You just can’t avoid Bourbon-flavored news these days, it seems.
More and more is happening of note in the realm of Kentucky’s contribution to world culture. Here are some more tidbits.
I: Bourbons Bistro, 2255 Frankfort Ave., has turned 9 years old last month.
An original member of the Urban Bourbon Trail, Bourbons Bistro boasts over 150 whiskeys, a selection that is constantly changing, including many private barrel selections. The menu, of course, has many dishes that incorporate bourbon, and the restaurant has a regular lineup of special Bourbon-related tasting events. Call (502) 894-8838.
II. Bourbon exhibit at Frazier Museum
An exhibit featuring the 1964 congressional resolution that designated bourbon as “America’s native spirit,” has opened in at the Frazier History Museum, on the 50th anniversary of its passage. It’s the first time that Senate Concurrent Resolution 19 has left the National Archives and Records Administration in Washington, D.C., since it was signed on May 4, 1964, said Joe Fraser, board chairman of the Kentucky Distillers Association, which is sponsoring the exhibit. “Thanks to this resolution,” he said, “no other country can produce a whiskey and call it bourbon.”
The resolution is on loan for a year as a centerpiece of the Frazier bourbon-history exhibit being sponsored by the association. It features distillery artifacts such as an Old Forester bottle from 1897, Frederick Stitzel’s patent for barrel ricks and a copper yeast jug from Four Roses. The new bourbon exhibit also features an interactive timeline of the industry’s history and other items related to the bourbon industry in Kentucky.
III. Buffalo Trace continues aging experiments
Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort has been experimenting with several of the parameters involved in crafting Bourbon, including different mash bills, aging in barrels with various woods and char levels, and now, with aging the whiskey on different floors of the same warehouse.
Because the heat levels in the warehouses vary with the elevation of the storage racks, the amount of expansion and contraction into and out of the barrels’ wood will differ, depending on where the Bourbon is stored during aging. Many distillers rotate the barrels during aging, to ensure a uniform range of effect for this phenomenon.
But Buffalo Trace decided in 2001 to see just what effect the warehouse location would have if left unchanged. Their Rye Mash recipe #1 was put into barrels and then aged for 12 years on floors one, five and nine of Warehouse K.
They found that barrels aged on the first floor resulted in a bourbon with a delicate flavor, subtly sweet, with a very mild oak taste. Barrels aged on the fifth floor yielded a bourbon that tasted of sweet vanilla and a light caramel, coupled with light wood flavors. And the ninth floor of Warehouse K resulted in a bourbon with a deep aroma and a flavor of sweet roasted nuts, green pears and figs.
The Experimental Collection is packaged in 375ml bottles and packed 12 to a case, with three bottles from each warehouse floor in a case. Each label includes all the pertinent information unique to that barrel of whiskey. These particular rare experimental bottles should be available in June.
IV. Kentucky Bluegrass & Bourbon Experience set for Labor Day Weekend
The Kentucky Bluegrass & Bourbon Experience returns to the Louisville Water Tower this Labor Day weekend on Saturday, Aug. 30 through Monday, Sept. 1.
The annual three-day festival celebrates Kentucky’s musical heritage with local and national bluegrass performers and traditional southern foods.
And let’s not forget the Bourbon. The festival’s Bourbon Experience will be housed in an air-conditioned tent, serving a variety of well known and craft bourbons.
The 9th annual festival will also be a venue for showcasing authentic arts and crafts from across Kentucky.
The festival runs from Saturday, Aug. 30, 5 to 11 p.m. and continues Sunday from 5 to 11 p.m. and Monday, Labor Day, from 1 to 7 p.m.
Festival admission is $10 before 6 p.m. and $14 afterward. Admission is free for children 10 and under. Parking is free. Lawn chairs and blankets are welcome, but guests must leave pets, food and drink at home.
For more information, call (502) 583-0333 or click here.
