Jim Beam ~ Stop One On The Trail

So bourbon is really not my thing.

In fact hard alcohol is not really my thing.
Don't get me wrong, I love a good margarita or five and hey I'll take one of those foo-foo umbrella drinks with enough sugar to really be a dessert, but just sipping on some Z-Spar bourbon?
Not really for me.

But the history?
The stories?
The architecture?

The tours?
So cool!

I was going on vacation to be with our cruising friends from way back when we were teenagers.
Jim was going on vacation for the friends and the bourbon!




Stuff we learned:
Kentucky weather is perfect for bourbon.
During the hot summers the bourbon evaporates into the charred wood.
During the cold winters, the bourbon then contracts back out of the wood, bringing the flavors of the white oak into the alcohol.

Over time some of the bourbon evaporates.
That "some" is called the "Angel's Share" ~ the part the angels get to drink.
The Angel's Share shows up in a black fungus or mold on tree trunks, buildings, mailboxes and just about everything around.
Real name of the mold is Baudoinia compniacensis.
But I didn't learn that from a tour... Wikipedia to the rescue.

During prohibition, the law enforcement could find the moonshiners by the black tree trunks surrounding their little operations.
I did learn that on a tour!

Leakage!!

Jim liked the leakage.
He would put his finger on it and then taste it...

The evaporation also shows up over time.
The more years the bourbon is in the barrel, the less bourbon there is when they go to bottle it.
Instead of 55 gallons, it could be 25 or 30 gallons.
Explains why the more years the bourbon has been aged, the more dollars you are going to fork over...

So between the friends, the beautiful settings and the information, I was in heaven!

The bourbon kept some of the others in heaven...

Uh, no names...

The photo ops entertained the non-bourbon drinkers!

And the bourbon drinkers entertained the photographers!