Blitz's final thoughts on visiting the Bourbon Belt

When I told people I was going on a trip to visit the Bourbon distilleries, the typical reaction was something like, "that sounds like an awesome party." I was thinking the same thing. In reality, It wasn't much of a drinking trip at all. At the distilleries, the most we were able to drink was three half-shots of Bourbon at Jim Beam. At two distilleries a day, that's not a lot, and that's O.K. We bought a bottle of Buffalo Trace and drank it at my uncles, but the trip was really more educational than anything. We came away with a tremendous appreciation for the history of Bourbon and for the art and craft of making Bourbon. Also, we realized how few of the Bourbons that we had experienced, and how many different Bourbons we will want to try as we develop our Bourbon palette.

What will I do different next time? Well, first of all, we found out that the Kentucky Bourbon Festival was taking place a few weeks after we were there. If you are going to go the the Bourbon Belt, it would just make sense to go there during the festival, although that might have been a little overwhelming on the first visit. Secondly, I would visit some of the well known 'Bourbon Bars' in the area. Some of them carry up to 120 different Bourbons to sample. It would be a real opportunity to try Bourbons that are not available in my area. Thirdly, I would make the visit a 'buying trip' by patronizing some of the local liquor stores. Again, like the bars, the selection and probably the pricing for Bourbon in the Louisville area must be better than other areas.

All in all it was a lot of fun, the southern hospitality was wonderful, the company was great, and the trip really wet my appetite for all things Bourbon.