Wonderful World Of Bourbon

Just south of Louisville, in Clermont, Kentucky, we congregated outside the worlds largest bourbon distillery to start the first of our in depth tours on the creation of America's Native Spirit..... The Jim Beam Distillery is a far cry from the Old Tub Distillery th at Jacob Beam first started s elling his Kentucky straight bourbon from in 1795; the current location was established after prohibition by Col. James Beam renaming it at the same time. Not long after our arrival Linda whisked us into the belly of the beast through the giant bottling plant. We watched as hundreds of bottles per minute were cleaned, filled, capped, ..... labeled, boxed, wrapped and set up for distribution.

Leaving the most important part to do by hand, each new charred white oak barrel is inspected for possible leaks before filling and the bun g tapped down with a mallet before the 500lb barrel is rolled onto a truck and taken to one of the many rack houses where it will age no less then 4 years befo re bottling. There are 1.8 million barrels aging at any given time and the sheer volume of each house, 50 and 20 thousand barrel capacity, makes it impossible to rotate, instead the barrels fr om different floors are blended together to make a more complex flavor. After getting our bottles of Jim Beam black signed by the 7th generation Beam, Fred Noe, we headed back to the hotel to get cleaned up for cocktails with Bill Samuels Jr, President of Makers Mark.

As we pulled up to the estate we were greeted warmly by Bill and Nancy Samuels on the front walk."First thing's first," as Nancyushered us in, filling our hands with drinks. We strolled out on to the back pati o sipping on Maker s and ginger and taking in the expansive view of the rolling hills and barges heading down the O hio River. After the sun dipped behind the trees Bill took us on a tour of the house telling us stories about the pre-civil war furniture handed down in his family for generations. Ea ch story started out with "you wont be interested but ...", or "this is a piece of junk but....." and " all the crazy stuff well you can tell what's Nancy's..." before another unbelievable but totally true story would start. We left for dinner with hugs and offers of return visits anytime we were in Kentucky.

After dinner we went for cocktails at 732 Social, 732social.com, arguably the best bar in Kentucky where we were treated to anything and everything our hearts desired. The bar manager, Jared, had a liquor selection that would impress and please any bartender including a limited release oak aged Citadelle Reserve Gin that found its way into all of our drinks. He made us Alaskas, Martinez, Last Words and my personal favorite a Ramos Gin Fizz . With the amount of work it takes to produce its a treat to have one made for you! As much as I would like to give you the recipe for a Ramos the egg whites are a trick it takes an experienced bartender more then a little time to master. So I think you would enjoy the equally delicious Alaska Cocktail simple and complex all in one glass.

Alaska
2 dashes orange bitters
1 1/2 oz gin ( We used the Citadelle Reserve but Martin Millers or the original Citadelle work well too)
3/4 oz Yellow Chartreuse

Mix in a shaker and use 2 or 3 large ice cubes to shake with, gets it cold and keeps the flavors strong, strain into a glass and garnish with a lemon peal.

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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

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