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Post trip report and a Willett update


nd2005
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Just back from my first trip to the Bourbon Trail/Bachelor party.

Had a blast. Great food and drinks in Louisville, great day on the bourbon trail, and great golf on Sunday. I'll try to give a report on everything we did but will probably miss some details due to significant amounts of consumption throughout.

The Tours:

-We had one day, so we had a pretty tightly timed itinerary. Buffalo Trace first, Four Roses second, Willett third, then back to Louisville. We rented a shuttle from Sanddollar. The vehicle was awesome - a fairly new looking shuttle bus with a limo style interior. Very clean, no smoke smell. Sound system had bluetooth pairing so we just synced up one of our group's iPhones. Driver was courteous and safe.

-Buffalo Trace: We did the Hard Hat tour. I enjoyed it greatly. Our tour guide was Fred, and I enjoyed the slightly more in-depth look. Only disappointment of the BT visit was that they seem to be focusing a lot of energy on selling their vodkas (mentioned Rain vodka ~3 times, and tried to heavily push the Wheatley vodka in the gift shop). I'm pretty sure everyone on our tour (our group and others) walked away with a bottle of the Bourbon Cream though after tasting it...everyone said it was for their wives, but I'm pretty sure that was just their excuse.

-Four Roses: Great tour. Very educational, and the grounds at Four Roses are beautiful. Love the architecture. Highlight of this tour however was without a doubt the tasting. We did the standard tasting of Yellow label, small batch, and single barrel. But then afterwards, we were chatting with one of the employees in the store and asking questions about the various Barrel strength picks they currently had in the gift shop...and she took us back to the tasting room and let us do a side by side of four Barrel Strength picks! (OBSK, OESF, OESQ, and...I think OESK?). Oh, and the gift shop also happened to have the 2014 LE single barrel in stock. So in short, spent a lot of money at Four Roses, which was more than worth it.

-Willett: I wanted to take a second and specifically focus on Willett given the recent thread on the general bourbon discussion sub-forum. Willett was fantastic. Probably our favorite tour of the day. Our tour guide, Mitch, was fully transparent about the history of the company. He explicitly stated the date that they first started distilling, discussed how many mash bills they are currently producing, knew which mash bill and the recipe of the juice we saw in the fermenting tanks. They gave tastings of the two year rye and without being asked discussed that this was their "baby" - their first distilled product that they were quite proud of. They also discussed their plans for the future - production goals, hopes to eventually convert additional labels (such as Noah's Mill) to their own product once it is aged enough, etc.

Oh, and Willett also happened to have some 23 and 25 yr product in the gift shop. I admit the price tag was likely too steep, and I initially tried to hold out, but between the bourbon I'd already consumed and the prompting/heckling of my buddies my willpower broke and I bought the 23 yr Bourbon. I'm planning to open it with my friends at my wedding, so I'm quite sure I won't regret the splurge in the long run as it is as much about the memories as anything.

-Heaven Hill: We didn't have time for a tour, but we stopped in the gift shop as one of my friends is on a quixotic quest for Parker's Heritage. Despite my warning him that there was an approximately 0% chance of finding it in the gift shop I couldn't deny him the chance to look. Their gift shop/tasting center is beautiful. But man...those prices...$130 for the William Heavenhill BIB...$250 for the HH Select Stock...$350 for EC23...$400 for Henry McKenna 23...dang.

Louisville:

-Brown Hotel: I'll be honest, I decided between the Brown, Seelbach, and 21c Art hotel solely based on the prices they offered. But the Brown was beautiful, and their service was outstanding.

-Proof on Main: We went their our first night. I'm pretty sure our whole table ended up with their bison burger, but everything on the menu looked great. Outstanding drinks. The bathroom did not disappoint (yes, I know that sounds weird...but read any of the reviews of it online)

-Jeff Ruby's: My request for the post-tour dinner was simply "steak" so this was where my friends took me. I loved it. Gaudy decor but awesomely so. Huge, well aged steaks, cooked perfectly. We had a blast.

-Down One Bourbon bar: Great selection of bourbon, had a classic Manhattan which was done well. Surprisingly was a bit dead for a weekend night, but we were just looking for a chill post-dinner drink and were able to actually talk and hear each other which was nice since we live in different cities and it was a chance to catch up

-Silver Dollar: Even better bourbon selection. Interesting cocktails - including one they insist upon serving unchilled.

