Anyway... Maker’s Mark it was. I called to see where I could park my rig but a little inside information from the I 65 rest stop host said the road to get there was better suited for a motorcycle … not a motor coach. So we found a quaint little 31 site park (My Old Kentucky Home State Park in Bardstown KY) and parked the rig. The I 65 rest stop host was right on with his advice. Certainly one of those Corvettes would have been at home on the roads leading to Maker’s Mark, but not a big coach.
Beautiful scenery but twists and turns, ups and downs, and no guard rails keeping you from those stone laden ravines. So we unhooked the toad and made the 16 mile trip. A pleasant drive except for the locals who, after driving these lanes for all their lives, couldn't seem to understand that riding my bumper would not make me drive faster. Already white-knuckled and sweaty palmed, I was not to be intimidated. Besides I had not brought a change in underwear or maybe I would have given them a run for their money.
We turned onto a gentle lane, guarded by a hand fitted limestone wall on one side and a briskly moving stream on the other. After round a bend or two we came upon a a beautifully landscaped facility with many large darkly painted building with distinctive Maker’s Mark red trim.
After parking we headed for the reception area for the guided tour. The old home, turned reception center, already had a number of other folks waiting so we made our self at home. Soon an attractive young blond girl gathered us on the big porch outside and explained what the next hour and a half would entail. I thought to myself 1 ½ hours … whew! That’s a long tour and what did I get myself into?
As the tour began, it was evident that the property was perfectly maintained and our guide Natalie was very well suited for the job. She knew this business of bourbon making from top to bottom. She was one of 22 employees; that’s right only 22 employees run Maker’s Mark. Almost everyone is cross-trained in other jobs within the business so she was very familiar with everything. When asked, with such a small crew, what would they do if several employees got the sick? Her answer?… shut the place down until the people got better. Try that at your workplace.
Explaining all the nuances of the bourbon making process is beyond my capabilities but it appears that beyond the ingredients and the general equipment used this is a very personal business. It’s personal because it involves people tasting and smelling the product throughout the process to determine if its fit’s the distillers unique standard. It’s definitely not an empirical process but more of a ’seat-of-the-pants’ ( or nose ) process honed and defined over decades. They know it’s right … when it’s right. Not something written down but something they somehow know.
As we were led through the property we were all waiting for two things. The first was where did they put on the distinctive red wax seal on every bottle and where do we get to sample it.
After seeing the sour mash vats the fermentation vats and all the other processes, we were taken to the bottling section.
Two bottling stations filled the empties at a pace of about 1 bottle every 5 seconds. They are fed down a line where caps and labels are installed. They then arrive at the dipping station where 4 workers (2 on each side of the conveyor line) alternately grab a bottle off the line, turn it over and tip it into the 400 degree hot red wax.
Giving the bottle a quick turn as they lift it out, they give a unique look. Some say that each ‘dipper’ has a unique style and one educated in such things can tell which employee dipped a particular bottle. Pretty neat.
Near our last stop was the storage barn where barrel racks some three stories high hold the precious concoction. Holding about 32 gallons, the barrels start at the top of the building and slowing migrate down as they age. A process that can take 3 to 5 years. They also turn the barrels (by hand) ever so often to make sure the contents are well mixed.
After looking over the hundreds of barrels in just one of many of these huge storage barns we were led into an ultra classy tasting room. The final treat.
We had an initial taste of sour mash (I’d say moonshine) followed by the bourbon just to show us the difference. They had about 60 samples set out for the 15 of us so if you desired, you could have more. I took advantage of this deal.
The real final treat was that if you purchased a bottle, you could hand dip it in the famous red wax yourself and autograph the bottle. We picked out a one litre bottle, put on safety glasses and gloves and they showed us how to dip it. So someone special is going to receive this personalized Maker’s Mark bottle. I hope they enjoyed it as much as we enjoyed this excellent (free) tour.
Still livin’ (and today drinkin’) the dream.
Phil
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