Woodford Reserve

Nestled alongside Glenn’s Creek, deep in the rolling bluegrass hills of Woodford County, Kentucky, is Woodford Reserve distillery. This National Historic Landmark is the smallest and oldest operating distillery in America still making bourbon much the same as they have since the 1840s when Dr. James Crow perfected the bourbon making process.

Being a small batch distillery, Woodford Reserve makes only 105 barrels of bourbon per week from their three copper pot stills. Compare this to Jack Daniel’s distillery output of 2,100 barrels per day and you see why Woodford Reserve is considered small. 

 

To witness the step-by-step process of making bourbon, stop by the distillery for a tour. The cost is $5.00 (as at February 2008) and starts out from the Visitors Center and Gift Shop. The tours start at 10 a.m., 11 a.m., 1p.m., 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. Be sure to get there early so you have time to look at the exhibits depicting the history of Woodford Reserve and making bourbon.

 

While the small bus transports you down to the distillery, the tour guide (all retired gentlemen and ladies) talks about the history of the distillery. Once down at the distillery itself, the guide takes you through the process, starting with the five ingredients it takes to make bourbon. From there you walk up a flight of stairs and see the three giant 7,500 gallon vats of mash bubbling away. Instantly, you will notice the smell of yeast.

 

Next, you walk down a flight of stairs and into the room housing the three copper pot stills. This is the only distillery in America today using copper pot stills.

Here, the “beer” as it called, is distilled through the first still, then through the second still and finally emerges from the last still as a crystal clear liquid called “high wine”. High wine is then transferred into new charred oak barrels. An interesting point about new charred oak barrels is they are used only once for making bourbon. After a barrel is emptied, it is sold to another distillery for making whiskey.

 

Filled barrels roll out on a set of rails and over to one of the unique limestone warehouses where it ages a minimum, by law, of two years. With light coming in only from the open door, you see barrels stacked on shelves from floor to ceiling and in front of you on each side of the hallway for as far as your eyes see in the dim light.

After aging for the minimum amount of time, the Master Distiller, though periodic sampling, then determines when a barrel is ready for bottling and distribution.

 

Your next stop in the warehouse is the bottling room. Here, the aged, amber-colored bourbon is filtered removing any of the charred oak pieces and finally bottled thereby finishing the process.

 

After coming out of the warehouse, you board the small bus which transports you back to the Visitors Center where you have the opportunity to sample, limited by law to ½ ounce, Woodford Reserve premium bourbon and take home the small shot glass emblazoned with Woodford Reserve as a souvenir. The Visitor Center’s Gift Shop has bottled bourbon for sale if you would like to take some Kentucky bourbon home.

Three Chimneys Horse Farm 

Woodford County is also home to many beautiful thoroughbred horse farms. Three Chimneys is one not far from Woodford Reserve. This horse farm has produced and stabled some of the top racehorses in the nation. Names such as Seattle Slew - the only undefeated Triple Crown winner in history, Smarty Jones - undefeated Kentucky Derby and Preakness Winner, Point Given - Horse of the Year and Dynaformer, sire of 2006 Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro.

 

Three Chimneys started out in 1972 as 100 acres of undeveloped land and a plan. Today, owners Robert and Blythe Clay have transformed it into an award winning 1,700 acre horse farm consisting of seven divisions. Five of these are devoted to mares and foals. One is devoted to yearlings and the last one to world-class stallions.

 

The owners started out with the idea of creating a niche where the idea is excellence. They created this niche by deliberately limiting their equine population thereby allowing them to personally manage each of the eleven stallions stabled there. This is one of the few horse farms where each stallion enjoys the morning exercise of an eight to ten mile gallop. Even though this daily exercise routine costs the owners more in time and money, they found the effect on the stallions’ health and happiness is immeasurable.

 

The whole farm reeks of quality. One of the stables housing two stallions cost $350,000 to build. Mr. Clay commissioned Amish builders to construct the dovetailed sawed log structure. This is just one of many examples of the quality found at Three Chimneys. This horse farm was the first to establish an Internet site and since January 2000, clients have access to their equine portfolio. The farm also boasts an on-site veterinary lab to process lab work.

The farm currently houses eleven stallions. Each trainer is responsible for the care of two stallions. As part of their routine, each stallion is pastured in its own fenced in area according to a set schedule.

 

The tour starts at 1 p.m. on Saturdays, October through mid-July and is free, however, be sure to call ahead and make a reservation as the number of individuals going on the tour is limited. Some of the tours are led by one of the trainers of the horses, and they do an excellent job.

 

After introducing himself, the guide starts the tour by taking you through each of the smaller stables talking all the while with facts and figures about each stallion housed in the stables. Visitors end up at the larger stable containing the Romancing Room. It is here mares are bred by the stallions.

The guide goes through every step of the process. If you’re not familiar with farming life, you will find much more involved than you imagined. A word of caution - if you take children on the tour, you might have to explain some of the terms they may hear and some of the sights they may see as it can get very graphic. Sometimes, visitors actually witness a stallion breeding a mare in the Romancing Room.

 

The tour is very interesting and well worth the time spent going through the farm.

Woodford Reserve

Directions - From Lexington take US 60 (Versailles Road) towards Frankfort. Shortly after passing the intersection of US 60 and State Road 1685, turn left onto Route 3360 (Grassy Springs Road). Follow this until it ends. Turn right onto McCracken Pike. The distillery is on the left.

 

Hours of Operation -

Open Tuesday - Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (closed major holidays)

Open Sunday 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. April through October

Three Chimneys Horse Farm

Directions - From Woodford Reserve, go back to US 60 and turn right heading back toward Versailles. Turn left at U.S. 62. At the four-way stop, turn right onto Old Frankfort Road.

Three Chimneys horse farm is about three miles down the road on the right. (A good place to eat lunch is at Wallace Station which is on the left just after turning right at the four-way stop onto Old Frankfort Pike.)

 

Hours of Operation - Open Saturday at 1 p.m. October to mid-July.

 

(The opening hours in this article are as at February 2008)

 

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