By Chuck Martin
Prime spots on the bourbon trail
After a night downtown and a few juleps of your own, you'll be ready for a scenic
drive in the morning. The town of Midway, set between the racing capitals of
Louisville and Lexington, is a prime spot on the bourbon trail. Drive an hour
east of Louisville on I-64, over the lazy Kentucky River, past dogwoods and rolling
bluegrass hills, until you reach Woodford County, home to more thoroughbreds
than anywhere else in the country—and some small-batch bourbon you won't
forget. Ouita Michel, chef and owner of the Holly Hill Inn (426
N. Winter St., 859-846-4732; $35 for a 3-course prix-fixe dinner), flavors many of her dishes
with Woodford Reserve, the same bourbon served at the Kentucky Derby, using it
in sauces and desserts like blackberry jam cake. "Bourbon perfumes our daily
life,"Michel says. You can visit her source yourself; the nearby historic
Woodford Reserve Distillery runs tours where you can smell the sour mash and
watch the steaming whiskey stills in action (woodfordreserve.com,
859-879-1922).
Michel can also point you to the origin of her tasty grits: the creaky Weisenberger Mill ($2
for a 2-pound bag of grits; weisenberger.com, 800-643-8678), perched
above rushing South Elkhorn Creek. The place isn't officially open for tours,
but owner Mac Weisenberger or his father Phil, who ran the business for 46 years,
will gladly sell you a bag or two if you peck on the door. Or you can savor the
grits at Midway's bright Provençal-yellow Bistro La Belle (121
E. Main St., 859-846-4233; $9 for an average entrée). Chef Dewayne Hoskins transforms
the Southern staple into an elegant side to brunch dishes like Bistro Benedict,
made with a lemony hollandaise. Hoskins's grits are toothsome, not mushy. The
chef says the secret to this dish isn't his technique—it's Phil's mill.
You'll need to hit the road again to get a full dose of Kentucky bourbon history.
In Bardstown, about an hour southwest, you'll find the Oscar Getz Museum of Whiskey
History (114 N. 5th St., 502-348-2999), along with the Heaven Hill Distillery's
Bourbon Heritage Center (1311 Gilkey Run Rd., bourbonheritagecenter.com, 502-337-1000) and, just a few miles away, two of the biggest names in the biz: Jim Beam (149
Happy Hollow Rd., Clermont, jimbeam.com,
502-543-9877) and Maker's Mark (3350
Burks Spring Rd., Loretto, makersmark.com,
270- 865-2099). Each of these distilleries offers tours so you can see the native spirit come to life.
Bardstown is also where legendary whiskey-maker Booker Noe, grandson of Jim Beam
and the company's master distiller for more than 40 years, lived until his death
in 2004. As a tribute to Noe, longtime friend Marilyn "Toggie"Dick
still serves his favorite dish, lard-fried chicken, at Kurtz Restaurant (418
E. Stephen Foster Ave., 502-348-8964; $14 for an average entrée). The
menu is full of old-fashioned favorites like fried chicken livers and biscuit
pudding with bourbon sauce. If prodded, Dick will tell diners about one cold
February night two years ago when she went over to Noe's house and fried up some
of his favorite chicken. It would be the whiskey man's last meal, as if he'd
planned it.
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DERBY WEEK
During Derby week
(May 1 to 4), visitors can
watch horses exercise
at Churchill Downs in
Louisville ( churchilldowns.com, 502-636-4400).
KENTUCKY DERBY MUSEUM
The Kentucky Derby
Museum offers morning
tours of horse exercise
areas and stables every day
from March 15 to November
30, except Derby week
( www.derbymuseum.org,
502-637-1111).
TOURS
For a detailed list of whiskey
distilleries that offer tours,
visit kybourbon.com. |
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