Bourbon Trail - Jim Beam

Since we were so close to Kentucky, we decided to take a few days and explore the Bourbon Trail.  First stop was Jim Beam.

We went inside the Visitor Center

James B. Beam

We saw on their website that they gave tours but since we weren't 100% sure what day we'd be there, we didn't make an advance reservation.  So we went inside to check things out.

The first tour available was about an hour after we'd arrived to so we decided to book a tour for later in the afternoon and go to explore a few other distilleries.  

This was a beautiful spot.

And we'd had a recommendation from our dear friend, Patryce, to try Elijah Craig so, of course, we had to buy a bottle or two.

My grandmother's maiden name was Fitzgerald so this piqued my interest.

One thing we learned is that unlike wineries, distilleries aren't typically "close" together so we couldn't stay too long.  

We'd asked the people at Jim Beam where Jim B. was buried and since it was right on our way, we decided to make a stop at the cemetery to pay our respects.  I was pretty proud of myself for finding the grave site all on my own while Ron was talking to a few groundskeepers.

We moved on to Maker's Mark which was at least a half hour away and now we were really pushed for time.  So we went into the gift shop which was a LONG walk - beautiful, but long.

Hahahahaha!

Okay, quick - back in the truck and get back to Jim Beam for our tour.  Luckily, we made it with about 10 minutes to spare and were able to meet our guide, Rocky.

He gave a great tour and we learned a lot about the process of making bourbon.  Jim Beam is one of the best-selling brands of bourbon in the world.  Since 1795 (interrupted by Prohibition), seven generations of the Beam family have been involved in production for the company.  The brand became "Jim Beam" in 1943 in honor of James B. Beam, who rebuilt the business after Prohibition ended.  Previously produced by the Beam family and later owned by the Fortune Brands holding company, the brand was purchased by Suntory Holdings in 2014.

This is an example of a car that was used to distributed the bourbon.

What differentiates bourbon from whiskey?

• Made in the USA
• Aged in charred new oak barrels
• At least 51% corn
• No additives
• Bottled at no more than 80% alcohol by volume

The still is hard working - in fact, the hardest working still in America.  

They keep count of all the barrels they've produced since the repeal of Prohibition in 1933.

That's a lot of barrels!

Next stop on the tour was the bottling area where we could pick our bottle, watch it going down the line, and then personalizing it with a fingerprint.

Ron took the first step by picking out a bottle, labeling it, and washing the bottle before filling.  Washing it with bourbon, of course.

And then we followed our bottle as it was filled and moved down the line.

Ours is the second from the left.

And then the grand finale - time to dip the top in wax.

This time it was my turn to personalize the bottle - my thumbprint in the hot wax.

Back on the bus so we could visit the Rickhouse.  Rickhouses are primarily made of wood, brick, stone or metal and constructed to be about seven stories high.  The overall size (height and depth) and construction materials significantly impact the temperature consistency inside the rickhouse is what gives the spirit its color, flavor, and aroma.

We spent a good deal of time inside checking things out.

We asked Rocky about how much weight each Rickhouse could hold.  We were in a smaller house which holds about 20,000 barrels.  At about 550 pounds per barrel, that's about 11 million pounds!

This is a special rack of barrels.  You can see on the right the 16 Millionth barrel which was filled in February, 2020.  

On the middle left is another special barrel.  Can't guess?

It's hard to read but in the middle on the left is the word Mila.  That's a 10 year old barrel belonging to Mila Kunis who was a spokesperson for Jim Beam.

And the most recent "millionth" barrel - 18 - which was just put in the barrel earlier this year.  I think it's fun that everyone signed the barrel.

And then it was time for the "big" event - the tasting.

I'm surprised that I'm actually enjoying bourbon.  In fact, I'm drinking one as I prepare this post.

We stopped in the gift shop to purchase our personalized bottle and learned that - oops - the picture of the grave stone that I took is the wrong Jim Beam!  So we had to make a quick trip back to get a photo of the correct one - there are too many Jim Beams in this part of the country.

Whew, what a great day!