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Heaven Hill!
Next stop was Heaven Hill. They don't have a distillery on site anymore as it burned down in 1996. Apparently the fire was incredible. They now use an offsite distillery, but still age all of their whisky on the property.
These are called Rick Houses. Each one has 20,000 barrels of whisky aging inside. These houses are dotting the countryside of that region of Kentucky, and you can tell who they belong to by what color they have painted them! The mold up the side is a particular type (whose name escapes me) that thrives on the dew/bourbon mix that settles everywhere in the morning. See, in the summer, the whisky evaporates from the barrels (this is called the Angel's Share--the angels convert the whisky into bourbon, but they take their share) mixes in the dew and settles. The whole region smells like bourbon.
(Note that "whisky" is not a mispelling. It is the original spelling of the word whiskey, and is generally used to specify whisky that is aging into bourbon, as opposed to being drunk as plain whiskey. Or, at least, this is how it was explained to us.)
The inside of one of those rick houses.
Apparently, the barrels occasionally leak. They take some cat tail (the plant that grows along the side of the road) and fit it in between the barrel stays. The whisky caramelizes and seals the barrel.
This is the plumb weight. The rick houses are completely built out of wood on the inside, and are basically meant to be almost disposable buildings. However. those barrels are heavy. They have to be very careful when removing them from the building to make sure they take them out evenly from all sides. Someone gets to sit and watch this plumb weight. If they take too many barrels out of one side and this thing gets to swinging, they have two options: a) put some barrels back REALLY fast, or b) RUN!
This is a barrel that has been tasted. When they take the barrel bung out, they are required to replace it with a new one. However, after a few years, it's hard to tell anymore, so they wrap it with burlap.
This is called a whiskey thief. It's used to sample the contents of the barrels. Apparently, rick house workers used to keep these under floor boards all over the place to allow them to get a bit of an on-the-job refreshment.
And then...we got to sample the bourbon. We tried two kinds. The first was an Evan Williams that had been aged 10 years. We sipped it straight, and the whole room promptly coughed. Then we were instructed to add just a little bit of water to it. The different was amazing...the drink was much smoother, the alcohol didn't punch you as hard in the gut, and you could taste the complexities of the bourbon. Nifty! Then we were given a glass of Elisha Craig 18 year bourbon. Both of these are single barrel runs, so theoretically one can taste the difference from one bottle to the next depending on the seasons, etc. And wow. The first one was lovely, but this one blew it clean out of the water. It also cost a whole lot more! Both of these types are hand bottled, and the date barrelled, date bottled, and barrel number are all HAND WRITTEN on each bottle.
I never knew there was so much to bourbon...or that it could be such an interesting flavor. It was also explained to us that the best way to sip bourbon (because it is a sipping drink, not a drinking drink) is in a low ball glass over crushed ice. Also, despite what movies and television would lead you to believe, never decant bourbon and leave it in the decanter. It will go bad. If you decant it for a party, put it back in the bottle after folks go home.
These are called Rick Houses. Each one has 20,000 barrels of whisky aging inside. These houses are dotting the countryside of that region of Kentucky, and you can tell who they belong to by what color they have painted them! The mold up the side is a particular type (whose name escapes me) that thrives on the dew/bourbon mix that settles everywhere in the morning. See, in the summer, the whisky evaporates from the barrels (this is called the Angel's Share--the angels convert the whisky into bourbon, but they take their share) mixes in the dew and settles. The whole region smells like bourbon.
(Note that "whisky" is not a mispelling. It is the original spelling of the word whiskey, and is generally used to specify whisky that is aging into bourbon, as opposed to being drunk as plain whiskey. Or, at least, this is how it was explained to us.)
The inside of one of those rick houses.
Apparently, the barrels occasionally leak. They take some cat tail (the plant that grows along the side of the road) and fit it in between the barrel stays. The whisky caramelizes and seals the barrel.
This is the plumb weight. The rick houses are completely built out of wood on the inside, and are basically meant to be almost disposable buildings. However. those barrels are heavy. They have to be very careful when removing them from the building to make sure they take them out evenly from all sides. Someone gets to sit and watch this plumb weight. If they take too many barrels out of one side and this thing gets to swinging, they have two options: a) put some barrels back REALLY fast, or b) RUN!
This is a barrel that has been tasted. When they take the barrel bung out, they are required to replace it with a new one. However, after a few years, it's hard to tell anymore, so they wrap it with burlap.
This is called a whiskey thief. It's used to sample the contents of the barrels. Apparently, rick house workers used to keep these under floor boards all over the place to allow them to get a bit of an on-the-job refreshment.
And then...we got to sample the bourbon. We tried two kinds. The first was an Evan Williams that had been aged 10 years. We sipped it straight, and the whole room promptly coughed. Then we were instructed to add just a little bit of water to it. The different was amazing...the drink was much smoother, the alcohol didn't punch you as hard in the gut, and you could taste the complexities of the bourbon. Nifty! Then we were given a glass of Elisha Craig 18 year bourbon. Both of these are single barrel runs, so theoretically one can taste the difference from one bottle to the next depending on the seasons, etc. And wow. The first one was lovely, but this one blew it clean out of the water. It also cost a whole lot more! Both of these types are hand bottled, and the date barrelled, date bottled, and barrel number are all HAND WRITTEN on each bottle.
I never knew there was so much to bourbon...or that it could be such an interesting flavor. It was also explained to us that the best way to sip bourbon (because it is a sipping drink, not a drinking drink) is in a low ball glass over crushed ice. Also, despite what movies and television would lead you to believe, never decant bourbon and leave it in the decanter. It will go bad. If you decant it for a party, put it back in the bottle after folks go home.
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