First day on the Northern Bourbon Trail. Two distilleries and one awesome tavern (I forgot to get pictures, but if you are in the area, look up Three Spirits Tavern!!)
Boone County DistilleryThe smell in a bourbon rick house makes it my happy place!New Riff Distilling. This place makes one of my favorite bourbons.Single barrel roomAnd another rick house. Robert may have to pry me out of these places! Our tour guide said he wanted to make an air fresheners that smelled like a rickhouse and call it New Whiff. LOLTaking a taste straight from the barrel. Sooooo good!
Day Two
Beautiful country on our way to Sparta, KYThis distillery is run by a family with a very long history of bootlegging!We learned today that each X stands for each distillation. This jug had three Xs so it was distilled three times. More distillations equals higher proof.We got to taste the mash. It was better than I expected.The name of this pot has an interesting story. It is named after a pistol passed down through the family. The family history is interesting but violent!Tasting the white dog before it goes in the barrels.Yes, that says 133.87 proof!An original absenthe still that is still being used.The notch just above the faucet is for holding a five gallon bucket. No hoses here.The small rickhouseHave I mentioned I love the smell in a rickhouse….I wish you could smell this!Tasting the absinthe. Even Robert was impressed. The young owner’s first still he used while in college until his mom confiscated it!Bottling our own bourbon
Day Three
Two more distilleries today. Can I say that the people make the experience? Thanks to Carus at Second Sights Distillery and Gage at Pensive Distilling. Drinking is not about the spirits but about the people you meet while enjoying the spirits!
Ride the mustache! (No, we did not)The frogs of prophecy were not very accurate – lolMost creative still we have seen, and yes, it is workingCarus, owner and our tour guide. Very entertaining tour!Pensive DistillingWe originally planned to just get lunch and and a flight of their whiskey…Instead we ended up on the 3:00 pm tour. They are named after the 1944 winner of the Kentucky Derby, Pensive. Gage was an awesome tour guide!In the speakeasy, of course our favorite place. Look closely and you will see the bullet hole in the wall. Bourbon is not a spirit for the faint of heart.Our bourbon collection is growing
Day Four
Two distilleries and some great “holes in the wall” today! The collection is growing.
I visited this distillery eleven years ago. My first bourbon distillery and one of the reasons I drink bourbon now.John Pogue, the master distiller gave me the tour eleven years ago and again today.Signing my bottleLunch on the river in Maysville, KYSpicy margarita at Jerry’s Jug House. Great little neighborhood bar!!The yellow color on the wallpaper is from years of smoke. Fortunately they are smoke-free now.German beer and pork schnitzel at the Tuba Baking Co.Stephan, my late husband, would have loved this place! (He played low brass and loved a good Dad joke!)The collection is growing. The bottles I got from Old Pogue today would have been “cooking” when I visited eleven years ago.
Day Five
Another day on the Trail and it was a good one! First we started the day off at brunch with a couple of people I had only known from Facebook groups for spouses of people with FTD. In fact Debbie Cameron is one of the people I interviewed for my first book, although until this morning we had never met in person. Her fiancé David Munson is also a surviving spouse. It was wonderful to visit and see that we have all found love again. God is good!
After brunch we visited Augusta Distillery for the “Rolling on the River” experience. We started with a flight of bourbon from Augusta Distillery and then learned all about growing tobacco from Steven at Cummins Farms. Then we learned how to roll cigars and even got to roll one ourselves. Now to let them age for a month or so and Robert will get to enjoy the fruits of our labors.
The tiny pink seeds are tobacco seeds. They are so small they have to coat them in clayRobert is ready to harvest tobaccoScenes around CovingtonOur final haul. Now to get it all home safely
