Just got back from a month on the road...

[IamMatt]

I have been absent from the Forum for a month but I have a good excuse.  I retired this year and the wife and I took a month-long road trip from L.A. through AZ, NM, TX, OK, MO, IN, IL, KY, MI, IA, SD, WY, ID, WA, and OR visiting friends and family.  It started with my wife wanting to visit a lifelong friend in MO who is fighting cancer.  Then we figured, well, Springfield, MO is virtually next door to Louisville, KY, so we gotta stop there, and it turned into a road trip.  I figured I could pick up some interesting bottles in KY (Fosmith reminded me "didn't you post recently about cutting down on buying?") but the buying started well before Kentucky.  We visited friends in AZ and NM, and I saw some interesting local whiskeys at Costco in NM--Hollow Spirits, Sidewinder, and Big Nose Kate--but didn't pull the trigger.

[IamMatt]

When we got to TX I found a liquor store and picked up a Blue Note Juke Joint UCUF 120-Proof Barrel Pick and, to my surprise, a 13th Colony Southern Bourbon.  They had WSR handles but I passed.

[IamMatt]

We got to Springfield, MO and I found Ben Holladay BIB which gets a lot of buzz, and a KC store pick at a chain supermarket.  I know some of y'all's grocery stores do picks but not where I live.  They also had Hidden Barn on the shelf.  So now I'm 4 bottles in before even getting to Kentucky lol.

[IamMatt]

Then we went to Bardstown for several days.  Lots to do and see there.  We walked to the Talbott Tavern, operating since the 1700s and had a few drinks and listened to some music.  One thing that strikes you about bars and stores in Kentucky is all the whiskeys you have never seen before.

[IamMatt]

Visited The Blind Pig and Dave, one of the owners, had a few bottles of his own "Piggy's House of Sticks" blend, so I grabbed one of those.  He offers half-ounce (ish) tastings of about 30 bottles 2 for $5 so we got to sample quite a few, some we don't see in California and some I was just curious about.

[IamMatt]

I had heard about a Mexican restaurant with a good bourbon bar--La Herradura--so we had dinner and retired to the bar for drinks.  Not much atmosphere in the bar but a good selection; I got to try three different Lucky 7 expressions at very reasonable prices.

[IamMatt]

Several of the liquor stores we visited in Bardstown had Lucky 7 expressions, so I ended up with a Holiday Toast, a 6-year-old, 118-Proof Proprietor SiB, and there recent 97-Proof Workhorse.

 

[IamMatt]

We went on a tour at Makers Mark.  The grounds are beautiful and the tour was a lot of fun.  Tastings included Makers 46 (my wife liked) and Makers 46 Cask Strength (I liked).

 

[IamMatt]

We visited Log Still Distillery (Monk's Road and Rattle & Snap whiskeys) and were taking a picture outside when some random guy came over and offered to take a picture of both of us.  "Random guy" turned out to be the distillery's Controller! 

 

[IamMatt]

Also visited the Oscar Getz Museum of Whiskey History.  Very cool, lots of whiskey history, old bottles and distillery equipment, etc.  Oscar Getz started the Barton Distillery.

[IamMatt]

Finally, toured Heaven Hill and their new visitor's center.  Their "You Do Bourbon" tour was great, partly because it was not another hour of looking at the mash and hearing about how bourbon is made (been there, done that).  We tasted Elijah Craig, Larceny, and Bernheim, and at the end, got to bottle our own Barrel Proof bottles, choosing 1 Elijah Craig and 1 Larceny.  The batches are labeled Y123 and Y523, with the "Y" standing for the You Do Bourbon tour.  IIRC, there are 13 barrels in each batch."  We spent another hour or so looking at the visitor center, which has a lot of displays, videos, etc.

 

 

[IamMatt]

Then we went to Louisville.  Had dinner with some friends who live there, and spent some time on Whiskey Row on Main Street.  Visited the Frazier Museum, a must see in Louisville.  Lost of info on the history of bourbon.   They have a display room where you can count how many of their bottles you have tried. 

