On the 18th we made a brief stop at Wilderness Road State Park, our 20th Virginia State Park, thus earning us another pin in Virginia’s Trail Quest program. It’s a new-ish park and not much there other than about 8 miles of trails. Then it was off to Kentucky.
Our first stop was in Bardstown, which claims to be central to Kentucky’s Bourbon Trail.
The town itself isn’t that exciting, but there are a few distilleries around. On Tuesday we went to Heaven Hills and did a tasting of cask strength bourbons - 126-132 proof. They actually had a bit too much of a burn for my pallet. But the explanation of the bourbon process and Heaven Hills’ history was interesting.
On Wednesday we went to the Makers Mark distillery and did a “cocktail tour”. This included a much more in depth tour of how bourbon is made and stored. Perhaps the highlight was when we all played bartender and followed along with the tour guide on making a couple of cocktails.
We also got a little physiology lesson on how one’s body tastes things and how certain ingredients enhance the tasting experience. The grounds at Makers Mark are really nice, and their on-site restaurant was delicious.
Wednesday evening we met up with Jenny’s cousin Ann in Louisville for a nice dinner. Thursday we left for our second Kentucky stop: Cave City for Mammoth Caves National Park.
Is one eager to open the bottle one waxed, or does one leave it sealed to appreciate the souvenir?
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