Trip Report: Personal Guided Tour of Heaven Hill

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Before I give the summary, let me extend a sincere thank you to Bettye Jo...I know it's been said many times here on SB.com, but add me to the list of people who consider her a complete gem! Her kindness and generosity are without compare!

I was accompanied by my wife, father-in-law, and 4.5 month old son on the tour. When we arrived we were a little early, so we waited in the employee lounge area. We were soon greeted by Bettye Jo who had been called to solve an immediate crisis on one of the lines--she was up to her elbows (literally!) in machine oil. Within 20 minutes she had finished her rescue work and was back with us for our personal tour.

The first thing she showed us was the outside locations of the original Heaven Hill site, and the fields where the tragic fire destroyed the original warehouses. The new Welcome Center is taking shape, but still had plastic where the windows will go.

Next we got to see the bottling lines in action--if you've never seen a bottling line (like me), it's an engineering and logistical marvel. It's truly a sight to see if you've never experienced it.

Knowing we were bourbon fans, Bettye Jo next took us to see where barrels are dumped and potentially refilled with brandy. Evidently there is an immediate need for more Evan Williams Single Barrel, as Bettye Jo mentioned they'd be closing one of the lines to recruit more people to do all the handwork. I had no idea EWSB would have so many hands-on steps! The bottles are handfed into the filler, individually corked and taped (that's a whole specialized hand-fed machine just for the pull tape!), and of course the wax dip. How can Heaven Hill make a profit on this!? We watched one of her coworkers do a wax seal, and unlike Maker's Mark they don't let the wax drip...each bottle has to be held in the inverted position for about 30 seconds to allow excess to come off and be snipped.

Our next stop was the warehouse. Unless you've seen it, you really can't imagine what 2-3 *MILLION* cases of whiskey looks like. At one point she stopped us and had us look in all four directions. Imagine several football-field-lengths of whiskey palates stacked to the ceiling in each direction. Unbelievable! According to the manger there, about 50% is being channeled out the door or sold at any given time. Here's another logistical marvel--how to keep all that going in the right direction (particularly with trucks that don't show, mixed orders, and other hassles)!?

Next we got to see the holding tanks. The Evan Williams tank was only partially full with 4,000 gallons (instead of 11,000!), but lifting that top and taking a sniff was indescribable!

Thanks again to Bettye Jo for the wonderful tour!!

[boone]

You are very welcome, Gary.

The tour is not complete with the "Official" picture in front of the showcases at Heaven Hill

Bettye Jo