-Garage bar: This was our last stop Saturday night. Awesome bar, with an interesting mix of indoor and outdoor space. Was just drinking beer here but they had a nice selection on tap. Playing drunk outdoor ping-pong at two am on a glow in the dark table was a highlight of the evening.

-Chariot Run Golf Course: A bit of a trek, but an outstanding layout. I only have two complaints: one is they have a pace of play problem, at least on our day. But this is common of resort/casino courses. Two is that, I think they lie about their yardages on par 4s/5s to inflate golfers' egos. I know I don't hit 330 yard drives, yet I had several 450 yard holes where I was hitting a wedge into the green...hmmm...

In summary - great trip, lots of awesome memories, spent too much on Bourbon, but once I pay off the credit card bill I won't care about that very much. Thanks to SB members for their tips in various other threads - I used them a ton for planning our visit and it all paid off.

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:bowdown::bowdown::bowdown: Excellent Post nd2005!!!

You've done us Michigan Boys Proud! It sounds like you had a GREAT Time!

I'm a bit surprised you could type it all into the keyboard after all that revelry; but Great Job!

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Thanks for the excellent update. I am headed up to do almost the same exact tours that you did this Friday (6/27) . We are doing Buffalo Trace with Fred, Willett and Four Roses. I was particularly excited to hear about the gift shop bottles at Four Roses. The last two times I have been - they have been completely sold out. I hope my experiences will be as good as yours.

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Great idea for a bachelor party! Sounds like you guys had a blast!

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

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Great write up and sounds like a great bachelor party. Agree that Four Roses is always a costly stop. And make sure you enjoy that 23yo Willett at your weddings with friends that will appreciate what you are sharing with them on your special day.

Best regards, Tony

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Thanks for the excellent update. I am headed up to do almost the same exact tours that you did this Friday (6/27) . We are doing Buffalo Trace with Fred, Willett and Four Roses. I was particularly excited to hear about the gift shop bottles at Four Roses. The last two times I have been - they have been completely sold out. I hope my experiences will be as good as yours.

They said they JUST got these bottles in, so hopefully the supply holds out through the week!

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And make sure you enjoy that 23yo Willett at your weddings

I'm only planning on doing this once... ;)

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How was the 2 YO rye? Drew has been good to me; I wish them well.

I love the Garage Bar, the Brown Hotel, and Louisville in general. Sounds like a great trip.

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Thanks for the great report. The wife, did I say the wife!, wants to go back to bourbon country for the second year in row this Fall. Plan on hitting FR gift shop, Willett gift shop and do tours at BT and WT.

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How was the 2 YO rye? Drew has been good to me; I wish them well.

I love the Garage Bar, the Brown Hotel, and Louisville in general. Sounds like a great trip.

I enjoyed it. I think similar to others reviews I thought it was a little hot/young. Not much if any wood in it. Definitely worth a try at the price point, and I'm planning on saving some (or obtaining another bottle?) and doing a side by side with later releases as their product ages.

They also have 2 yr old bourbon in the barrels but don't plan on bottling any until 4 yrs at the minimum.

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I enjoyed it. I think similar to others reviews I thought it was a little hot/young. Not much if any wood in it. Definitely worth a try at the price point, and I'm planning on saving some (or obtaining another bottle?) and doing a side by side with later releases as their product ages.

They also have 2 yr old bourbon in the barrels but don't plan on bottling any until 4 yrs at the minimum.

I think I was there the same day as you. I also enjoyed the 2 year rye but couldn't really call that taste definitive because of everything else I tried so I bought a bottle. Since we were traveling for a while I shipped it to myself at the homestead and it's due to arrive tomorrow.

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Any mention of the Grand Marnier finished rye from the Willett guys? COLA app indicates it was bottled in March.

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Any mention of the Grand Marnier finished rye from the Willett guys? COLA app indicates it was bottled in March.
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Any mention of the Grand Marnier finished rye from the Willett guys? COLA app indicates it was bottled in March.

Can you share more information on this? Would love to try.

Best regards, Tony

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Can you share more information on this? Would love to try.

Best regards, Tony

All the tour guide said was what was above - he loved it, it's coming soon, not sure on the exact date.

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  • 4 weeks later...

I can say that the finished rye and their own rye are both very good. The 2 year has me excited for future releases down the road.

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