Where The Buffalo Roam...

After exploring the Lexington area for two days it was time to continue along the Bourbon Trail.  Even if you are not a fan of horses, or Bourbon, this is still a great area just to drive through and explore if you are ever in the area.  I was amazed at how easily it was to get from one place to another with very little traffic, quaint small towns and beautiful landscapes.

Frankfort, KY is the capital of the state.  This particular stop has two significant Bourbon attractions that should be on anyone's list of things to see and do.  Frankfort seems to be no bigger than our state capital in Harrisburg, PA.  We arrived early in the morning and all was peaceful and quiet.  If you look closely at the picture above you'll notice a handsome guy at the top of the steps of the capital.

Located a few blocks down from the state capital is the "home" of Bourbon Balls.  The story of Rebecca Ruth Candies begins in 1919 with two substitute schoolteachers, Ruth Hanly and Rebecca Gooch.  After much praise from family and friends for chocolates they had given during Christmas, they decided they were better candy makers than substitute teachers.  After a few years, Rebecca married and sold her share of the business to Ruth.  In 1933, Ruth’s house and factory located in a suburb of Frankfort was destroyed by fire. Ruth lost her home, supplies, money, and candy-making equipment.  Starting over, the idea of mixing candy and bourbon together came in 1936, and Ruth worked on the recipe for two years perfecting the still-secret process for blending bourbon and candy. The unique chocolates soon became popular and sales boomed.

You can order some of these famous Bourbon Balls right from the Ruth factory or you can follow the recipe above and make your own.....and don't forget to invite us over when you do!  These little chocolate balls just melt in your mouth!  Unfortunately, they are also a little too expensive for us to buy an entire box.....so, needless to say, we enjoyed a few at the store and left wanting A LOT more!

I was not leaving Kentucky until I tracked down this next distillery!  Many whiskey distilleries proudly present their different awards and claim to hold one title or another. Buffalo Trace in Frankfort, Kentucky, tops them all by being the "world's most award-winning distillery". Worlds Whisky of the Year or Distiller of the Year, Whisky Magazine, Malt Whisky Advocate Magazine or Icons of Whisky - no one is surprised to read the name "Buffalo Trace" on the list of winners. And the distillery even topped itself in 2013 when Buffalo Trace Distillery became a National Historic Landmark - an honor and proof of the distillery's historical importance. 

Buffalo Trace Distillery is recognized as the oldest continually operating distillery in the United States. Distilling started on the site around 1773, but the first true distillery was opened in 1812 by Harrison Blanton, whose name still bears a brand of bourbon today.  Later it was named the George T. Stagg Distillery, another brand that exists today, which placed the property on the National Register of Historic Places. The distillery was allowed to stay open during Prohibition, when they sold their 100 proof whiskey by prescription for headaches. You could purchase a 16 ounce bottle every ten days. The distillery operated under that name until 1992 when Sazerac purchased it. In 1999, the Buffalo Trace brand was introduced and has since become one of the most awarded whiskey brands.

Ironically, Buffalo Trace isn’t included on the official Kentucky Bourbon Trail due to the fact that they’re not on the board of distillers, but this distillery differs from the rest in Bourbon county in that it is free to visit.  Our visit fell on a Sunday, so most of the more in-depth tours of the facility were not available today.  Actually, a tour wasn't even my top priority at this distillery.  I wanted to get my hands on one of Buffalo Traces PRIZED BOTTLES of whiskey.

All Buffalo Trace Distillery whiskeys are distributed “on allocation.” This means there’s a specific number of bottles allocated to each state throughout the year across its whole catalog. This is done to ensure retailers, restaurants and consumers in every state get a shot at some.  Names like Van Winkle, Weller, E.H. Taylor and Blanton’s are some of the most sought-after bottles of brown on the planet.  It is extremely difficult to track them down at our local Spirit Shops back home.....and I would soon find out in Kentucky too!  So if anyone wants to be my B.F.F. please track down any of these whiskeys and call me!

One of the more popular Buffalo Trace premium brands is Blanton's.  Single Barrel Bourbon started with Blanton’s in 1984. Nearing retirement, Master Distiller Elmer T. Lee was tasked with creating a bourbon of exceptionally high quality. With careful reflection, he recalled the earlier days of his career in the late 1940s when he worked under Colonel Albert B. Blanton. Colonel Blanton was the president of the distillery until 1952. Mr. Lee remembered that when Colonel Blanton would entertain dignitaries and other important guests he would handpick “honey barrels” from the center cut of Warehouse H and have that bourbon bottled one barrel at a time. As a tribute to Colonel Blanton’s old tradition, Elmer T. Lee decided to name this new bourbon “Blanton’s Single Barrel”.

If you look closely, the horse and jockey atop the bottle stoppers are now a recognized trademark of Blanton's Single Barrel Bourbon. The rich heritage and tradition of horses in Kentucky parallel that of bourbon. This is our way of paying homage to this Kentucky heritage. Beginning in 1999 a collector's set of eight different stoppers was produced. The set features a horse and jockey in different strides and poses resembling the stages of a horse race, from beginning to end. Each stopper is marked with a single letter that spells Blanton's when the set has been completed. The final stopper, marked by “S” always finishes the race in victory!