Enjoying Kentucky Ag Products

Our annual consultants meeting was in Lexington Kentucky.  It is located in Bluegrass Country and is a beautiful part of the state.  There are also several bourbon distilleries in the area.  We toured Four Roses Distillery and Woodford Reserve Distillery.  Actually Four Roses does not use andy Kentucky farm products.  They get their corn from Indiana and Rye and Barley from other states. Woodford Reserve uses Kentucky corn, but rye and barley from other states.  At Four Roses, we were not able to see the process in person, because of active construction to allow expansion.  The staff was very hospitable.  Both distilleries had a tasting room to sample the products.  The Photos below are all from Woodford Reserve Distillery.   The basics are the same.  Bourbon is made from at least 51% corn mash and must be aged in charred Oak Barrels.  Each individual distillery adds character to their products in different ways that create subtle little differences.

Woodford Reserve Fermentation Building Notice the Millstone

Fermenting Mash

Distilling Room

Aging warehouse

Bottling Room

Tasting the Results