May 10, 2016

REVIEW OF THE KENTUCKY BOURBON TRAIL:

For a long time, this has been on our bucket list. So after leaving the Texas RV Rally, we decided that we had enough time to get in this trip on our way to St. Louis for the summer.

I did a lot of research, reading other blogs on the Trail, looking thru the google sites and www.kentuckybourbontrail.com website. We decided to at first base ourselves in Bardstown, Kentucky it appeared the most central, had a lot of interesting spots and our favorite criteria, small town atmosphere. Bardstown literally owns the name "Bourbon Capital of the World," and in 2012 the USA Today and Rand McNally proclaimed Bardstown "The Most Beautiful Small Town in America." We would have to agree. We fell in love with town and did not do it justice in touring it.

CAMPGROUNDS:

In reviewing campgrounds, there appeared to be 3 main ones.

1. White Acres Campground. About 3 miles outside of town. Easy access in and out. Nice long pull thru sites and good size. FHU sites with 50 amp. All the sites are 50 amp, so if you need 30 amp bring an adapter. Good Sam approved and discount offered. Cost $30.00 a night. We liked this campground and we stayed a week. The nice older couple are owners, very interested in making sure you are comfortable. Had lots of information at the office.
2. My Old Kentucky Home State Park. State Park, smaller sites, a little more crowded. Located in town.
3. Grandma Campground. We did not look at this or consider it.

We arrived mid-Saturday afternoon. Set up and decided to explore the town. Found the town center (Welcome Center) and got lots of information. Walked around town to get the feel and happened on a small town drug store with a old fashion soda fountain. Had to have a go at it.

We decided on a strategy on visiting the distilleries: We were going to attempt to do 2 a day. One morning, one afternoon and see how many we could get to before leaving the following Saturday.

WILLETT DISTILLERY: An independent and family-owned distillery that dates back to 1936. Not on the Bourbon Trail Tour, because it is small and is considered to be on the Craft Trail.

 We completed the tour, got our book stamped and received our T-Shirt. Below are a few of our purchases. Had to get at least one bottle at each stop. 😃😃🍷🍷

We also visited Makers Mark, Jim Beam, Four Roses, Town Branch, Woodford Reserve. We visited all the distilleries on the Bourbon Trail and earned the coveted T-Shirt.

At Woodford Reserve, we upgraded to the Architectural Tour and saw a lot of behind the scenes buildings that are not part of the regular tour. It is the best tour we were on.

 Double Oak is our favorite. Look closely at the stores that order and carry it. You will see Randalls Liquor in St. Louis. Our favorite place to purchase when we are in town.

At Maker's Mark Art got to dip his own bottle

  We just happened to be in town when Bardstown was holding their "Cocktail Week". A community sponsored event where a different bourbon was featured at different restaurants or bars around town.

We love this town and will come back often. There are plenty of distilleries not on the "Bourbon Trail." There also are plenty of Craft distilleries to see.