Kentucky Bourbon Trail

Our first stay in Kentucky was at Rustling Pines Campground in London. It was rather remote; three and a half miles to get from Route 80 to the campground through Daniel Boone National Forest and about a 20 minute drive from the town of London. The place was nearly empty when we got there; it had only 1 review on RV Life so we assumed it was new. The sites have a hefty amount of large gravel and for our rig that makes it difficult to level. The leveling blocks sink into the gravel unevenly and the wood blocks, placed under the plastic levels, all broke from the weight of the rig and unevenness. There are several stables on the property and the first night there were 2 other rigs that had horses. They left early the next morning and then it was just us and one other Class A. On Sunday we drove to Cumberland Falls State Resort Park to hike. We had planned to hike Trail #9 that would bring us past Cumberland falls and Eagle Falls but we weren’t sure where the trailhead was. Instead we took Trail #6 that was about 1 mile to the falls. Cumberland Falls is known as the “Niagara of the South”, I assume because it is wide. At the falls there is a tourist center and snack shop and thus a bit touristy. Trail #9 starts there but it was so hot and humid, we weren’t up for an additional 4 mile hike and decided to head back to the car, completing a 2 mile hike.
Monday we drove to Little Patch of Heaven RV Park in Bardstown, KY to begin the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. It’s a small campground with a lot of grass for pepper, plus close to a lot of things to do in Bardstown. That night we went to Oak and Grape for a drink then to The Volstead Bourbon Lounge. Oak and Grape is primarily a restaurant with a bar and Volstead is a really cool Bourbon lounge. It reminds me of the Velvet Elvis Lounge in Houston. I found a new cocktail, the Gold Rush; bourbon with honey simple syrup and lime juice.
On Tuesday we toured Heaven Hill Distillery warehouse. In addition to the Heaven Hill brand they make Evan Williams and Elijah Craig. We learned about their 10 recipes and how they are built based on 2 yeast recipes and 5 corn/rye/barley combinations.
Wednesday afternoon we went to Evergreen Liquors where there is a bourbon tasting bar. Kevin tried a few bourbons and I got a Kentucky Mule cocktail, made with bourbon of course.
Thursday morning Kevin took the car to an auto shop to have the struts replaced. The car started to “thump” a bit; we think the struts were damaged when we had the tire blowout. That afternoon we did a tasting and tour of Four Roses warehouse. The history of the brand was provided with the tasting first followed by the warehouse tour. Interesting fact, during prohibition whiskey could be served for “medicinal purposes”, thus there were a lot of prescriptions written and whiskey sold at pharmacies! This helped keep Four Roses in business during prohibition. The brand was purchased by Seagrams at one time and they decided to sell only oversees as the market was better there. Since then a Japanese company has purchased the brand and brought it back for sale in the US. Unlike Heaven Hill that stocked barrels 20 high Four Roses only stacks 8 or so high, giving the brand more consistency. Heaven Hill uses the barrel locations to develop different flavors of bourbon.
On Friday we visited My Old Kentucky Home State Park, in the middle of Bardstown. The mansion was built by John Rowan in 1795 and has the largest rooms I’ve seen yet for that time period. John Rowan was a successful lawyer, farmer, and US Senator. The house is filled with original family belongings, including Rowan’s eyeglasses, walking cane, Eliza’s (his granddaughter and last person to live in the house) adult size 3 riding boots and a family bible from the 1600’s. Stephen Foster, who wrote “My Old Kentucky Home, Good Night”, was a cousin of John Rowan’s and it’s known (depending on the source) that he visited the house. It’s believed that the house, along with the anti-slavery novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin, were the inspirations behind the writing of the song. The song became the official state song in 1928. No pictures were allowed except for outside. From the state park we drove to Maker’s Mark, I wanted to see it as I heard it was beautiful. There are a lot of painted horse sculptures and glass sculptures throughout the grounds and a beautiful visitor center with a tasing bar. Kevin bought one tasting and I got a “dew drop” cocktail; a bourbon martini similar to a lemon drop. It was REALLY good. It was made with citrus fruits grown on the property. In the gift shop Kevin purchased a bottle and then went to the dipping station where he was able to dip the bottle neck into wax himself.Læs mere