SIPPING ALONG KENTUCKY'S BOURBON TRAIL
Making a toast to Kentucky Bourbon
Whiskey Row in Louisville, aka Bourbon City ©Louisville Tourism
Although I consider myself a Virginian because of my family heritage and many years of residency in that lovely state, I was actually born in Louisville, Kentucky. In fact – move over Colonel Sanders! – I am officially a 'Kentucky Colonel', an honour possibly bestowed on me because of my impressive intake of Bourbon.
So it's always great fun to revisit Louisville, aka 'Bourbon City', which first started producing the spirited stuff in 1783 and continues to promote its rich whiskey heritage today. You not only can sip and savour such cocktails as Mint Juleps and Old Fashioneds in bars, restaurants and hotels around the metro but also attend a cocktail-making class at the Frazier History Museum after gawking at its display of British knights' arms and armour, create your own whiskey at Barrels and Billets within the Louisville Slugger Museum, better know for baseball than Bourbon– it's fronted by a huge baseball bat! - and attend VIP tastings alongside thoroughbred horses at Hermitage Farm's Barn6.
A Frazier History Museum Bourbon exhibition ©Louisville Tourism
After checking out one of the bars at my stylish Omni Hotel base, I set out to broaden my drink-focused safari by sampling the famous Hot Brown sandwich at the the landmark Brown Hotel, and what a treat it was – an opulent open-faced turkey sandwich enhanced by bacon, tomatoes and a mornay sauce.
Established by – and named for – lumber tycoon J Graham Brown in 1923, The Brown has included among its guests US Presidents Truman, Carter and Obama, actresses Elizabeth Taylor and Joan Crawford (Victor Mature was once the elevator operator) and international boxing superhero Muhammad Ali … his namesake suite is adorned with his photos and memorabilia.
Not surprisingly, Ali's namesake Ali Center is one of the city's top tourist attractions, featuring photos and memorabilia spanning the colourful and quotable super star's amazing athletic career, social activism and positive influence on his fellow African Americans. You also can watch legendary boxing clips, shadow box with the Champ, and I couldn't resist making a fool of myself by punching against – and in the process being hit in the face by – the center's suspended boxing ball.
The Muhammad Ali Center celebrates more than Ali's boxing skills
A Louisville mural celebrating Muhammad Ali's boxing skills
A large window in the Muhammad Ali Center overlooks the Ohio River and a bridge from which, said our guide, 'The Greatest' reputedly tossed his World Championship Heavyweight Boxer gold medal in protest at the racial discrimination he and other African Americans then experienced. (When he returned to Louisville after achieving global sporting acclaim a local restaurant reputedly refused to serve him because he was black.)
The Black Jockeys portion of the Churchill Downs mural
Admiring race horses at Churchill Downs ©Louisville Tourism
It was therefore good to see that another top city attraction, the Kentucky Derby Museum, now features exhibits paying tribute to black jockeys who steered many of the early winning steeds at the world's most famous horse race. Both they and some of the early black trainers also are included in the large murals in one of the halls at the adjacent Churchill Downs race course, established in 1875 and home to America's longest running sporting event, always held the first Saturday in May. And more black heritage is covered by the city's Roots 101 Museum which displays stunning African-originating art works, including some exquisite Benin bronzes.
Back to the subject of Bourbon, there are of course many opportunities to imbibe within what was known as the Wall Street of Whiskey until the Prohibition era shut down America's alcohol consumption – today 11 Louisville distilleries offer tours and tastings. And throughout Kentucky, which produces 95 percent of all American Bourbon, there are nearly 100 distilleries, a number of them along its Bourbon Trail open for tours, tastings... and, of course, shopping.
I dropped by the legendary James Beam Distilling Company in Clermont, 27 miles outside Louisville, established in 1795 and run by seven generations of the Beam family. Following a tour and a visit to the shop, where I couldn't resist a bottle of Black Label and a box of delicious chocolate Bourbon Balls, I joined others at the establishment's Kitchen Table. The appealing menu combined cocktails featuring such beverages as Jim Beam White Label, Old Crow and Knob Creek Rye with such delicacies as spiced pork rinds, sweet potato and roasted spout salad, burgers with white cheddar and wild mushroom pizza.
Jim Beam in front of the distillery he founded
Dr. Mark Wourms with a Bernheim Forest Giant.
A Bourbon tasting tutorial at Clermont's Heaven Hill distillery
Also in Clermont, I visited the Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest, which, said its executive director Dr. Mark K Wourms, is “about the size of Manhattan, covering some 66,140 acres of forest and park land, lakes, gardens and playgrounds”. But its real appeal for me was its massive Forest Giant statues carved from felled trees. The one I was most attracted to lay flat on his back in a forest glade – perhaps he had over-indulged in the state's best-known beverage!
Continuing 16 miles to Bardstown's Heaven Hill's distillery and showroom, I watched other visitors mix and name their own Bourbon and then managed to remain surprisingly upright while listening to a lengthy whiskey distillation lecture and sampling straight shots of incendiary firewater in a stillhouse containing 55,000 barrels of Bourbon stacked on shelves soaring up seven storeys.
Bardstown is also home to historic 1790 Federal Hill mansion, now part of My Old Kentucky Home State Park best known for its association with the residents' visiting cousin, Stephen Foster, one of America's first popular music composers. One of his best-known pieces, My Old Kentucky Home, not only inspired the park's nickname and the mansions nickname but is also the state's official anthem. To honour that fact our guide, splendid in a hoop skirt-enhanced gown, belted out an impressive rendition of the piece and then revealed that she doubles as a cast member of The Stephen Foster story staged on the grounds for the past 60-some years.
Welcome to My Old Kentucky Home Bardstown
The Stephen Foster statue at My Old Kentucky Home State Park
I took a photo of a statue of the musical mastro, also known for such sing-along classics as Beautiful Dreamer and Camptown Races, before heading the 11 miles back to Louisville to contemplate my next spirited safari – to eastern Tennessee, home to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Dolly Parton's Dollywood theme park and potent (and once illegal) moonshine brewed by none other than her niece Danielle Parton – all to be covered in my next Mary Go Round America newsletter.
Check out the features in the current issue of Essentially America magazine. To subscribe visit www.essentiallyamerica.co.uk
Meanwhile, check out my new book of travel and lifestyle anecdotes, Goodbye Hoop Skirts – Hello World! The Travels, Triumphs and Tumbles of a Runaway Southern Belle.
