Did someone say “bourbon?”
Kentucky’s famous for bourbon. The
Maker’s Mark Distillery is a mere 60 miles southeast of Louisville. It’s the oldest continuously operating bourbon distillery in the United States. There are quite a few other bourbon distilleries within a 50-mile radius of Maker’s, but since Maker’s is my favorite, that’s what you get a tour of:
The water used in the production of Maker’s Mark is taken from a 10-acre limestone spring-fed lake on the property.
Maker’s Mark is a “handmade bourbon” – that is, every step of production involves some human handling. It’s also a small batch bourbon, in that it’s made in batches that are maximum 19 barrels, never more. In addition, they only bottle their whisky “to order”. So all the bourbon sitting in warehouses on the property is in barrels. Bottled whisky goes out on a truck the same day it comes off the line.
Note the vats of melted red “wax” (actually a plastic polymer of sorts) in the foreground.
This is the still house – well, the first floor of the still house.
This is a shot of the upper stories of the still house. That’s right, that copper still is over four stories tall. Visitors only get to see the bottom of it in the still house:
Sorry for the blurry shot. I dunno if you can tell, but that stream of distilled whisky there is completely clear. It’s the new, charred, white oak barrel that gives bourbon its rich amber color. The torching of the inside of the barrel carmelizes the tannins in the oak:
Barrels of whisky are stored in large, barn-like warehouse structures that are somewhat open to the weather. It’s the movement of the whisky (as it expands and contracts in response to summer heat and winter cold) into and out of that carmelized tannin layer that colors the final product.
Note the nifty shutters on all the buildings (in case you’re unfamiliar, that’s the unique shape of the Maker’s Mark bottle):
Here’s a bad photo of one of the fermenting vats:
I wish I’d gotten a perspective shot. That vat is two stories tall and about 20 feet across. If you look very carefully, you can see the bubbles around the edge of the sour mash raft. We were encouraged to stick our grubby fingers in and taste the fermenting mash. Tasted sorta like, well, beer – at this stage, anyway. That room was very warm and humid and smelled very, very yeasty. Maker’s Mark uses an heirloom strain of yeast that’s been in the Samuels family for umpteen years. They also flavor their whisky with soft, red winter wheat (also sustained by the limestone springs) rather than rye. I think that’s why I prefer it above all other bourbons.
Gift shop had some cute cheese boards made from flattened empty Maker’s bottles.
Also in the gift shop, you get to purchase a bottle of whisky to dip in the red wax yourself! Mine turned out well, I’ll post a photo of it tomorrow.
I’ll have to sign off in a little while and get my butt to work. If you don’t see me posting until late tonight, never fear, foodblog fans. I’ll be back.
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