Yesterday morning we were up, re-packed, and after a quick breakfast of pastries and hot coffee/tea, we loaded the car and were on our way BACK.....going southeast to the tiny town of Loretto, KY. WHY??? To visit the distillery of Maker's Mark Bourbon!! It was only about 37 miles to the rear of our planned travels, but well worth every mile extra!!!!
The drive was spectacular in the early morning with the heavy misty air still at ground level.....and those beautiful little farms were landscaped, well painted, and each and every field was either harvested or was still arranged in neat rows, ready for the harvesting of the crops. We arrived in Loretto about 9:30am.....and followed the brown signs to the distillery......
WOW......what a complex!!!! Large semi's moving in and out, unloading grains, loading cases of Maker's Mark into their trailers, some filled with barrels full of bourbon that were being taken into town to another complex of buildings where they are aged, then rolled, then aged, then rolled, and so forth for 5-6 years to get just the "right" taste from the bourbon!! They have their own formula for the exact taste they wish to achieve....and then the bourbon is bottled, and the traditional red wax seal is applied and then dried.
However, all of this is done after the making of the bourbon. But, first......when we arrived we went to the main building, a farm house that was just like new inside, with sofas and chairs, a lovely kitchen, etc., etc........all for the use of the guests on their daily tours. And......by 10AM, fresh and hot chocolate chip cookies were being passed around to all those waiting for a tour, accompanied with some bourbon infused coffee!!!! Just GREAT!!!!
And from there....we toured several buildings, watched the bubbling brew as it aged for three days in the huge vats, the bottling process, and the packing of the cases full of new Maker's Mark bourbon!!
Following the tour, we were taken to the tasting room/gift shop.....and there we each were given two small glasses of bourbon.......one was the traditional recipe and the other one was the new Maker's Mark 46 Bourbon. After being instructed as to how to taste the beautiful elixir, we all sampled and drank from the glasses we had been given so as to compare the two products.
A fabulous morning........this being one of the very, very BEST tours of this kind that I have ever experienced......such friendliness, such cleanliness, such beautiful buildings and decor.....and such a great product!!! DO NOT MISS DRIVING THE EXTRA MILES TO SEE THIS DISTILLERY!!!!! You will be treated royally!!!! (for free!)
Returning to the Western Kentucky Parkway, we drove most of the afternoon and arrived at Paducah for an early supper/late, late lunch. Nothing special.......ate at a chain restaurant and that was a mistake. Not good food........yuk!!!
We then drove on back to the sticknbrick and unloaded the car, unpacked the luggage, and enjoyed the evening here at TheHowserHouse.
Today.....well, nothing special.....some yard work, some seeding of grass seeds in the front yard, and just relaxing at home for a change. I did put together the new end table which we purchased and brought back with us from the West Elm store in Philadelphia. And.....it looks really great beside one of our living room chairs!!
And soooo, two days worth of "news" of our activities on here. We'll see what tomorrow brings forth, however......as always.......
LIFE IS JUST REALLY, REALLY GREAT!!!!!!......And, I hope it is for all of you, also!!!!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment