Joe Canal's Takes Kentucky!

On occasion, Joe Canal’s staff members are able to go on trips to meet the producers of the items that we sell. Whether we travel to the great wine regions, or any other location, the trips are educational, great for team-building, and, of course, they’re fun.

Lindsey Daly, Front End Manager at our Lawrenceville store, recently visited Bourbon country on just such a trip with other Joe Canal's team members. Here's her report:

Lindsey Daly

When I was first offered the opportunity to travel to Kentucky I must admit that I was worried. As a beer-only kind of girl, I wondered what would make them think of me for this trip; surely someone else would benefit from this trip more than I would. Luckily, I kept these thoughts to myself and agreed to make the journey.  I understand now that I was chosen so that I could learn, and I also realize how lame my worries sounded.

As we prepared to land in Louisville, I made sure to look out the window. I knew Kentucky was beautiful, as I had done some research before we departed. I knew about the Kentucky Derby, the music, the sports and, of course, the Bourbon.  I did not expect to see a breathtaking patchwork of green fields dotted with large buildings. This was going to be amazing.  As soon as we landed, we made our way to The Seelbach Hotel, a grand hotel built in 1905, the inspiration F. Scott Fitzgerald used for Tom and Daisy Buchannan’s wedding venue in The Great Gatsby. If they had told me the trip would not extend past the hotel walls, I would have been happy to sit in the lobby and imagine all of the historical figures that had once rested in this very building: nine presidents and several gangsters, including Al Capone.  There was, however, no time to get lost in history on our first day. We ditched our bags and headed out, since we had a date with Evan Williams.

The Evan Williams Experience was a couple of blocks from the hotel, so we decided to walk. Located on Whiskey Row in downtown Louisville, the building is not far from where the first Evan Williams Distillery once stood! The Evan Williams brand is part of the much larger Heaven Hill (planned for day three) portfolio. The history nerd in me was super excited to learn all about the history surrounding bourbon and to get to know the namesakes for so many of the bottles I’ve seen on the shelves at Joe Canal’s.  Turns out that a lot of people made whiskey back then; the names we remember are the pioneers of good whiskey. Elijah Craig was the first to discover that a charred barrel gave whiskey a caramel color and a much more enjoyable taste. Evan Williams was one of first to mass-produce whiskey. After a stroll through time, we got to the fun part. In a replica of an 1890s tavern, we tasted some of Heaven Hill’s bourbon.  I learned how to properly enjoy all the qualities of a bourbon. This was an excellent first stop, as I needed all the tips I could get. My Joe Canal's travel partners both have a lot more whiskey knowledge than I do, and I didn’t want hinder their experience. I learned this was not a possibility they were just as excited as I, and equally eager to learn more.

1890's tavern replica

We chatted with our guide for a good while after the tour, and sampled a few more of Heaven Hill’s

Holy Grale

fine products before we caught a cab to the Holy Grale for dinner. The Holy Grale is a bit of an oddity in the land of bourbon, mainly because they do not serve bourbon, only beer. Even though they do not serve liquor, it was clear that this church-turned-bar/restaurant  was inspired by the elixir that puts Kentucky on the map. Their bar was made of used bourbon barrels, and many of the unique brews served there have spent quite some time in a bourbon barrel before making it to the bottling line.  The food was phenomenal; we ate outside next to a wall that doubled as a garden which was a perfect marriage of beauty and functionality. I enjoyed my meal as I watched the chef occasionally pop out to gather some herbs for the next dish. After our dinner, we explored Louisville until finally our travels caught up to us and we called it a night.

Our second day in Kentucky would be action packed, as we had three distillery tours planned! We loaded into our van and headed out to Jim Beam.  Jim Beam’s property featured beautiful green fields, with red and black buildings clustered together. Our first stop on the tour was a watershed, where we learned why Kentucky is synonymous with bourbon. It’s all about the water; Kentucky sits on a limestone shelf with acts a natural filter for the water, removing all of the iron, which is the enemy of bourbon.  After the water, we learned about the sour mash and what makes a whiskey a bourbon. It turns out that the Federal government has some strict regulations when it comes to bourbon, and if the whiskey does not follow these regulations, it cannot be called bourbon. I found myself wondering why the government puts so much stock in the regulations of bourbon, why do they care so much- Bourbon is uniquely American, and the government recognizes this and, as a result, takes great pride in the product. After tasting some of Jim Beam Brands including Knob Creek, Bakers, Bookers, and Basil Hayden, we headed to the smokehouse on Jim Beam’s property for lunch. Beef brisket sandwiches with Jim Beam barbeque sauce equals heaven!