 

 

[IamMatt]

Did an Old Forester tour, tasting the Whiskey Row series and touring the small rickhouse on Main Street.  My wife went to the bathroom when we arrived and by the time she came out, I had already bought a barrel proof SIB.  One thing that was pretty cool is that I noticed a couple of barrels marked "117 CM."  I surmised that this meant that master distiller Chris Morris (CM) had sampled the barrels and marked them for the Old Forester 117 series, which was unofficially confirmed by the tour guide. 

 

 

[IamMatt]

Visited a few more places, including Justins' House of Bourbon.  Then did a tour of Michter's which was a lot of fun, largely because of our tour guide Allison.  Tasted the basic Michter's expressions, but also had one of their expressions that they barreled at 125 proof (maximum legal barrel entry proof) instead of their usual 103 proof so we could compare.  The lower entry proof was definitely better.  Samples also included Michter's 10-year bourbon.

 

 

[IamMatt]

Said goodbye to Kentucky and traveled to Michigan's Upper Peninsula for a memorial service--mother of a dear friend from high school who lived 93 very full years--and spent a couple of days there before going to the Illinois to see two more friends in Chicago and Schaumburg.  On the way, we stopped at the Journeyman distillery, home of "Whips, Corsets, and Whiskey" and other expressions.  Didn't do a tour but they have a big bar and restaurant on site so maybe next time.

 

 

[IamMatt]

Stayed in Elmhurst, Il, just a couple of miles from the second largest Binny's store.  I had heard so much about Binny's so I had to go, and was not disappointed.  It is probably 2-3 times as large as any other liquor store I've been to and their selection was incredible.  I bought a Rebel Cask Strength store pick (one of about 8 or 9 barrels they had) and went back the next day and bought a Found North Batch 5.  Could easily have left there with 8 or 10 bottles.  Definitely would like to go back.  They don't ship out of state, unfortunately, but one of the workers I spoke to said they are working on getting that changed, so who knows?

 

 

[IamMatt]

Worked our way west, saw Mount Rushmore and a few other sights before visiting our daughter in Portland, OR, home of Gravy, the best breakfast restaurant in the world.  Stopped at a liquor store and found a bottle of ECBP B523 so....

 

[bayouredd]

Just now, IamMatt said:

Visited a few more places, including Justins' House of Bourbon.  Then did a tour of Michter's which was a lot of fun, largely because of our tour guide Allison.  Tasted the basic Michter's expressions, but also had one of their expressions that they barreled at 125 proof (maximum legal barrel entry proof) instead of their usual 103 proof so we could compare.  The lower entry proof was definitely better.  Samples also included Michter's 10-year bourbon.

 

 

Damn dude, love being along for the ride!

Next time, don't leave me in the trunk!!! 

[IamMatt]

Headed south to return home to southern California, but had to stop in Berkeley for lunch at Top Dog, the best hot dog  restaurant in the world.  AND to meet up in person with Bay Area member Fosmith for a drink.  We had corresponded online over the last couple of years so it was great to meet up with him.  Super nice guy.  Had also hoped to meet up with Berkeley member Berto, but he was unable to.  We met at a great whiskey bar but timed it badly; we got to Berkeley on a Thursday only to see that the bar has Half-Price Whiskey Wednesday!  No worries, that just gives us an excuse to go back again.  It's only a 6-hour drive!

 

[IamMatt]

Anyway, I'm glad to be back, though I have a month of posts to catch up on.  I will certainly post when I start cracking all these new bottles.  

Cheers!

 

 

[Richnimrod]

Nice Pix, Dude!!!!!!!!!   One negative comment, however...

You and your bride visited The Mitten State and didn't stop by for a pour or two!?!?!?!?     It could've been grand!

[IamMatt]

Oops!  Forgot to mention we visited Peerless while in Louisville and pickup a bottle of bourbon finished in Absinthe barrels.

 

 

[IamMatt]

4 minutes ago, Richnimrod said:

Nice Pix, Dude!!!!!!!!!   One negative comment, however...

You and your bride visited The Mitten State and didn't stop by for a pour or two!?!?!?!?     It could've been grand!

Sorry!  We were only on the west side of the state!   How about next time?

[IamMatt]

Here are some pix from the Getz Museum in Bardstown.

[mbroo5880i]

Very nice! I was actually thinking about you today and wondering where you have been.  Now, the question is where haven't you been?