Our third day meant three more distilleries, although we didn't have time for guided tours of any of them. We left Bardstown headed for Lexington and some time at the races at Keenland race track. We watched a couple of races and took in the raceday excitement before heading out for our first stop, Wild Turkey.
The oldest and least commercialized visitor center on the Bourbon Trail is at Wild Turkey.
Our next stop on the way to Lexington was at one of the best distilleries we saw, Woodford Reserve. We were too late for a tour, but got to explore their visitors center and enjoy a tasting. They have a cafe, gift shop, and tasting bar at Woodford, all of which are beautifully decorated.
The visitors center at Woodford Reserve is beautiful
The visitors center at Woodford sits on a rise overlooking the distillery operations, making for a beautiful view of these rickhouses in the distance.
Our final stop of the day was at Four Roses, one of my favorite bourbons. Once again, we arrived too late for a tour, but had a chance to taste three varieties of their excellent bourbon. Four Roses was one of the first distilleries to experiment with single barrel and small batch bourbons, and their experience shows in all areas of their tastings. They give you the chance to try a normal bourbon, a small batch (the marriage of less than 100 barrels), and a single barrel all of which began with the same recipe or mash bill. This gives you a great chance to see how age can effect the taste of your bourbon.
The visitors center at Four Roses
While our third day of touring was more of a whirlwind it was a great day. I'll post about our visits to Church Hill Downs and Keenland separately.