Bourbon and bikes
Discovering Kentucky’s distilleries on a cycling adventure
LOUISVILLE, KY. — As we pedaled our bikes over the rolling hills of Kentucky, I could practically taste the bourbon.
There’d be a glass waiting for us at the end of the ride, of course — two fingers of whiskey, with a single ice cube. But being surrounded by the raw ingredients had the flavor tickling my tongue. Fields of corn beginning to brown in the August sun. Clear water trickling down limestone cliffs into a massive underground aquifer. The scent emanating from the distilleries themselves, that sweet corn mash being transformed into America’s favorite elixir.
Whiskey was once the de facto currency throughout much of the country in the late 1700s. Corn would rot if not used quickly enough, so farmers took their unsold crops and turned them into whiskey, which they could trade for other goods and services at their leisure. Bourbon is once again helping fuel Kentucky’s economy; it’s an $8.6 billion industry in the Bluegrass State, which produces 95 percent of the world’s bourbon. The state had about 70 distilleries as of last year — more than double the number a decade ago, according to the Kentucky Distillers’ Association.
While I’ve enjoyed my fair share of bourbon over the years, I never considered myself a true connoisseur. Wanting to learn more, I figured a trip biking on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail would be equal parts educational and entertaining.
The trail website suggests three cycling routes, depending on the number of days and distilleries you want to include. I opted for the three-day, 165-mile loop that started and ended in Louisville, hitting eight distilleries and tasting experiences along the way. A couple of friends agreed to come along for the ride, while my wife, Dee, would follow in our Roadtrek camper van.
Before this trip, I had no idea about all the rules, decrees, laws and regulations there are when it comes to bourbon. One of the central tenets is that it be aged in new, charred oak barrels — and it has to hang out there for at least two years to be designated “straight bourbon.” Bourbon must be made in the U.S., and the grain mixture has to be at least 51 percent corn.
These are some of the informational nuggets you pick up while touring bourbon country, where Louisville is a key stop. We arrived in the city early Friday afternoon and kicked things off at Angel’s Envy, a century-old elevator factory turned state-of-the-art distillery.
Angel’s Envy is unique in that it ages its whiskey an additional six months in a port wine barrel, giving it an extra element of complexity. Some purists argue that Angel’s Envy doesn’t qualify
More ways to bike bourbon country
as true bourbon because of this additional flavoring.
My No. 1 requirement is that it tastes good, and it did.
At the end of our inaugural tour, Chris, our “distillery guardian,” led us to a table where four small samples — each less than the size of a shot – were lined up in a row. We were led through an elaborate tasting process we’d follow for the next three days. We held the sample to the light, observing the caramel coloring; the darker it is, the longer it’s been aged. (Bourbon gets most of its flavor and all of its color from the charred barrel, which is why aged bourbon typically tastes better.) We swirled the whiskey in our glass to see if the liquid’s legs stuck to the side. If they linger more than 15 seconds, Chris said, you’ve got yourself a premium spirit.
We let the bourbon play in our mouths for 10 seconds before swallowing. That lingering heat as it slides down your throat? It’s called the Kentucky hug. By taking my time, I was beginning to pick up some of the subtle tastes — a bit of vanilla and fruit, with