April, 2018

There is a lot of history here- Daniel Boone and the Cumberland Gap. We stayed at Fort Boonesboro State Park, which is the site of Boone’s settlement in 1775 and the end of the Wilderness Road. The Kentucky River which eventually flows to the Mississippi was an instrumental part of moving goods and important during the Civil War. However, the State Park people seem to little care about their rich history.

We toured Woodford Reserve Distillery (our preferred whiskey choice:-) The site is the oldest, continually operating distillery in the US- starting in 1838. It has had several owners, and was shuttered during Prohibition, however they still distill in the original buildings the same old way- huge vats for fermenting the mash, 3 copper pot stills for distilling the bourbon, and oak barrels- “toasted” and charred. The tour was fascinating and informative and we had a tasting of the Woodford Reserve and the Woodford Double Oaked, paired with Woodford Bourbon Chocolate. There are 200 separate flavors in Woodford Reserve! One reason the Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey is so special is the high calcium water without sulphites (which also, supposedly is what makes the great race horses from this area).

We have also seen some of the deepest poverty yet on our travels- several hundred miles through eastern Kentucky. In this part of the state there seems to be little industry, business or tourism. And even in the Bluegrass area with all it’s huge racing horse farms and stables, that prosperity seemed to be very localized and for the select few- someone has to muck out all those stalls.