My Awesome Wife

[whiskeyagonzo]

My wife has surprised me with a trip to the bourbon trail in July. I would like to visit Heaven Hill, Willett, & Four Roses. Wild Turkey if time permits. Am I right to assume the gift shops will have unique bottles not found anywhere else? If true, how much cash should I take with me? I don't really know what to expect. Any suggestions, helpful hints would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[MyOldKyDram]

Heaven Hill, Willett, and Four Roses should. The first two are quite pricey, while the 4R prices are quite reasonable.

ETA: oh and have fun!

[petrel800]

As of late April, Willett had some 21 and 23 year ryes for $250-$300 not exact, but as close as I can recall. They also sold the standard releases for a few bucks more than liquor stores. HH had their normal stuff heavily marked up and then a few premium bottles that were very pricey. EW23 and William Heavenhill were like $300 and $500 respectively. They did have a bunch of 1997 EWSB for around $35, I grabbed on since I'd never had that vintage.

4 Roses is my favorite gift shop since they truly have a few unique bottles. Typically Rutledge has 1 or 2 Single Barrel Selections (bottle at barrel strength), they're roughly $58 and I've yet to have a Rutledge selection from the gift shop that wasn't worth the coin in my opinion. This is where I usually stock up.

Bring a few extra bucks, you'll find some glasses, shirts and other trinkets along the way that you'll want to pick up.

Personally, I didn't find the Willett distillery to be worth the effort, but since you'll be down that way for HH, you might as well stop by. Don't forget Barton is right around the corner in Bardstown as well. May I suggest, if you can work it in to your trip, Buffalo Trace and their Hard Hat tour. That one, in my opinion, is the best tour offered at any of the distilleries. Also, Wild Turkey really is close to 4R, and whether or not you're a big fan, I found their tour to be pretty fascinating, especially right after seeing 4R. Very impressive facility and for as much product as they are distilling, it's impressive that their QC allows them to have similar taste from bottle to bottle. Kind of like Budweiser, it may not be the best beer out there, but when you think of the outright volume and the fact a Bud always tastes like a Bud, it's pretty damn impressive.

Sounds like a cool trip, hope you enjoy it.

[mosugoji64]

Congrats! She seemed like she understood the whole thing!

As far as GS bottles go, Sean was right about HH, Willett, & FR. BT has Elmer T. Lee and Harlen Wheatley signature bottlings of BT and ERSB respectively, but I don't know if they're significantly different from standard. The only special bottle MM has is their white dog, but it's pricey and it's white dog. The others are all standard stuff and more expensive than you would find at retail.

[MacinJosh]

Just text me when you get down there Jarrod and I can tell you what to check out and what you might want to pass on. Bardstown is such an a awesome place. A great little town.

HAVE FUN!!!

[whiskeyagonzo]

Thanks for all comments so far. From the sound of it I may have to skip Heaven Hill and maybe hit Buffalo Trace. I have some time to figure it out. Not going until July. Thanks again.

[HighInTheMtns]

Thanks for all comments so far. From the sound of it I may have to skip Heaven Hill and maybe hit Buffalo Trace. I have some time to figure it out. Not going until July. Thanks again.

[whiskeyagonzo]

BT hard hat tour is one of the best tours but you need to sign up in advance. If you're in Bardstown you can just stop at the HH gift shop as easily as any store even if you don't go on their tour.

[petrel800]

Thanks for the tip. I will look into booking the hard hat tour. It sounds really interesting.

Try to ask for Fred as your tour guide at BT, he gives a great tour and has a lot of passion.

[mbroo5880i]

Try to ask for Fred as your tour guide at BT, he gives a great tour and has a lot of passion.

I second visiting BT and also asking for Freddie. He is a third generation employee at the distillery. You can tell that the place means a lot to him.

[MacinJosh]

Jarrod, I know you said they weren't offering a HH tour the dates you were going to be there but I'd PM MoBourbon and see if he can't hook you up if he is there. Fred is an outstanding guide and a regular contributor here on board.

Have fun!

[TomH]

I second visiting BT and also asking for Freddie. He is a third generation employee at the distillery. You can tell that the place means a lot to him.

Probably need to clarify that Fred (MoBourbon) and Freddie (3rd generation employee) are two different people. Both are great.

[MacinJosh]

Probably need to clarify that Fred (MoBourbon) and Freddie (3rd generation employee) are two different people. Both are great.

Fred

Freddie

[p_elliott]

You didn't say how long is you're trip for?

[bjhowell]

I had a great time at Willet. Got to meet drew and talk to him a while. They were very nice there. HH has a big store, but the price are pretty high. Buffalo trace tours are great, hard hat or regular. Both are good. I also enjoyed Barton. They take you thought the bottling line which was really interesting seeing all the different folks they bottle for. (they were bottling Svedka vodka when I was there). at Barton they sold little bags of barrel char. Not sure what you were supposed to do with it though?

[MyOldKyDram]

Use it on the grill/smoker!

Glad you had a good time.

[whiskeyagonzo]

You didn't say how long is you're trip for?

Just a Saturday and Sunday. Hoping to hit at least FR and BT on Saturday and maybe HH a d Willett on the way home

[MacinJosh]

Use it on the grill/smoker!

Glad you had a good time.

Cosign! That stuff is killer when thrown on the grill!