New and Improved Map of Kentucky Distilleries

View Kentucky Distilleries in a larger map

I created this Google Map late last year. I'm reposting it because I have made a few additions.

First, what this map is. It shows the location of every distillery in Kentucky, both craft and major producers. Red pins are micro-distilleries, blue pins are major distilleries, green pins are inactive distilleries. Click on the pin to see the name of the distillery and whether or not it is open to the public. Where available in Google Maps the exact address is included, along with other listing information.

'Inactive' means the distillery part of the operation is inactive; and not just inactive but demolished in most cases. The ones included are mostly still owned by major producers and used for maturation. I added several more of those, all in the Bardstown area. Included is the name by which that distillery was best known.

There are no inactive micro-distilleries, so all of the green pins are sites of inactive major distilleries. Most of them stopped distilling in the 1970s. Heaven Hill in Bardstown is a green pin because the distillery there was destroyed by fire in 1996, but Heaven Hill still has a lot going on at that site including maturation, bottling, offices, and the Bourbon Heritage Center.

In all cases, I have tried to be as accurate as possible as to the locations, so if you ever want to visit them you can. Most are not open to the public but the sites can be thoroughly viewed from the public right of way. Please do not trespass! The whiskey in those warehouses is worth a lot of money. Even though security seems lax, don't be surprised if guys in pickup trucks show up suddenly if you get too close.

I've only included places where there is something left to see and where you can see it from the street.

Where I still need to do some work is around Louisville and Shively. Maybe next year.

There's More to Kentucky than Whiskey

As a vast country populated by people from all over the world, you can't beat America for diversity. It's one of the great pleasures of living here, and discovering the diversity of different regions is one of the pleasures of travel.

Diversity, of course, takes many forms. Foodways is certainly one of them. Kentucky, being in many ways a bridge between North and South, draws from the food traditions of each and has some that are unique. Kentucky bourbon whiskey tops the list, of course, but the list goes on from there.

You don't even have to travel to enjoy Kentucky's bounty. Most of it will come to you.

As you may have heard, cereal grains such as corn, wheat, rye, and barley can be used to make products other than whiskey.

Weisenberger Mill is located on South Elkhorn Creek in southern Scott County, Kentucky, in the tiny town of Midway. The creek has provided water to power the mill's turbines since the 1800's. Six generations of Weisenbergers have operated the mill at its present location since 1865. They make a wide variety of flours, corn meals, grits, and mixes, all of which can be ordered online.

The spoonbread (an eggy version of cornbread) is awesome.

Midway and environs have become an upscale bedroom community for Frankfort and Lexington. The cute downtown, bisected by a railroad, has several excellent bars and restaurants. Most notable among them is Ouita Michel's Holly Hill Inn.

If you head into Western Kentucky, the land gets flatter and the local specialty is meat. Owensboro is famous for its burgoo, a meaty stew, and mutton barbecue. Moonlite and Old Hickory are two well known purveyors, but there are many others. The annual festival is in May.

The whole state of Kentucky is full of great barbecue places, and Wes Berry has tried them all. Happily, he wrote a book about it.

Head toward the Tennessee border and ham tops the menu. Dry-cured country ham is the main attraction, but it's all good. Most ham curers also make incredible sausage, bacon and other pork products, and being cured they travel well. Here again, there are many high quality outfits such as Newsom's, Broadbent, Finchville, and Gatton Farms.

For something a little healthier, consider a salad of Bibb lettuce. This tasty variety was developed in the backyard of Jack Bibb's Grey Gables house in Frankfort. Bibb served during the War of 1812 and represented Logan County in the Kentucky House of Representatives and the state Senate from 1827 to 1834. An amateur horticulturist, he developed the lettuce and shared the seeds with friends. It was first commercially produced in 1935. For more, go here.

New Reader Will Be In The Mail Soon

I released the new issue of The Bourbon Country Reader to the printer today. That means it will go into the mail in a few days. Subscribers should have them by this time next week, or thereabouts.

"Thereabouts" is a very important word in The Bourbon Country Reader's promise to our faithful subscribers, that we publish every other month, "or thereabouts." The "thereabouts" this time was a big one. The last issue, which said June on the masthead, actually went out in early July.

I won't make excuses. Sometimes it's just hard to get them out. That's what the "thereabouts" is for.

