California Girls on the Bourbon Trail

 

Alicia was the last of the crew to turn 50 and when we asked her what she wanted to do she said that she wanted to check the Bourbon Trail off her bucket list. Although not all of us are bourbon lovers we were happy to oblige. Sarah had an enjoyable time creating a schedule and coordinating some fun bourbon encounters for the five days they were in town. 

 

The trip started with a night in Louisville where we stayed at 21c, ironically the same place John took Sarah for her 40th birthday celebration. We had a nice dinner at a local steak house the night Alicia, Denise, and Lauren arrived after we all had our free bourbon cocktail at the hotel bar. The next morning we started with an Evan Williams tasting experience on Distillery Row in downtown Louisville.

 

But the main event of the day was the Bourbon Festival in Bardstown. Alicia had found about it online and immediately purchased passes for the group, so we were committed. We spent four hours sipping bourbon and collecting bourbon swag.

 

Alicia was in seventh heaven and many times throughout the afternoon had both hands full. Denise and Alicia tended to enjoy their bourbon neat while Sarah and Lauren tried to get as much mixer as possible in their tasters. The entire event was much more enjoyable than Sarah expected since she believes most bourbon equates to drinking fire.

 

The festival also had a variety of food options, which was certainly necessary to keep everyone on their feet over the course of the day. We may all be in our 50s now but we couldn't pass up BBQ and a photo op from Deez Butts. It was good food and allowed us to dive back into the tastings.

 

The bourbon industry has its fair share of unique names and stories. Our favorite of the day was Chicken Cock Whiskey, and their display was marketed well. Denise and Sarah had to get their pictures taken with the brand ambassador. 

 

After the night at 21c we took the party to an Airbnb in Lawrenceburg. It had a lot of room, a pool, pickleball courts, and a short drive to our other distillery destinations. It was also nicely located between Lexington and Louisville so John and the girls could pop in on their way back from some soccer games in Louisville. We had a short visit by their fire pit before heading out to our next destination.

 

One of the highlights of all the tours was the night tour at Maker's Mark, which included an exhibit of numerous Dale Chihuly glass blown sculptures. They were amazing and were set up both inside and outside the distillery. Seeing these with the sun setting and a bourbon cocktail in hand was an incredible experience.

 

Lauren and Alicia both took advantage of the opportunity to hand dip an individual bottle of Maker's Mark to get that signature red wax drip. They take their dipping seriously and had all the protective gear. Maker's Mark is not easy to get to but it is definitely worth the trip.

 

One of the last tours was at Castle and Key in Versailles. This was an old distillery that was renovated completely about ten years ago and the grounds are beautiful. We got to taste their gin and their bourbon and enjoyed them both. The setting of this distillery was so nice that we ended up taking a couple of cocktails down to seats set up by the creek. The great thing about bourbon distilleries in Kentucky is that most of them are in rural areas that showcase the state's natural beauty. We ended the day with a dinner at the Castle in Versailles, which stuck to the theme of the day and the trip - Alicia as our princess. Before we knew it Sarah was driving back to the airport to drop off the California aunties after another wonderful trip together.