Woodford Reseve Academy - April 2, 2011

[StraightNoChaser]

I searched for this topic but the only relevant result was from 2005 so I am reopening the discussion! :grin:

My friend and I are attending the Academy on April 2 of this year. First and foremost, is anyone else from SB attending this particular session? Let me know if so!

Second, for those who have been in the past, how was your experience? I've heard very good things but I also know SB's general opinion of WR is... less than positive (if the WR BOTM thread was any indication). Personally I am a big fan of Woodford Reserve so this only makes me even more excited to attend the Academy :cool:

Next, my friend and I will be driving from the Dallas, TX area to attend the class. Can anyone recommend destinations along the way, and perhaps lodging as well? We'd like to maximize our fun without breaking the bank.

This is our game plan:

Wednesday March 30 - Leave DFW, Drive to Memphis, TN and stay overnight. Probably hit up some bars.

Thursday March 31 - Leave Memphis, drive to Louisville, KY and stay overnight. Probably hit up some bars.

Friday April 1 - Travel the Bourbon country. Our initial intention is to try and visit Heaven Hill, Buffalo Trace, Jim Beam, Four Roses and maybe more. Is it possible to do all of these in one day? Are there other distilleries you'd recommend over our selection? This is the only day we have to explore any distillery that isn't Woodford so we need to make the most of our time and plan accordingly! Any advice is deeply appreciated. We will be staying overnight in Louisville again.

Saturday April 2 - The Woodford Reserve Academy! I doubt we'll have any time after this to do any more distillery visits so feel free to educate me on the Louisville nightlife!

Sunday April 3 - We'll leave Kentucky, since most of the distilleries are closed, and head to the Jack Daniel's distillery in TN! Overnight again in Memphis

Monday, April 4 - Back in Texas! Hope we make it in one piece

So what do you guys think? Pretty legit plan? I'm dying to hear your suggestions. If anyone has driven the routes between Dallas-Memphis and Memphis-Louisville please tell me of any neat destinations along the way. My friend and I are TOTAL TOURISTS so even the touristy of tourist traps might be right up our alley.

Thanks!

Winston

[bourbonv]

I will be there, but I am always at the Woodford Academy since I teach the history portion of the class. Even if you don't care for woodford, the class is well worth the time since Chris is a great teacher and i am sure even the experienced bourbon drinker will learn something new and interesting. Chris always says something that I either did not know or it made me look at something from a new angle. The food is great and their chef Ouita Michaels puts on a great presentation about bourbon and food. It is a great way to spend a spring day in horse and bourbon country.

Mike Veach

[nblair]

I really wanted to sign up, but it came down to using the $150 for bourbon or for the Woodford Academy. I chose bourbon...but would still love to do one of these someday. Do they still give you a barrel head as a gift?

[cowdery]

One thing I would suggest about Louisville nightlife is go ahead and give downtown a chance but don't be afraid to hop in a cab and head over to the highlands, which is much more where the locals go. Tell the cab driver Baxter Avenue-Bardstown Road. There are dozens of bars along in there. Downtown is mostly the hotels and Fourth Street Live, which is all well and good, but if they doesn't do it for you try the highlands.

Also, you can't generally hail cabs on the street in Louisville. Just ask your final bar stop to call you a cab. That's how it's done there.

[nblair]

Thursday March 31 - Leave Memphis, drive to Louisville, KY and stay overnight. Probably hit up some bars.

As long as you're not worried about getting bourbon'ed out (not possible...) check out the Urban Bourbon Trail in Louisville. There are a few downtown and some in the Highlands as well.

[StraightNoChaser]

I will be there, but I am always at the Woodford Academy since I teach the history portion of the class. Even if you don't care for woodford, the class is well worth the time since Chris is a great teacher and i am sure even the experienced bourbon drinker will learn something new and interesting. Chris always says something that I either did not know or it made me look at something from a new angle. The food is great and their chef Ouita Michaels puts on a great presentation about bourbon and food. It is a great way to spend a spring day in horse and bourbon country.

Mike Veach

Mike,

Pleased to meet you! I really can't wait for this trip. It's a combination of vacation and education :cool:

[StraightNoChaser]

I really wanted to sign up, but it came down to using the $150 for bourbon or for the Woodford Academy. I chose bourbon...but would still love to do one of these someday. Do they still give you a barrel head as a gift?

Personally I would give up $150 in bourbon to attend! Sacrilege??

One thing I would suggest about Louisville nightlife is go ahead and give downtown a chance but don't be afraid to hop in a cab and head over to the highlands, which is much more where the locals go. Tell the cab driver Baxter Avenue-Bardstown Road. There are dozens of bars along in there. Downtown is mostly the hotels and Fourth Street Live, which is all well and good, but if they doesn't do it for you try the highlands.

Also, you can't generally hail cabs on the street in Louisville. Just ask your final bar stop to call you a cab. That's how it's done there.

Thanks Chuck. I'll be sure to research your suggestions.

As long as you're not worried about getting bourbon'ed out (not possible...) check out the Urban Bourbon Trail in Louisville. There are a few downtown and some in the Highlands as well.

Thanks for the tips!

[cgbakerjr]

Thursday March 31 - Leave Memphis, drive to Louisville, KY and stay overnight. Probably hit up some bars.

Friday April 1 - Travel the Bourbon country. Our initial intention is to try and visit Heaven Hill, Buffalo Trace, Jim Beam, Four Roses and maybe more. Is it possible to do all of these in one day? Are there other distilleries you'd recommend over our selection? This is the only day we have to explore any distillery that isn't Woodford so we need to make the most of our time and plan accordingly! Any advice is deeply appreciated. We will be staying overnight in Louisville again.

Unless you were planning on spending some time in Memphis on Thursday morning, I'd suggest you visit Beam and HH (and maybe MM) on your way into Louisville on Thursday. Memphis is about 6 hrs from Louisville and you pass by Bardstown area on the way, so depending on when you leave Memphis you could have a few hours to explore those then continue to Louisville for the evening.

On Friday you could then head east and hit Buffalo Trace, Four Roses and Wild Turkey. For Buffalo Trace I'd suggest making reservations for their Hard Hat tour to see the behind the scenes stuff.

You could conceivably do it all on Friday, but that's a lot of driving after already spending two days on the road.

[cowdery]

Beam's not the best tour but coming up I-65, you're within spitting distance of it. It's not five minutes past the exit. There's also a beautiful park right there, Bernheim Forest. It was a gift from distillery owner I. W. Bernheim.

[StraightNoChaser]

Unless you were planning on spending some time in Memphis on Thursday morning, I'd suggest you visit Beam and HH (and maybe MM) on your way into Louisville on Thursday. Memphis is about 6 hrs from Louisville and you pass by Bardstown area on the way, so depending on when you leave Memphis you could have a few hours to explore those then continue to Louisville for the evening.

On Friday you could then head east and hit Buffalo Trace, Four Roses and Wild Turkey. For Buffalo Trace I'd suggest making reservations for their Hard Hat tour to see the behind the scenes stuff.

You could conceivably do it all on Friday, but that's a lot of driving after already spending two days on the road.

Thank you! This is the exact type of advice I was looking for!

[StraightNoChaser]

Where is the cheapest place to buy bourbon in KY? At the distilleries?

[callmeox]

Where is the cheapest place to buy bourbon in KY? At the distilleries?

Anywhere BUT the distilleries. With the three tier system, they distilleries have to buy from the same distributors as the rest of the retailers and there are no deals to be had, IMO.

For good prices in Lexington, I would recommend the Thoroughbred Shop. Sal has a great selection and really good prices.

[StraightNoChaser]

Anywhere BUT the distilleries. With the three tier system, they distilleries have to buy from the same distributors as the rest of the retailers and there are no deals to be had, IMO.

For good prices in Lexington, I would recommend the Thoroughbred Shop. Sal has a great selection and really good prices.

[cowdery]

Sadly, distilleries don't have 'bargain' stores like bakeries do. They sell at the suggested retail. They don't have particularly good selections either. The law views it as a 'souvenir" and for the distilleries it is mostly a convenience. It always seemed nuts to be standing in a distillery, surrounded by bottles of whiskey, and have to give visitors directions to the nearest liquor store. The law fixed that.

But Kentucky is a license state and there is price competition at retail. Generally, the Liquor Barn chain or comparble big box store will have the best prices and a very good selection. This is a bourbon-drinking state, after all, so most places will have a pretty good selection.

[cgbakerjr]

Liquor Barn is probably your best bet if you want one-stop shopping with a large selection.

I can't speak for the rest of the state, but for cheap prices in Louisville I get most of my stuff at Costco. They have a decent selection and unbeatable prices on most of it (eg. ER $23, Bulleit $20, Blantons $45). For items I can't get at Costco I shop at the Party Mart on Brownsboro Rd. at I-264. They have a nice selection and i find them generally to be a little cheaper than Liquor Barn.

[StraightNoChaser]

I leave in 3 days woohoo! I am so excited to get out of Texas for a while

[StraightNoChaser]

A little bird told me Jim Beam is not worth the visit... can anyone confirm or deny this?

[cowdery]

Everything is relative. The main objection to Beam is that you don't see inside the distillery. They're fixing that but they're not ready yet. It can still be an interesting visit but if you're all about seeing the inside of the distillery then, obviously, you'll be disappointed.

[StraightNoChaser]

Well we are on the road to our first distillery - Heaven Hill! I have high expectations for this place.

P.S. Memphis sucks lol

[OscarV]

Well we are on the road to our first distillery - Heaven Hill! I have high expectations for this place.

P.S. Memphis sucks lol

I don't think HH gives distillery tours but I could be wrong, theirs is in Louisville.

In Bardstown they will give you a tour of a rick house which is very nice.

[StraightNoChaser]

I don't think HH gives distillery tours but I could be wrong, theirs is in Louisville.

In Bardstown they will give you a tour of a rick house which is very nice.

You are absolutely right. It wasn't until AFTER the tour that we learned this however

[StraightNoChaser]

Friday, April 1:

10:30am - Buffalo Trace "Hard Hat" tour

1pm - Wild Turkey

3pm - Four Roses

5pm - Bluegrass Tavern

[StraightNoChaser]

Hehe... just ran into a SB'er at Liquor Barn

[OscarV]

Hehe... just ran into a SB'er at Liquor Barn

[QUOTE][/QUOTE]

We need to come up with a secret hand signal when we are out of town that signals, I'm an Sb.com'er anyone of us else here.

I hear the Masons have one.

[whitejc1]

It was great meeting Ian and Winston yesterday here in Lexington. Guys, I hope you enjoyed your trip to Kentucky. Maybe we'll meet again unexpectedly.

Joe