A spirited adventure - Military Off Duty, Army Travel, hottest destinations - Army Times

A spirited adventure

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Once upon a time, this was the wild, wild West. That was more than 200 years ago, of course, long before airports and interstates, long before Kentucky and Tennessee became synonymous with horse racing and country music, respectively. Back then, these fertile lands were rough frontier areas cut off from the rest of new America by the rugged Appalachian Mountains.

This is where our education on the drink that nursed a newborn nation begins, in the heart of the Bluegrass State, home to five stops on the American Whiskey Trail.

Sponsored by the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, the trail (http://www.discus .org/trail) consists of more than a dozen public distillery tours, museums and cultural sites across five states. Most are within easy striking distance for troops stationed on the East Coast. Some of the more popular stops on the trail, begun in 2004 to showcase the long-standing distilling tradition in the U.S., draw more than 50,000 visitors each year.

But in the years following the Revolutionary War, getting here — and living here — was a struggle.

Frontier settlers were rewarded for their hard work and perseverance with a lush region perfect for growing corn, but geography works both ways. The ruggedness of the West made transporting raw corn to market a tough prospect, so turning the grain into whiskey made more sense.

It helped that enforcing the unpopular federal whiskey tax was nearly impossible out West, far from cosmopolitan cities such as Philadelphia and Boston. There was little fear of soldiers showing up unannounced here, as was the case in western Pennsylvania in 1794.

Many farmers picked up and moved. It wasn’t long before Kentucky bourbons and Tennessee whiskeys were born.

“You could still do your thing, but you didn’t have to pay the tax,” said Kevin Smith, assistant master distiller at Maker’s Mark, a whiskey trail destination in Loretto, Ky.

And that’s why today’s most popular American spirits don’t come from Pennsylvania and Virginia.

At least, that’s what helped get them here. But it was probably the rich farmland and the abundance of limestone-filtered water — perfect for brewing hooch — that kept them around, and continues to keep them here.

There is no real batting order for the American Whiskey Trail. Like baseball fans hoping to visit every major league city or hikers who set out to conquer the national parks, whiskey aficionados can start wherever they see fit.

Ultimately, the goal is to better understand the rich history of the liquid we loved before we loved oil. Our military, it’s worth noting, once provided troops with a daily ration of liquor as a reward for good behavior.

Don’t expect minibottles in MREs anytime soon — sorry. The American Whiskey Trail is the closest you’ll get to the good ol’ days.

You’ll find they’re much friendlier to military folks these days. The era of hiding from troops went away in the early 1800s, when the whiskey tax was repealed.

We hit a week’s worth of the trail stops in Kentucky and Tennessee this spring to give you a taste of what to expect.

Maker’s Mark

Our first stop is Maker’s Mark, southeast of Louisville. Listed in Guinness World Records as the “world’s oldest operating bourbon whisky distillery,” the Maker’s site has been producing whiskey since 1805 and is now listed as a National Historic Landmark.

Visitors are treated to a guided tour of the unique bottling operation, where workers hand-dip each bottle of bourbon into vats of red wax, creating the distinctive Maker’s Mark seal.

Maker’s Mark prides itself on giving each bottle attention, rather than just shooting them down a conveyor belt. Even the labels are hand-printed at the factory.

The distillery grounds are worth a look. More than 250 species of trees and shrubs are maintained at the site.

See http://www.makersmark.com.

Oscar Getz Museum of Whiskey

After leaving Maker’s, hop over to nearby Bardstown, Ky., where Frank and Jesse James often hid out between robberies. Here you can visit the Oscar Getz Museum of Whiskey, named for the founder of the Barton Brands distillery.

Inside, visitors are treated to interesting whiskey memorabilia, from Abraham Lincoln’s liquor license to rare bottles, advertising art and antique stills. The museum is in Spaulding Hall, which served as a college and seminary before being turned into a hospital for both Union and Confederate troops during the Civil War.

You can also pick up information on the Kentucky Bourbon Festival, scheduled for Sept. 11-16. The event drew more than 50,000 visitors last year.

Learn more at http://www .whiskeymuseum.com and http://www.kybourbonfestival.com.

Jim Beam

North of Bardstown, just a stone’s throw from Fort Knox, is the site of the most popular Kentucky bourbon on the market, but you’ll smell it long before you see it.

Jim Beam, in Clermont, Ky., is still made the same way, by the same family, following the same recipe as it was in 1795. Current master distiller Jerry Dalton, a former Marine reservist, is the first top taster outside the family.

