Heaven Hill Distillery was the largest bourbon producer we visited. Their metal corrugated rickhouses stretched for miles. The smaller ones held 20,000 barrels. They were in the process of building new rickhouses that could hold up to 50,000 barrels. Whew!
Heaven Hill produces Evan Williams, Larceny (one of hubby's favorites), along with a myriad of others. This tour featured one of the rickhouses and a tasting of both Evan Williams and Elijah Craig in a barrel-shaped tasting room.
A note on tastings in Kentucky (well in wet counties in Kentucky). You can basically taste 1/2 an ounce. Each distillery will have one bourbon in particular that they want you to taste (sometimes it's the only one to taste) and then most will have you taste a second (some their choice, some yours - every place is different). In order to taste more (at least in Bardstown) you have to patronize the Kentucky Bourbon House for flights (highly recommended if you are walking back to your home away from home) or settle in at any restaurant for the upwards of 90+ offerings at the bar.
For this tasting we were given two offerings. The only thing I did not like about the tasting was the tour guide telling the group to add a few drops of water BEFORE tasting the bourbon. I get the role of water in tamping down the alcohol level and smoothing out potential harshness, but I want to taste the straight stuff first and then decide if water is needed (water was needed in this case).
As usual there were photo opportunities:
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| Heaven Hill |
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| Barrels in the Rickhouse |
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| No Bull |
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| Little Brown Jug |
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| Tasting Room |
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| Elijah Craig 12 Year Old Small Batch |
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