KBT: Woodford Reserve

We've reached that point in the year here in Kentucky when summer is (hopefully) coming to a close soon, which means that bourbon season is rapidly approaching. What better way to get ready for that glorious time than to pick up where we left off on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail! This time we took a nice day trip over to Versailles to visit Woodford Reserve; draped over a scenic view of horse farms and rolling hills, this is definitely one of the more beautiful distilleries on the KBT. We even got to try out Glenn's Creek Café, the newest venture from one of our favorite chefs, Ouita Michel! It was a very good day spent out and about, so read along to hear about our lovely afternoon!

Let me set the scene for you guys because it's definitely worth describing: once you leave the beaten path of the highway you enter a world that is quintessentially Kentucky, giving you a view that I'm sure my words can't give adequately capture. Nestled into the trees of rural Woodford county lies Woodford Reserve, one of Kentucky's premier bourbon distilleries; this is where we veered off the two-lane country road and into bourbon heaven! We had a 45-minute wait for our distillery tour, so we took advantage of the extra time and had lunch at Glenn's Creek Café, a small deli serving up a limited menu of some of Chef Michel's delicious fares. Renee had the Turkey in the Barrel sandwich – a turkey sandwich on wheatberry bread with white cheddar, hot bourbon mustard, red onion, and lettuce, while I had the Bourbon Barbeque Pulled Pork Sammich Platter – a slow-cooked pork roast with Woodford Bourbon BBQ sauce, white cheddar and a pickle on a Kaiser bun (from Midway Bakery, of course!) with a side of coleslaw and chips. Everything was super good, as always, and it felt like just the right amount of food to tide us over for our afternoon bourbon tour!

Once we finished with our lunch, it was time for us to go on the tour. Our guide, Steve, was very knowledgeable and passionate about Woodford Reserve and its history here in Versailles, and he made sure no stone was left unturned while we were touring the grounds. We started off in the fermentation building, where Steve told us about the bourbon itself and what ingredients are used to make it; the mash bill is 72% corn, 18% rye, and 10% malted barley, which gives Woodford its slightly sweet and fruity taste. We even got to go upstairs in the same building to see all the fermentation tanks; one was full and busy fermenting away, and Steve let us taste the mash to show us the different floral and nutty profile that the bourbon will take on as it ages. After the mash tasting we moved on to the next room, which features the three iconic copper stills that are a prominent part of the Woodford Reserve logo; these were custom made for Woodford Reserve in Scotland and shipped to Versailles for use in the distillation process. Steve walked us through how the mash is distilled three separate times to achieve the required alcohol content, as well as the unique process of combining pot distilled whiskey and column distilled whiskey to obtain the one-of-a-kind taste of Woodford Reserve. We then moved on to the next building, which was one of the three terracotta rickhouses used to store the barrels once they are filled with the whiskey from the stills. The barrels are burned on-site to a specified char, which also helps with the flavor profile. The aging process doesn't have a specific amount of time tied to it; just like Maker's Mark, Woodford Reserve is tasted at different stages of aging to determine when the flavors are exactly right for bottling. Once we marveled at the tall stacks of aging barrels, we walked through a stone passageway and into the bottling plant, where workers spend their days performing quality control on all of the bottles, as well as package them up for distribution to your favorite liquor store or neighborhood bar. After this, we returned to the visitors center to try two different Woodford Reserve creations: the original bourbon and the double oaked bourbon.  The original Woodford Reserve has all of the great taste that we all know and love, featuring notes of vanilla and caramel; the double oaked bourbon is aged for an additional year in a deeply toasted, yet lightly charred, second barrel, giving it a more nutty tasting profile and a super smooth taste.

We loved getting to go out for the afternoon and see all of the natural beauty that only central Kentucky can offer; from the infinite hills to the majestic skyline, you really have to come out here and see it for yourself. Renee and I are lucky that we have jobs that allow for us to take the time to get out and see our great commonwealth in her natural habitat - overflowing with kindness, charm and of course, bourbon! Stay tuned as we continue our trip across the Bluegrass to visit the rest of the distilleries on the KBT, it's sure to be a great time!