Heaven Hill Heritage Center

[closetbourbonlvr]

Hey All,

Haven't been on in forever but had to talk a little about our weekend trip. My wife and I went to Louisville to see a concert and spent the next day in Bardstown, Ky.

We went to Makers Mark which is always a top notch stop. My wife dipped a bottle. She enjoyed that, though she did not enjoy the tastings

But it is well worth the money at a low 16 dollars.

The real reason to bring this up is we went to the more or less new Heaven Hill Bourbon Heritage Center.

It was a really good tour with a very informative tasting at the end. I know many do tastings in this time of tourism history but they did it well. They put out two kinds of HH brands. Evan Williams Single Barrel Vintage (I purchased this one) and the Evan Williams 18 year old. The tour guide took us through the process of tasting. For some of you I know that is rather elementary but still they did a great job with it. Really put the time and efforts into making it something nice.

The only drawback if there is one is that the actual distillation plant is not there in Bardstown so you don't get to see that end of it. Course you could hope on down the road and see all that at Makers Mark.

If you all get a chance stop by and see them. Did a great job.

[hjminard]

I quite enjoyed my visits to both of those locations, too. The HH guide we had seemed to be extremely knowledgeable.

What cost you $16 at MM? My tour in June was free. (Or did you buy some type of small bottle for $16?)

And a minor correction: I'm sure the 18 year old you tasted was Eli Craig - not Evan Williams.

[craigthom]

My guess is that the $16 was a 375ml bottle of "whisky" for dipping purposes.

[cowdery]

Once upon a time on the tour, they would let you dip one on the line that would go right back onto the line. That was before they could sell whiskey at the distillery. Now there is a pot of wax in the gift shop so you can buy a bottle and dip it yourself. And there's no more dipping by tourists on the tour.

[barturtle]

I actually dipped an empty on the line when I was about 8...

[closetbourbonlvr]

It was a great tour at both. They really take their time. I overhead one guide tell our guy Fred at HH, "I am surprised you got back this quick," after an hour 15 min. tour. The people there seem to really love what they do. I remarked to my wife that I would love to have that job someday. Be retired and walk around giving tours, smelling mash, giving bourbon lessons at the tastings.

[tylerprk]

I will be visiting HH tomorrow (11/25/2008). Lot's of family history there for me. I cannot wait!

Also stopping by MM and the Oscar Getz museum. Any reccomendations for lunch in Bardstown?

[fishnbowljoe]

I have heard that Tom Pig's is good, although I haven't been there. Been to Kurtz and Old Talbot Tavern. They both were pretty good. Joe

[cowdery]

Hog Wild in nearby Lebanon Junction is good BBQ.