Kentucky is home to many things the Kentucky Derby, the Louisville slugger, The Seelbach Hotel and the cocktail by the same name, and most importantly for you and me bourbon county and all that it holds. . . The purpose of this trip is take eleven hand picked bartenders from Oregon and give them an in depth and personal relationship with the Jim Beam and Makers Mark distilleries!

After checking into The Brown hotel we headed down to the Brown Bar for our first sip of bourbon. Mine was a classic Manhattan with Sam Houston Kentucky straight bourbon then off to dinner at the Makers Mark Lounge. All of us tried different bourbons Old Pogue, Pappy Van Winkel 12, 20 and 23 and my personal favorite Bernhiem Original Wheat Whiskey currently the only one in production http://www.bourbon-central.com/other-whiskey-reviews/bernheim-wheat/ It has such a different flavor its hot but not harsh and a rich sweetness with a balanced oak finish.

On the way back to the hotel we stopped into the Seelbach hotel to experience both the drink and the birth place of the Seelbach cocktail. Originally created in 1917 the recipe was lost during the prohibition until a hotel manager rediscovered it in 1995.The Seelbach is mentioned in the Great Gatsby as F. Scott Fitzgerald apparently haunted the establishment before he gained notoriety as an author. Though the bar was remodeled after the prohibition you can still enjoy the history of such a grand hotel. The next few days will include in depth tours of both the Jim Beam and Makers mark distilleries dinners and drinks at some of Louisville finest restaurants and cocktails with the owner of Makers Mark Bill Samuels Jr. at his country estate.



The Seelbach
3/4oz bourbon
1/2 cointreau
7 dashes angostura bitters
7 dashes peychauds bitters
4 oz chilled brut champagne
served in a flute with an orange twist