage was until after one of our distillery tours. See it's an educational thing to do the KBT! And then to find out that most of the barrels are made from Ozark white oak and that the Cooperage we toured was originally founded in Lebanon, Missouri, well, what's not to like! 

Oh, and hats off to most of the distilleries as they offer military discounts. Some are for only the veteran, some extended their discount offer to dependents. No matter we were delighted to find this out. The discount for an active duty member is even more generous (FREE in many cases) and some of the distilleries also give law enforcement/first responder discounts. And they ask you straight up when you are purchasing your ticket. Awesome, totally awesome! I think (actually, I know) we spent the savings in the gift shops!!! 😋

Great trip, good to be back home but already looking forward to returning this fall!