Amber in color, bitter in taste and rich in history.
For Kentucky natives, bourbon is more than just liquor.
Every year, thousands travel from all over the globe to experience the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, spanning over 200 miles of Kentucky soil and including nine bourbon distilleries.
“Bourbon is definitely part of the culture here,” said Adam Johnson, director of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. “People like to show it off a little bit when their friends come into town, taking them to their local distillery … Most people are used to your local brewery, in Kentucky you have your favorite distillery.”
Bourbon’s legacy began in the region in the 1700s, when settlers first set up camp amidst the rocky terrain and steep mountains that would eventually mold the state. Upon settling, these farmers found that the land’s geographic barriers, however, made it difficult to transport excess crops. They found it was far easier to convert corn and grains into whiskey and transport that across the country instead.
In 1785, when Kentucky was still part of Virginia, farmers began shipping their whiskey down the Ohio and Mississippi River to New Orleans in large, oak barrels. As the whiskey aged and fermented in the barrels, it turned an amber color and developed a distinct, rich flavor.
Stamped on every barrel shipped was the name of its home, “Bourbon County,” and thus the spirit was given its now famous name.
“It’s been one of our signature industries ever since,” Al Young, brand ambassador for Four Roses Bourbon said. “Bourbon has been part of our culture since before Kentucky became a state in 1792.”
Although much of the technology used for producing bourbon has changed, the process of aging whiskey in a barrel to produce bourbon remains largely the same today.
“The distillation process, a lot of that hasn’t changed,” Johnson said. “You’re still using the same kinds of ingredients, you’re still using that yeast and relying on that good Kentucky water.”
Today, Kentucky is the only state in America that produces bourbon, and it produces 95 percent of the world’s total supply. Bourbon also cultivates the region’s industry, creating over 9,000 jobs and generating more than $125 million in tax revenue each year.
With the land’s classic southern scenery, infrastructure and the close proximity between bourbon distilleries scattered throughout the state, the Kentucky Distillers’ Association created the Kentucky Bourbon Trail in 1999 to provide a one-of-a-kind touring experience that showcased the science and art behind bourbon production as well as the proud history the spirit gives the region.
To visit each of the nine distilleries on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, the company suggests setting aside three days for the trip. These trips are self-guided and there is no official start or end to the trail. Johnson said visitors who participate in the Kentucky Bourbon Trail can visit as many or as few distilleries as they like.
A single tour at a distillery takes approximately 90 minutes and includes the history of the brand, a demonstration of the production process, a showing of the warehouse and a bourbon tasting to finish. Johnson noted that each distillery does their tour differently.
“The distilleries do a good job of providing some pretty cool experiences,” he said.
At the Four Roses Bourbon Distillery, one of the oldest warehouses on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, tours start with a tutorial on how bourbon is made to give everyone “something to work with” before entering the warehouse, Young explained. Visitors are then led inside the factory to witness the production first hand, see how the grains are unloaded and amble through the yeast and fermentation rooms. Given the visitor is at least 21-years-old, they will then partake in the bourbon tasting that features three of Four Roses’ signature batches.
Emma Richardson, a senior at the University of Kentucky in health promotion, toured Four Roses this fall and said her palate wasn’t quite prepared for what the tasting had to offer.
“I was not a big fan,” Richardson joked, admitting to be an out-of-state student who wasn’t raised with the Kentucky zeal for bourbon. Regardless of the taste, however, she said she still appreciated the methodology behind the tasting.
“They told us specific ways that you’re supposed to do it, like inhale first and then sniff it before you ever take a sip,” she explained, stating that she was given a tiny amount and completed her drink in three sips for “maximum flavor.”
Richardson said her favorite part of the tour was getting to see the warehouse itself and the production behind the spirit. Touring the factory with her boyfriend, Richardson said she didn’t expect to find the tour to be nearly as fun as she did.
“I liked that the factory was so pretty,” Richardson said. “I think of bourbon as like a guy’s thing but it was cool to see there’s actually part of the production that’s pretty.”
Four Roses Distillery became part of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail when it was first created and Young said the number of tours they give on any single day varies. On one particular Saturday, Four Roses saw 600 visitors.
“We’re getting it almost all the time now,” Young said, noting that becoming part of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail has made the frequency of their tour-giving increase tremendously.
Last year, the Kentucky Bourbon Trail saw more than 630,000 total visits. In 2007, they started the passport program that gives each visitor a passport to have stamped at each distillery. Once a passport is filled with stamps from each distillery, the visitor receives a free T-shirt. Just five years after starting the program, more than 60,000 passports have been completed.
Although many of these visitors come from other states and countries all over the world, the rich Kentucky culture surrounding bourbon makes the tour an ideal trip for locals as well.
“Not being from Kentucky, I didn’t really realize until I got here what a huge thing it is,” Richardson said. “Everyone talks about bourbon. People don’t even like to drink whiskey even though it’s the same type of drink-it’s still not bourbon.”
Johnson noted that bourbon is “infused throughout the state” and locals tend to find any excuse to use it.
“It’s that traditional drink where men and women alike are all very opinionated about it,” Johnson explained. “They have their favorite brands and they know how to serve it.
“Everybody in Kentucky knows somebody who works at a distillery.”
Young explained the region’s love for bourbon with one statistic.
“At one time, there were 4.9 billion barrels of whiskey aging in the state of Kentucky, and only 4.1 million people living in the state,” Young said. “When you put that together, that’s one barrel for every man, woman and child in the whole state.”
