Day 35 -- Herrington lake to georgetown, kentucky -- 50 Miles

If the State of Kentucky was a giant sponge, it would be at a point where you'd have to go find a new sponge because this one is so water-logged that it just can't absorb ANY MORE WATER! Everywhere you put your foot -- lawns, gravel paths, or wherever -- you hear a squishing sound and water seeps out around the edges of your shoe. Last night, when we pulled into our camp at Herrington Lake near Harrodsburg, it was raining, though as usual it quit just long enough to let me set up, then started in again. Later, when Concetta ventured over to the laundry room to run a load, I had to take one of our umbrellas and go rescue her before she could come back. Seriously, it's getting downright ridiculous and we're beginning to think that summer has been cancelled for some reason and we're in a springtime holding pattern until the snow falls.

BUT TODAY!!!!! Today was just astoundingly beautiful. Just a few fluffy clouds scudding along, not congregating menacing masses, or in any way threatening to turn dark on us.

We couldn't believe it.

Plans today called for a run northeast toward Frankfort so we could visit the famous Buffalo Trace Distillery. At one point, as we drove up Route 127, we passed a roadside marker announcing that we were in the neighborhood of a Shaker Village on Route 68. Only 4 miles off our route. Most likely a visit to a Shaker village would have been heavenly as the weather was perfect for outdoor photography. But after doing two frontier forts yesterday, we decided to stick to our plan and bypass the Shakers this time.

The GPS didn't fool around and delivered us right to the door at Buffalo Trace. Initially, I didn't see any place to park the RV, so I just motored over to where the 18-wheelers were sitting while they waited their turn to unload, and backed her right in. But when I checked with the lot attendant, he requested that I move the rig around to the south of one of the big barrel houses and park it beside the road over there. When we did as he asked we found a line of specialty vehicles including a couple of vans, a tourist bus, and a stretch limo over there. If we kissed up close to the barrel house, there was enough room to allow traffic unfettered use of the road without endangering our paint job. We did set the step that automatically pops out when you open the door to NOT pop out this time.

We had arrived at the distillery just about lunchtime, but we didn't stop to eat as Concetta was hopping to sign up for the Cooperage Tour which we hoped would still have reservations available. But we had already been a little dismayed by the number of cars in the parking lot, and when we reached the visitor center we encountered so many people that we suspected that our chances of getting a spot on the Cooperage Tour were slim. Soon the visitor center check-in lady confirmed our suspicions that we would have needed to sign up more than a month ago to get that particular tour. Well, no matter, we could still go on the general tour which we almost immediately were able to do.

Our tour guide spent the next hour giving us a general education about Bourbon. "First of all," he said, as the saying goes, "All Bourbon is whiskey, but all whiskey isn't Bourbon."

We and our fellow tour members, perhaps forty people, perked up. The guide went on, and told us that to qualify as a Bourbon it first of all has to be made in the United States. Then, a number of other qualifiers come into play. He told us he uses the ABC method to explain what's actually in Bourbon. The "A" stands for additives, which for Bourbon have to be all natural. He mentioned only several: rye, malted barley, and yeast. The "B" stands for the barrels which are made of white oak and are charred on the inside for a number of seconds each. Finally, the "C" stands for the main ingredient in Bourbon, the corn. To be considered Bourbon there must be at least 51% corn. All the ingredients are fermented together for three to five days.

Though we didn't get to go on the Cooperage tour, I did wander over to the barrel house by myself at one point and no one threw me out. I took a couple of photos of the barrels and noted a sign that said I was standing in the building where the incoming barrels where quality checked before being sent to take their places in the barrel houses. As was pointed out during our tour today, the barrel staves must be adequately aged before they're considered for barrel making, otherwise they'd shrink and cause the barrels to leak.

They use white oak because it's very strong and it seems to provide the best flavors. They char the barrels to lend color as well as flavor to the bourbon. I noted in the barrel house that they char barrels for varying lengths of time from 20 seconds to 45 seconds, but there was no one around to tell me about that. From Wiki I learned that "Bourbon Whiskey barrels are typically charred for 40 seconds to 1 minute, but some distilleries have experimented with charring times of up to 3-4 minutes."

All the Bourbon at Buffalo Trace ages from four to twenty-three years our guide told us. And we learned that where the Bourbon barrel is stored in the barrel house determines how swiftly the Bourbon ages. Barrels stored near the top of the barrel house mature more quickly as they are exposed to extremes of temperature. In warm temperatures the liquid migrates into the charred oak more readily, and when it's exposed to cold temperatures the liquid migrates out of the oak. Barrels stored on the bottom of the barrel house experience the least amount of temperature swings and therefore need the longest time to age. We were told by our guide that sometimes a barrel slated to age for a longer period of time -- like 23 years -- must be pulled early when the technicians determine it's ready. Were it allowed to age more the Bourbon would actually deteriorate.

Again from the web I learned that: "The Bourbon barrels are used only once by law, which creates an incredible supply of them. A lot of them head to Mexico for tequila to age in, as well as Scotland for scotch to be aged in. Until recently, there wasn’t a huge demand for them, and then they started being sent to breweries for beer to be aged in, imparting the delicious flavors of the former tenant to the new beer. From there, everything from bitters to coffee beans to tobacco have been stored in used barrels, even maple syrup and sherry vinegar."

The most interesting thing about the distillery we toured today is that during prohibition -- 1920 to 1933 -- the Buffalo Trace operation was one of only four in the entire country that was allowed by the U.S Government to continue to operate and to produce spirits used, as our guide informed us, for "medicinal purposes only." Obviously, someone had considerable pull with certain senators and representatives.

Of course no distillery trip would be complete without the tasting room, which is why most of our fellow travelers came on the tour in the first place. Once the tour was over, we all gathered in the second floor of the visitor center and were offered three out of five possible samples. We could have one of two clear liquors, a vodka or a "White Dog," which is a 125 proof, non-aged Bourbon. We could have one of two aged Bourbons, Eagle Rare or Buffalo Trace Kentucky Straight Bourbon. Lastly, everyone could have a sample of the Bourbon Cream, which is much like Baileys Irish Cream, but is made with real cream and must be refrigerated after opening. Concetta and I tried both of the aged Bourbons and the Bourbon Cream, and I also tried the "White Dog." As an added attraction, each participant was offered a Bourbon Ball candy, which was just wonderful.

So that's it for our "adult" field trip today. It's always so interesting to explore areas that you don't ordinarily get to see. You can read all you want about producing Bourbon, if you're not smelling the smells, and tasting the tastes, and talking to the key figures, you're probably missing the biggest part of the Bourbon experience.

After our distillery adventure, we bought a few souvenirs, then set our course for our evening camp just a few miles distant near the town of Georgetown. Once we arrived we were just elated to see that we had found a professionally-run camp, with lots of room between rigs, wide drive areas for swinging wide turns, and a nice, picturesque lake full of ducks as a backdrop. Concetta checked out the laundry room in hopes of doing the towels and bedding and we lucked out and found no one there. So, we've done the lion's share of the laundry, we've had cocktails under the awning, we enjoyed a delicious steak dinner, and now we're set to kick back for awhile before bedtime.

Tomorrow we have no set plans other then I'd like to explore around Lexington where Abraham Lincoln's wife, Mary Todd was raised, and perhaps look for one or two counties where the Jones family may have landed when they came from Pennsylvania (if I've settled on the right Jones family). But whatever happens, you know it will appear here, so stay tuned. We wish you Happy Travels!