Last time, we explored where non-distiller producers (NDPs) get their whiskey. That was a good issue. So is this one. It is one of our rare 'all reviews' issues. Seems like a good time for one, right before the holiday shopping season. There is, in fact, a story about that very thing, and why your favorite whiskeys just might not be the best gifts.

Do you know what does make a great gift? A subscription to The Bourbon Country Reader!

The Bourbon Country Reader lets me go into more depth on subjects I may touch on here on the blog. The simple pitch is this. If you're into bourbon, you really should subscribe to The Bourbon Country Reader. It is produced and delivered the old-fashioned way; ink on paper, in an envelope, brought personally to your home or office by a uniformed representative of the United States government. (Separately budgeted, so not subject to shutdown.)

How much would you expect to pay for six issues of such a stellar publication? $300? $500? But you won't pay that. You won't pay $100, or even $50. You won't even pay $25 (unless your mailbox is outside the USA). A six-issue subscription is still just $20!!!

The Bourbon Country Reader is always independent and idiosyncratic and has no distillery affiliation. Subscriptions are $20 for U.S. addresses and $25 (a new lower price!) for everybody else. It is published six times a year, or thereabouts.

Click here or on any of the copious hyperlinks above to subscribe with PayPal or any major credit card, or for more information. Click here for a free sample issue (in PDF format). Click here to open or download the free PDF document, "The Bourbon Country Reader Issue Contents in Chronological Order." (It's like an index.)

If you prefer to pay by check, make it payable to Made and Bottled in Kentucky, and mail it to Made and Bottled in Kentucky, 3712 N. Broadway, PMB 298, Chicago, IL 60613-4198. Checks drawn on U.S. banks only, please.

Government Shutdown Already Affecting Beverage Alcohol Industry

According to Shanken News Daily this morning, "The government shutdown is starting to affect the beverage alcohol industry, with the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau halting label approval and permits for new production facilities. The shutdown will at least temporarily snarl as many as 400 label approvals a day, and the large numbers of craft breweries and distilleries currently in the planning stages will have to wait longer for permits. The bureau said, however, that its website will continue to be available and drinks companies will 'continue to be able to file electronic payments and returns for federal excise taxes and operational reports.'”

Chuck Cowdery Mint Julep Tour Update

Places for the March 12-14 "Chuck Cowdery Bourbon & History Tour Experience" are filling up fast so if you want to go, don't wait much longer before you pull the trigger. I'll be heartbroken if you're not there.

Imagine it. You, me, a couple of bottles, with somebody else driving, criss-crossing Kentucky's bourbon country. I'll show you all of the cool and fun bourbon-related places we can squeeze into three days. It's as up-close and personal as any sensible person would want to get.

The folks at Mint Julep Tours will make sure we're safe and sound, amply fed and watered, and exactly where we're supposed to be at all times. Go here for complete details. To book, or for any questions, call Josh Dugan at 502-384-6468, ext 306, or email him at josh@mintjuleptours.com.

You may wonder why there are only a couple of distillery tours on the itinerary. It's because the distilleries do a great job of showing you around, explaining everything, and answering your questions. You don't need me to help you tour Jim Beam. In fact, if you want to hit some of the other distilleries, come a day or two early or stay through the weekend. They'll be happy to see you. If you want to do it on a bus, with somebody else driving, Mint Julep can hook you up.

Instead of visiting every distillery, we'll hit some of my other favorite places. We'll see bourbon barrels being made. We'll see bourbon stills being made, in the place where virtually all of them have been made for the last 100 years. We'll visit the world's only bourbon museum, and eat some good Kentucky grub. There's even a cemetery on the itinerary.

Each day of our tour will begin and end in Louisville, so you can enjoy everything that city has to offer, including some great hotels, bars, and restaurants. We'll start and end each day at the Mint Julep offices in the Galt House, which is right on the Ohio River and close to everything downtown. Every day except Friday, that is. We'll end the last day with a special tasting and nosh at the St. Charles Exchange.

Come on. You know you want to be there.

Southern Wine and Spirits Is Still Not Local Enough For Missouri

Warning: this post is very inside, about the booze business and the laws that regulate it. It may be sleep-inducing for some readers.

The U.S. Constitution's Commerce Clause was intended to create a national market for goods and services by preventing states from unfairly favoring in-state versus out-of-state businesses. With regard to alcoholic beverages, the Twenty-first Amendment, which repealed Prohibition, turned the Commerce Clause on its head. It gives the states broad discretion in the regulation of beverage alcohol sales.

