Maker's Mark with a Bulleit Chaser

Today was our first day of distillery touring - and that took us to Loretto, KY - home of Maker's Mark. We showed up right at 10am and were greeted by Leah, who would turn out to be our tour guide. Before starting the tour we went and spent about 20 minutes chatting with Kevin Smith, the new Master Distiller at Maker's Mark. He was an assistant master distiller up until a couple months ago when Dave Pickerell left the company. Was able to tell us a lot of the history of the Samuels family and show us letters to and from Abe Lincoln - one of them from 1859 had Lincoln writing about how he didn't think he was going to run for President - of course a year later he became president. There was also the "dark side" where the Samuels family was married into the James family... as in Jesse James. Very interesting stuff... We talked about business, Maker's Mark special releases (besides special bottles - its not happening) and just the love of bourbon.

The tour was next and took us through the fermenting rooms, the distilling room, the barreling room, one of the rack houses (where the bourbon is stored) and finally the bottling line.

We ended the tour in their tasting room - trying 2 year old Maker's Mark, Maker's Mark (the stuff found in stores, which is an average of about 6 years) and 9 year old Maker's Mark. Due to the high wheat content of Maker's mash bill the 9 year old really wasn't that good, as wheat is a very delicate grain that is too easily overpowered by the oak. We then dipped a few bottles ourselves, got a few souviners and we were on our way!

Next stop was the Pendennis Club to have drinks with Mr. Tom Bulleit, of Bulleit Bourbon fame. We got there a couple of minutes before he did so we had a few minutes to look around this fantastic building. We didn't take pictures but follow the link above to check it out - its amazing.

Tom arrived with his son, Tucker a few minutes later and we took a tour of the place, going upstairs to see the ballroom, downstairs to see the main dining room (coat & tie required) - Tom also gave us the history of the place as his family has been members off and on for generations. We went to the Grill (the less formal area) to have a few drinks and talk. Seriously, was one of the nicest guys I've ever met. Gave a good overview of the bourbon market and had nothing but nice things to say about his competitors. It's actually amazing, both Tom & Kevin Smith talked up their competition almost as much as they did their own brands... it is honestly one big family down here. Tom was saying that a few years back when Heaven Hill (I believe) had one of their rack houses burn down - within a few hours every distillery had called offering their services to ensure that a beat wouldn't be skipped. He also presented us with a few gifts: a Bulleit hat, some Bulleit glasses and a 1.75 of Bulleit bourbon that he was kind enough to sign. I am looking forward to October when he is coming out for WhiskeyFest - as, hopefully, we can hang out a little more.

After leaving Tom & Tucker - we drove over to the Maker's Mark Lounge - and had some appatizers and drinks. I had the Four Roses flight, as I have never tasted the brand before. There was their regular 80 proof Yellow Label, the Single Barrel and the Small batch. All were VERY good... We are back at the hotel now - relaxing and getting ready to watch a movie - so thats all for now.