A Brief Stop in Frankfort, KY

We spent the first week of July in St. Louis, MO attending a convention unrelated to my bourbon and cigar interests. Driving from Virginia by way of an overnight in Frankfort, Kentucky, we arrived after closing time for the local distilleries. We did enjoy dinner and a few drinks at Bourbon on Main in downtown Frankfort before retiring for an early morning start on the next leg of our trip. After an appetizer of Deviled Eggs and a cocktail, we enjoyed robust dinner of Kentucky Hot Chicken Strips and fries. I had a pour of E.H. Taylor, Jr. Straight Rye with my dinner. Never having tried the rye from this producer, I was curious. I found it enjoyable, not as much as the bourbons from Eh.H Taylor.

Returning home to Virginia by the same route, we again stopped overnight in Frankfort, KY. This time we planned to do some local sightseeing in the morning before continuing our journey.

Upon checking in to the hotel, we noticed there was a Big Boy restaurant next door. We walked over to it for a nostalgic dinner. Of course, a double decker smash burger with crinkle cut fries made up the enjoyable, even if not heart healthy, dinner.

Returning to the hotel I poured a bit of bourbon from my travel flask and sat down to plan the next morning's adventure.

Buffalo Trace Distillery is located in Frankfort. It's one of the few local distilleries open for visitors on a Monday. There were a few other sights nearby we wanted to see as well. The Buffalo Trace visitor center offers three bourbons on a daily basis; Buffalo Trace Bourbon, Traveller Whiskey, and Sazerac Rye Whiskey. They also offer a rotation of four brands, with one selection being offered each day; Weller Special Reserve, Eagle Rare, E.H. Taylor Small Batch, or Blanton’s Single Barrel. The daily offerings, and stock status are posted in the morning on the Buffalo Trace website. 

I was hoping that E. H. Taylor would be the pick of the day. Alas, it was not. Blanton's Single Barrel got the nod that day. The distillery opens at 9:00AM. Arriving around 8:20AM we joined a line of about 100 fans.

The distillery rules state that a person may buy just one bottle of each variety on the limited list within a 90 period. Apparently some folks did not check the website before arriving in the morning. When one of the guides announced the picked of the day a number of folks left the line since they happened to be in "Blanton's jail" already.

The first stop is to have or ages verified. Our driver's licenses were scanned, and we were issued wrist bands tied to our ID. This process both confirms a legal age for any tasting, and serves as the monitoring system for the limited purchases. 

We did not have time for a tour on this trip, so we went right into the gift shop. After perusing the many shelves of Blanton's, we each selected a bottle that contained needed topper letters, we continued shopping. We left with new glassware, a bar mat, t-shirts, and some miniatures of Buffalo Trace for fun. The bottles of Buffalo Trace are not bound by limited purchases, unlike in Virginia, but we passed on them. The car was extremely packed and I do have several backup bottles on hand. I saw visitors stocking up with carts full of that popular, and reasonably priced bourbon. I also saw one person being denied his purchase of Blanton's when the cashier scanned his wrist band and noted he had already purchased a bottle within 90 days.

We had not planned to do any tasting this trip, but the lines at the tasting bars were short so we opted to indulge. It just 10:00AM, but the pours were small. We enjoyed a guided tasting for just the two of us before getting back on the road.

On the outbound leg of the trip, we noted a few other stops in Frankfort we wanted to make. The first was a Frank Lloyd Wright house. The Reverend Jesse R. Zeigler Residence is a private home in a quiet neighborhood. We made brief stop to take photos. I am sure the residents are used to it.

I also wanted to see the Daniel Boone Monument in a local cemetery. After a winding drive around the large, old cemetery we finally came upon the monument. I had in my mind that this was the grave of Daniel Boone and his wife Rebecca. I later learned that Rebecca is indeed buried there. However there is controversy over the final resting place of her husband.

Apparently when the cemetery first opened, the remains of the couple were meant to be transferred to the new cemetery from the original resting place in Missouri. It later arose that the body buried next to Rebecca, and presumed to be Daniel, may in fact be another person. It is said that when Daniel died years after Rebecca, he was actually buried at her feet due to space availability. So it may be some other person under the monument, while Daniel Boone remains back in the Missouri site. A historical mystery that remains yet unresolved.

While in the cemetery we saw signs for the Kentucky Memorial for the Unborn. We made a brief stop to offer our prayers and respects.

After these stops, we continued our journey towards home. Stops for lunch, dinner, and stretching, made for a long day of travel. The trip was enjoyable and we saw many old friends gathered in St. Louis. We also caught up a cousin we had not seen in 25+ years for lunch. We already are thinking about when we will return to "Bourbon Country" for a longer, planned tour.

Cheers!