Although the Twenty-first Amendment doesn't specifically require it, all states have used a mandatory 3-tier distribution system as part of their regulatory scheme. That means producers may only sell to state-licensed wholesalers, and only they may sell to the state's retailers, both stores and bars. (Missouri actually has a 4-tier system, but that's irrelevant for our purposes.)

Part of the rationale for this system is that producers are often national or international. It might be very hard for a state to legally 'reach' an akvavit producer in Sweden. That's why all states require wholesalers to be local business entities. The Swedish producer might be out of reach, but the distributor that actually brings the product into the state is not.

Unfortunately, a way around this requirement was easily found. Wholesalers are able to do business in multiple states by simply incorporating a subsidiary in every state in which they want to operate. As a result there are many wholesalers, such as Southern Wine and Spirits (SWS), that are effectively national companies. They comply with the letter of the law, if not its spirit.

Missouri's alcohol regulators have an answer for that. Simply incorporating a subsidiary in the state isn't good enough for them. They require that the licensee be at least 60 percent owned by Missouri residents and they carefully define who qualifies as a Missouri resident for their purposes.

Back in 2011, SWS sued in Federal Court to challenge the constitutionality of Missouri's rule. The trial court sided with the state and on Wednesday the 8th Circuit affirmed that decision, ruling that "the legislature legitimately could believe that a wholesaler governed by Missouri residents is more apt to be socially responsible and to promote temperance, because the officers, directors and owners are residents of the community and thus subject to negative externalities -- drunk driving, domestic abuse, underage drinking -- that liquor distribution may produce."

SWS was emboldened to sue because the U. S. Supreme Court's 2005 decision in Granholm v Heald (54 U.S. 460) revealed a chink in the Twenty-first Amendment's armor. The Court famously held that, "the aim of the Twenty-first Amendment was to allow States to maintain an effective and uniform system for controlling liquor by regulating its transportation, importation, and use. The Amendment did not give States the authority to pass nonuniform laws in order to discriminate against out-of-state goods, a privilege they had not enjoyed at any earlier time."

What the Court ruled was that the Twenty-first Amendment does not grant states a universal pass on the Commerce Clause when alcohol is involved. It was the first case to acknowledge an exception. When a law is unrelated to a legitimate state interest in regulating the transportation, importation, and use of alcohol, the usual understanding of the Clause applies.

SWS has not announced if it will appeal to the Supreme Court.

Meet Tom Blincoe. Because Distilleries Don't Build Themselves

The whiskey business isn't just distilleries, it's many other businesses that provide a variety of products and services. And just as whiskey distilleries are specialized, so are their suppliers. Two cooperages make most of the barrels, one copper and brass fabricator makes most of the stills, and one construction company builds most of the buildings.

That company is Buzick Construction. Last Friday Buzick's President, Tom Blincoe, was inducted into the Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame. His father-in-law, Donald Buzick, built the company's first barrel aging warehouse in 1941. It's still in use by Heaven Hill at the site of the former Fairfield Distillery on Bloomfield Road in Bardstown.

In 1975, Buzick brought in Blincoe to run the construction business. In 1977, Blincoe moved his family to Lynchburg, Tennessee, so he could oversee the construction of 39 warehouses for Jack Daniel's, a project that took five years.

In 1991, on assignment to build a new warehouse for Maker's Mark, Blincoe developed a new system that allows the 'heavy lifting' part of warehouse construction to be done with equipment. Using his system, barrel warehouses can be built faster, more economically, and more safely.

With the current bourbon boom, Buzick's business is booming too. In addition to warehouses, they build visitors centers and other distillery buildings. Their restoration of Brown-Forman's Woodford Reserve Distillery won a national historic preservation award.

Under Tom Blincoe's leadership, the fourth generation of his family is now working in the business.

At the induction event, Blincoe was introduced by Joe Fraser, Vice President of Manufacturing for Heaven Hill Distilleries, and Secretary-Treasurer of the Kentucky Distillers' Association.

The Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame was created in 2001 by the Kentucky Distillers' Association and the Kentucky Bourbon Festival, "to recognize individuals and organizations that have made a significant impact on bourbon’s stature, growth and awareness. It is the highest honor given by Kentucky’s legendary bourbon industry."