A Mini Bourbon Trail – End of Our Trail

Continued from:  A Mini Bourbon Trail – Getting Our First Real Taste

After leaving Stitzel-Weller, we stopped at an independent bookstore so my wife could browse for books and possibly a souvenir for our grandchildren.  Although she did not find either to buy, I ran across this book that I purchased.  Flipping through it, it was interesting to note that the first two distilleries covered in the book were the two we had visited which to me, validated that I had chosen wisely.

The book proved to be an informative read for all the distilleries that we did not get a chance to visit and gave me an insight that was alluded to in the two we visited.  The Kentucky Bourbon industry is truly a family business passed down from generation to generation as the younger ones learn the trade from their parents or grandparents before taking over the reins.  And in the case of Jim Beam, it is the seventh-generation son that has the helm of this more than 200-year-old company.

After lunch, we returned to downtown and went to the Frazier Museum.  It advertises itself as the official starting point of the Bourbon Trail.  Prior to visiting, I did not know that like jazz music being an American invention (my favorite genre of music), bourbon is also a unique American invention. Bourbon can be made anywhere in the US but predominately it is produced in Kentucky and in particular in Louisville.

One of our favorite exhibits there was a display of vintage custom-designed decanter bottles, one of which was released each year before the holidays during the 1950s and 1960s.  We would have loved to have found these for sale in the gift shop.  No matter the price, I know we would have driven home with one of these.

There were a number of other interesting displays, one of which talked about these unique decorative bottles, and how one of  them was the TV home of our favorite genie.

There was also a tribute to the official cocktail of Louisville (which as you know by now is our favorite cocktail).

One room held a display of all the bourbons currently produced and you were encouraged to try to count them all.  I was absolutely amazed how many there were.  One person’s last written estimate was 900 bottles.

In one part of the museum, there was a replica of a speakeasy where much of the illegal liquor would have been consumed during the period of prohibition.  My wife decided to join Al Capone at his corner table where he may have occasioned.  And unlike other high profile crime figures who were sometimes gunned down in such a setting, it was the tax man that ultimately got Al.

After nearly shutting down the museum, my wife suggested we head over to a rooftop bar.  This sounded like an excellent idea to me and so we walked over.  When we exited the elevator on the 8^th floor, we were not sure if their patio was open since no one was out there.  But we were told it was and so we ordered our Old Fashioned and headed out there.

The temperature was pleasant and with the cloud cover blocking the direct sunlight, it was a perfect afternoon to enjoy our drink and talk about all the fun we had had on our trip.  We had the entire patio to ourselves and as we conversed, we were serenaded with classical jazz music.  Our enjoyable time on the patio was only tempered by the knowledge that our fun vacation was almost over.

After we finished our pre-prandial drinks, we headed back over to our hotel for one last delicious meal, which for me, was another Hot Brown.

The next morning, as I was checking out, my wife went into the hotel’s giftshop to get souvenirs for our grandkids.  She also got some for us.  Another one of those food items for which Louisville is known.

To my knowledge, I have never tasted a bourbon ball nor even knew what they looked like.  So, I was anxious to open them up and give them a try.  The box on the right was made with 10-year-old Rip Van Winkle bourbon (which sells for over $1,000 for a 750 mL bottle).  They were delicious!

Before leaving town Tuesday morning, I suggested we eat Breakfast at a local institution.  Wagner’s Pharmacy and café is across the street from Church Hill Downs.  It opened in 1922, just a couple of years after Prohibition started.  To me, it seemed it was no accident that a “pharmacy” that could dispense “spirits” was opened within walking distance of the track.  How convenient for Derby attendees to celebrate their track winnings or drown their sorrows over losing.

Inside, their walls were lined with photos of the derby winner from each year.  2024 marked the 150^thrunning of the Derby.  But for me, the breakfast was the real draw.

Our trip home was uneventful, and we kept talking about what a great trip it had been.  We noted that even the weather was perfect with the hottest day being only 82 degrees.  I tend to like to go to places I am familiar with, but this showed me what an interesting time we could have while exploring somewhere new.  We learned and experienced so much on this trip that I know we will seek another new-to-us-destination in the future!

POSTSCRIPT:

In July, our oldest son came to town for a short visit.  Since his own Bourbon Trail Road trip had been the inspiration for my wife and I to take ours, we decided to have a bourbon tasting with him while he was here.  We chose to sample some of the ones we had first tasted on our tour.

Afterwards, my wife was showing him some of the pictures she took on our trip.  When she got to the photos that she took at the Frazier Museum (mentioned above), he was most taken by the images of the vintage Old Forester decanter bottles on display at the museum (shown above).  While my son and I continued our discussion about the trip, my wife exclaimed that she had found for sale on eBay the 1957 Sputnik Decanter.  Since it was my favorite of all the ones we saw (and Old Forester’s most popular decanter), I urged her to buy it for me no matter what the price.

It turned out to be the most expensive bourbon bottle I ever purchased, especially given this one was empty.

When it arrived, I could see that it had once contained bourbon since it still had the tax labels on it (note the Illinois state tax label on the front).  I had assumed that since the decanters were shown empty in the museum, that they had been sold empty in a box set with a traditional shaped 750-mL bottle.  I considered pouring some bourbon into it to make it look like the original but in the end, I just decided to display this empty 67-year-old bottle in a place of honor on our bar.

Cheers!