Although tours of the production line aren’t open to the public, visitors are treated to a short video highlighting the history of the brand and how it’s made. A self-guided tour of the grounds culminates at the tasting parlor, where drinking-age visitors are treated to a nip of the good stuff.

If you notice a funky black gunk covering trees, buildings and, well, everything at the site, don’t be alarmed. It’s just a little fungus that thrives on the high humidity produced by the distillery.

See http://www.jimbeam.com.

Wild Turkey

From Clermont, head east to Lawrenceburg, where master distiller Jimmy Russell has helped cook up Wild Turkey for more than 50 years.

“Bourbon, to me, is good sippin’,” said Russell, 72, offering his secret to understanding the magic elixir. “If you’re going to get drunk, go get some 190 proof and get drunk on it.”

The precursor to Wild Turkey was made by the Ripy brothers, who put their liquor up against more than 400 bourbons and were selected to represent Kentucky at the 1893 World’s Fair. The name came nearly 50 years later, after a company executive shared a batch with friends during a wild turkey hunting trip and they liked it so much they gave it a nickname.

What makes Wild Turkey special? It’s made from less corn than most other bourbons and is distilled at a lower proof to trap in flavor. Our advice: Go with the Rare Breed, a blend of six-, eight- and 12-year-old whiskeys bottled straight from the barrels, with no additional water added, leaving it at a stout 108 proof.

The Wild Turkey we saw made during our recent tour will be aged for eight to 12 years, depending on the variety. It won’t hit retailers until 2015 at the earliest.

Get a taste at http://www.wildturkey.com.

Woodford Reserve

Traveling east from Lawrenceburg will take you to the Woodford Reserve Distillery in Versailles (pronounced “vur-SELS,” as in “sells seashells by the seashore” instead of “vur-SY,” as in “the treaty of”). Located between Louisville and Lexington, deep in the heart of thoroughbred country, the Woodford folks love their bourbon almost as much as they love their horses (it’s the official bourbon of the Kentucky Derby).

Once known as the Old Oscar Pepper Distillery, then as the Labrot and Graham Distillery, the operation became Woodford Reserve Distillery in 2003. It was while working here in the 1800s that Dr. James Crow is said to have developed the art of sour-mash fermentation, a process still used in Kentucky bourbons and Tennessee whiskeys today.

Woodford Reserve is made in copper pot stills, in much the same way as bourbons of the past. Unlike many of the other distilleries, which have the look and feel of working farms, Woodford is more like a visit to the racetrack or a trip to the country club.

See http://www.woodfordreserve.com.

George Dickel

OK, now kick back and relax, because it’s almost five hours of driving south to Tullahoma, Tenn., home of the George Dickel Distillery. (Feel free to stop in Nashville along the way — we did, and had dinner with country star Darryl Worley, whose current tour is being sponsored by Dickel.)

Unlike Kentucky bourbons, Tennessee whiskey gets its distinctive flavor from the added step of charcoal filtering. Sure, it adds time and expense to the process, but there’s no arguing with the results.

While you’re here, be sure to see “Oscar,” a replica 1910 George Dickel delivery truck built and donated by a retired airman and a retired sailor, both originally from Tennessee. The duo drove the antique from California to the distillery in 1997 over 24 days, with 26 stops, at an average speed of 36 mph.

Learn more at http://www.georgedickel.com.

Jack Daniel’s

Now it’s just a short drive west to Lynchburg, Tenn., home of the most popular American whiskey, Jack Daniel’s.

A quiet little Tennessee town, Lynchburg is located, oddly enough, within a dry county. Founded in 1866, Jack Daniel’s holds the distinction of being the oldest “registered” distillery in the U.S.

Thousands of fans — including more than a few from nearby Arnold Air Force Base — visit the distillery each year, hoping to finally figure out once and for all the difference between Tennessee whiskey and Kentucky bourbon. (Mostly, it’s the charcoal filtering.)

“Jack Daniel’s is very cool,” said Air Force 2nd Lt. Joe Fritschen, 25, who was escorting a group of visiting VIPs from Arnold during our tour. “They actually support the base a lot. We love these guys.”

While you’re here, stop by Jack Daniel’s grave in town and pay your respects. You will know it when you see it — it’s the one with two chairs beside it, placed there upon his death in 1911 so the lifelong bachelor’s numerous lady friends would have a place to sit and weep.

See http://www.jackdaniels.com.