OK, so we already knew this, but it’s always nice to see the out-of-towners acknowledge it: Kentucky’s Bourbon Trail landed on USA Today’s list of 10 amazing road trips.

The story, which ran in late June, gives a few paragraphs to the Trail, saying one should start in Bardstown (and eat at Talbott Tavern … mmm, why, with so many better spots along the trail?) and make the full 156 mile loop through the Bluegrass and back.

The other road trips on the list include places like the Santa Fe Trail in New Mexico, the Shipwreck Coast off Michigan, the Cheese Trail in Vermont, and the Big Bend Scenic Byway in Florida, among others.

Southern Living magazine got a little creative a few months ago with its mention of the growing Brewgrass Trail, which included visiting the five newish breweries in Lexington and Danville.

But it didn’t mention Apocalypse Brew Works, Against the Grain, Bluegrass Brewing Co. or Cumberland Brews. Go figure.

Back to bourbon … if you read the story, you’ll also see a link to a piece on how Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear wants to help our bourbon distillers with tax credits.

Why?

Because we tax the hell out of our distillers. We darn near lead the nation in excise taxes on distilled spirits, and we also tax bourbon each year it ages in a barrel.

Nice.

Since horse racing’s popularity here is waning, maybe we should protect our other signature industry instead of taxing it so heavily?

Tell us what you think.