The Willett pot still

Next Stop: Willett! Compared to Jim Beam, Willett is teeny tiny, but the product is outstanding! We got to see the famous pot still that inspired Willett's bottle design. Our tour guide walked us through the small distillery and pointed out some exciting construction on the property (bed and breakfast at a distillery? Sign me up!). Then we moved on to a rick house, where they age the barrels of whiskey until they are ready to be bottled. Even though I had seen a rick house at Jim Beam and experienced that heavenly smell (the Angels Share), the rick house at Willett was my favorite. There are few lights and no machinery to lift the barrels (which weight 500 lbs when full). Even the barrel filling room was old school. Next, we were able to sample Johnny Drum, Rowans Creek, Noah’s Mill and Willett Rye. While purchasing a t-shirt in the gift shop, David Rudd, a Manager at our Woodbridge store, and I got to talking to our tour guide, and I realized that in Kentucky, bourbon is in the blood. Everyone has a family member that works for, or is retired from, one of the many distilleries in the area. It’s a community of people who support and genuinely enjoy each others whiskeys. That to me is refreshing; they thrive off of each others success.

In the Willett rick house

Our last stop of the day was Maker's Mark, and it was located on another beautiful property. While the processes to make bourbon are essentially the same, the stories are what set each distillery apart. Maker's Mark still uses an old fashioned printing press to make their labels, and they really do hand dip their bottles in red wax. The workers who hand dip the bottles can dip about 23 bottles per minute! Of course that tends to hurt you wrist, so everyone that works at Maker's Mark is trained to do multiple jobs, to give those wrists a rest. They have a lot of pride in their product, and it comes through in the presentation. We were able to taste classic Makers Mark, Maker's 46, Maker’s Mark Cask Strength (available at the distillery only) and Maker's White (also available at the distillery only). A lovely surprise at Maker's Mark distillery is the new ceiling in the tasting room. Designed by Dale Chihuly, the new installation is called “The Spirit of the Maker” and it is incredible. My picture does not do it justice. It was recently installed to celebrate their 60th anniversary.

The Spirit of the Maker

Finally, we moved to the gift shop, where we were able to dip our very own bottle of Maker's Mark in that red wax, after putting on a bunch of protective gear, of course. It was really special to be able to take a bottle home that I assisted in creating.

I dipped this one

After a day filled with a lot of walking and a lot of bourbon samples, we were ready to relax and eat. We chose a place in Louisville called The Garage. The name is not ironic; it was built in an old gas station, with the garage now housing the bar with an extensive bourbon and beer collection. I can best describe it as a high end pizza place with a unique vibe. The garage door is left open to the reveal the extensive bar, the pump area now house outdoor tables, and the alley on the side of the building has another bar and a lounge area. The handmade pies were amazing, and they boasted some pretty creative cocktails, such as honey lavender lemonade. The next day was going to be a long one, travel-wise so we agreed to call it a night pretty early.

Rick houses at Heaven Hill

I couldn’t believe it was already our last tour day in Kentucky. We headed out fairly early, for the long drive to the Heaven Hill Distillery. We arrived just as they opened, so our timing was excellent. Our tour began with an educational video on the process of making bourbon and the history of the company. We then began our tour of the grounds. The grounds at Heaven Hill are massive, and their rick houses where the biggest we had seen thus far, holding over 20,000 barrels of whiskey. When we went back into the Whiskey Heritage Center to sample some of Heaven Hill’s higher end bourbons, including Elijah Craig 23yr…let’s just say that by this point I had become a big fan of bourbon! What’s truly amazing about it is that once it goes into that barrel, it is completely out of the distillers hands; it’s left to the fates.

Inside a rick house

Old Talbott Tavern

We made lunch plans at the Old Talbott Tavern, which was built in 1779 and is said to be haunted! It certainly looked the part, and many famous historical figures have boarded at the Talbott, including Abraham Lincoln and Daniel Boone. We snacked on bourbon meatballs and fried green tomatoes while we waited for our lunch.

Our final distillery tour was Wild Turkey. Our first stop on Wild Turkey’s property was the brand new Visitor’s Center, to check in. Unfortunately Jimmy and Eddie Russell (the father/son Master distillers) where both out of town during our visit. We were given a behind-the- scenes tour by James, the Operations Supervisor for the distillery. Our first hint that this was no ordinary tour was that the driver had no idea where he was going, and needed directions from James. He took us to the barrel filling room, then to the rick house where we got to see some of his team actually moving barrels (impressive, since those things are not light).  We were also able to walk through the bottling facility and go backstage to the quality control area. We were lucky enough to be the first people outside the distillery to sample a new product from Wild Turkey called American Honey Sting (American Honey with Habanero pepper. It's incredible, and should be available some time before Christmas-fingers crossed).

As if all of this was not enough we got another surprise: we would be Skeet Shooting on the property! Not many people can say they shot skeet at Wild Turkey- we appreciated that opportunity! After we all had our fun, we headed back to the Visitor Center to eat and sample some bourbon (my new favorites are Russell’s Reserve and Wild Turkey Rye). All of the distilleries made us feel special, but Wild Turkey made us feel like family. It was honestly the best way to end the trip. I am so thankful I was asked to make the trip and what I learned with stay with me forever.

Great views at Wild Turkey