| Distilleries
In The Bluegrass
As early as 1775, enterprising Kentuckians
were making corn whiskey. Kentucky settlers
gave whiskey several new twists, beginning
with corn, which was abundant since settlers
could claim 400 acres if they built a cabin
and grew a patch of corn.
One of those settlers was a Baptist minister named Elijah
Craig. The good minister found that people liked his whiskey
made with a special blend of corn and after all is was a
lot easier to ship your corn crop in the liquid form. Elijah
Craig is credited with being the father of bourbon whiskey.
As a matter of fact, “Elijah Craig” is one of the brands
bottled in Bardstown by Heaven Hill, an especially nice
single-barrel variety.
The name "Bourbon" comes from Bourbon County, Kentucky, which, in the 1700's, covered a large portion of Kentucky and was a point of departure for whiskey moving down the Ohio River to the West and New Orleans. The product name was later shortened from "Whiskey from Bourbon County" to "Bourbon Whiskey" as it gained international acclaim.
Before Prohibition there were more than 200 distilleries
in the bluegrass, after prohibition there were only 35 ,
and today only nine. One of those distilleries operated
through prohibition with a permit–one of only four issued
in the country, to continue distillation for medicinal purposes.
Below, you will find distlleries in the area that have tours
of their distilleries. Click on the link to their web site
for tour times.
Buffalo Trace
Distillery
1001 Wilkinson Blvd.
Franklin County, Frankfort, KY
800-654-8471
www.buffalotrace.com |
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Labrot & Graham Distillers Co.
Labrot & Graham
Distillers Co.
7855 McCracken Pike
Woodford County, Versailles, KY
(859) 879-1812
www.labrot-graham.com |
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Austin Nichols
Distillery
Austin Nichols
Distillery U.S. Highway 62 East Lawrenceburg, KY 502-839-4544
www.wildturkeybourbon.com |
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Four Roses Distillery
1224 Bonds Mill Road
Lawrenceburg, KY
502-839-3436
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