Last April, my brother Matt and I took a trip to Kentucky to tour several distilleries and soak in the culture of what I call “Bourbonland.” We saw plenty of beautiful sites; it truly is a lovely area of this great country.
Every distillery experience was unique. We drank straight from the barrel in an open-air barn (where I was dressed for much warmer weather than we were experiencing) at Whiskey Thief Distillery. We enjoyed Buffalo Trace’s expansive gift shop but didn’t take a tour. We loved the Gilded Age elegance of Castle & Key, and we marveled at the sumptuousness of Woodford Reserve’s facility.
Glenn’s Creek Distilling, with its plucky little-distillery-that-could vibe, was a pleasant surprise as well. But one of the most memorable experiences was the first tasting we experienced: Bluegrass Distillers at Elkwood Farm.
Related: Adventures in Bourbonland, Part 1, Adventures in Bourbonland, Part 2, Adventures in Bourbonland, Part 3
I wrote about that experience:
Matt and his wife had been to Bluegrass Distillers in their downtown Lexington location, which is in a less-than-savory part of town. He told me that visiting their second location at Elkwood Farm was refreshing. We were early, so we had time to wander about the first floor of the antebellum farmhouse.
The whole facility fits the archetype of a rural Southern farm. Bluegrass Distillers has lovingly renovated the house, and the company is putting up more modern barns for production and barrel storage. Logan, the employee who hosted our tasting, told us that the company has to deal with the bureaucracy of working with such a historic property.
There was something special about drinking in a nearly 200-year-old farmhouse.
Since so many of the most popular bourbons are products of huge conglomerates, it's nice to support some independent distillers. I thought it would be fun to share my impressions of the three Bluegrass Distillers varieties I’m most familiar with.
Bluegrass Distillers Toasted Oak Bourbon
100 proof, mash bill: 75% yellow corn, 21% rye, 4% malted barley
Retails for $65 at the distillery and $57.99 via Bourbon Outfitters (although I found it for $54.99 at one of the few stores that carry it here in Georgia*).
This one was my first love from the tasting last April. I bought a bottle to take home and one to send to my friend and colleague Stephen Kruiser as a gift.
For the purposes of this review, I decided to taste a little of it neat as well as enjoy some on the rocks, which is my favorite way to experience bourbon. Drinking it neat, I realized that it’s more viscous than I’ve ever noticed when I drink it on the rocks.
There’s an obvious oakiness to this bourbon, and the first thing I notice neat is a strong flavor of baking spices and a hint of caramel. There’s also a subtle touch of a mild apple flavor, and the rye bite is there, although not enough to overwhelm you.
Drinking it on the rocks softens the bite of the rye, which I like because I’m not super crazy about heavy rye flavor. On the rocks, this bourbon takes on more smoothness, and the caramel flavor comes through more noticeably. All I can really say is that it tastes better cold; then again, that’s what I would say about most whiskeys.
I don’t remember tasting the Wheated Bottled-in-Bond Bourbon when we were at the distillery, but I saw it at the store near me that carries Bluegrass Distillers a few weeks ago and gave it a try.
Bluegrass Distillers Wheated Bottled-in-Bond Bourbon
100 proof, mash bill: 75% yellow corn, 21% wheat, 4% malted barley
I found it for $52.99 at that local store, but it’s hard to find online.
This has quickly become one of my favorites. Get ready for what might be the weirdest flavor description of anything: the main flavor note I get from this bourbon is melted butter. I described it to a friend of mine a few days ago as “buttered corn,” but I think the butter overwhelms the corn flavor.
Like I say, that sounds weird, but it’s an appealing flavor. I get a bit of heat when I drink it neat, but it’s such a sweet, buttery flavor that it comes across as indulgent. In a way, it reminds me of a butter-heavy buttercream icing when I taste it neat.
On the rocks, the buttered corn flavor profile makes more sense. But as I concentrate on the flavor when it’s cold, I take in more of the honey and caramel notes. No matter how you drink it, it’s a gorgeous flavor that doesn’t get old.
Bluegrass Distillers does a limited-release Blue Corn Bourbon once or twice a year. I thought I was on the mailing list for the announcement of the release, but I never got an email. By the time Matt told me that he had ordered a couple of bottles, it was sold out. It generally sells out in a few hours.
But Matt was generous enough to let me try it the day his shipment arrived, and he even filled my flask with it! Ain’t family wonderful?
Bluegrass Distillers Blue Corn Bottled-in-Bond Bourbon
100 proof, mash bill: 75% blue corn, 21% wheat, and 4% malted barley
Retails for $80 at the distillery and $79.99 via Bourbon Outfitters — but it sells out quickly!
Since I only have a flask of this treasure, I drank a little bit of it neat. It smells almost like bread, but the taste is even more surprising. It’s rich and velvety, and I can definitely taste a brown sugar flavor with a hint of vanilla.
It’s sweet and decadent, with the right amount of heat that you expect from a 100 proof bourbon. I can’t help but wonder how it would taste on the rocks, but I have such a small amount that I have to ration it out like a treat. This bourbon is in a class all its own.
*The prices at this store are decent, but it’s in an area that I don’t really care to go to. There’s another store a little further away that carries Bluegrass Distillers, and if their prices are better, it’ll be worth a longer drive to me.
