Stand instantly beneath Louisville’s Clark Memorial Bridge, which spans the inexperienced grey waters of the Ohio River and connects Kentucky to close by Indiana. Now stroll due south on the twond Road, following the steeply sloped path whiskey barrels used to roll down earlier than being loaded onto transport barges certain for the Mississippi.
On the prime of the twond Road slope, you’ll end up on the western finish of “Whiskey Row,” a two-block stretch of Louisville that was as soon as—earlier than Prohibition—the epicenter of town’s famed whiskey business.
After virtually a century of disuse and abuse, together with a three-alarm fireplace in 2015 that threatened to eat certainly one of its blocks, Whiskey Row is poised for a comeback. Main that comeback is the brand new Outdated Forester distillery.
Brown-Forman / Kertis Inventive
Outdated Forester, owned by Brown-Forman, is the one bourbon frequently owned and operated by the identical household earlier than, throughout, and after Prohibition. Outdated Forester Distilling Co. as soon as had a house on Whiskey Row. And now that its $45-million downtown distillery is full and open to the general public, the corporate can as soon as once more name Whiskey Row residence.
“On the flip of the century, there have been 89 firms up and down these blocks,” says Campbell Brown, president of Outdated Forester. Not all of them had been distilleries. Some had been wholesalers or labelers or transport firms—or different enterprise supporting the making and promoting of spirits. “This was the start of the bourbon business in Louisville,” Brown says. “We’re the one firm that had workplaces right here and has been capable of reemerge on Whiskey Row.”
Brown-Forman / Kertis Inventive
It’s simple to listen to Brown’s satisfaction when he speaks about his household’s lengthy legacy of creating Kentucky bourbon. And he’s excited to share that legacy with guests to the brand new Outdated Forester distillery. “We’re going to not solely be capable of share the whiskey-making course of right here,” he says, “however we’re going to inform a narrative that spans 5 generations and that type of mirrors the historical past of bourbon-making in Louisville.”
The Outdated Forester distillery will not be your typical vacationer attraction, even by the requirements of distilleries. Whereas it dives right into a little bit of the model’s historical past—together with its declare to fame as the primary bourbon bought in sealed glass bottles, which it first did in 1870—the distillery will not be primarily a museum, neither is it some type of kitschy interactive “expertise” full of informational wall placards and hands-on playrooms.
Brown-Forman / Andrew Hyslop
It’s a working distillery and cooperage—one that may produce as much as 100,000 barrels of bourbon yearly—and guests can watch virtually each facet of the whiskey-making course of up shut and in actual time.
That course of consists of sniffing the fruity, banana-redolent yeast fermenting in a row of 4 4,500-gallon vats. It additionally consists of watching coopers hammer collectively and char the oak barrels that will probably be used for getting older the bourbon, and traversing the catwalk in a 900-barrel-capacity on-site maturation warehouse.
Brown-Forman / Andrew Hyslop
“We’re pumping stuff up and down this constructing,” Brown jokes. “We’re fermenting right here, we’re utilizing barrels that we’re making right here, we’re filling these with distillate right here, placing it in a warehouse right here—so I’m actually curious and excited to see this facility and this course of will affect the flavour of the whiskey we find yourself with 4 years from now.”
You may be taught much more about Outdated Forester and the way bourbon is made by heading all the way down to Louisville. However to whet your urge for food, listed below are 8 stunning stuff you didn’t find out about Kentucky bourbon.
Bourbon Bylaws
When you’ve ever puzzled what makes bourbon totally different from all the opposite kinds of whiskey—from Scotch and Irish whiskey to Jack Daniel’s—perceive that there are federal guidelines regulating the definition of bourbon.
What are these guidelines? For one factor, bourbon must be made in America. Its “mash invoice”—the combination of various grains that will probably be cooked and fermented and used as the muse of the spirit—should comprise at the least 51% corn. The distilled liquid should be aged in new, charred-oak containers, and the completed product should be at the least 80 proof (or 40% alcohol).
There are a couple of different stipulations—included the minimal or most proofs at which bourbon should be barreled and bottled.
Drink Your Drugs
When you learn the highest of this story fastidiously, you realized that Outdated Forester is the one bourbon frequently owned and operated by the identical household earlier than, throughout, and after Prohibition. How did the model keep in enterprise throughout Prohibition? No, they didn’t flout the legislation. The U.S. Authorities points six particular operation licenses for the making of “medicinal whiskey,” and Outdated Forester was granted certainly one of them. Again then, whiskey was thought-about an efficient treatment for the whole lot from the widespread chilly to ache. Even in the present day, some specialists say a “scorching toddy” might knock out some chilly signs.
Whiskey Comes From Beer
After the mash-bill grains are blended with yeast and water, they’re heated so as to encourage fermentation. The ensuing liquid—as soon as strained—is typically referred to as “the wash” or the “distiller’s beer.”
It’s referred to as “beer” as a result of that’s just about what it’s. The one distinction between these items and Miller Gentle is that “distiller’s beer” doesn’t comprise hops or different fashionable beer-flavoring elements, and it’s normally made with totally different grains and yeasts than could be used for brewing beer.
You can even drink the distiller’s beer. Whereas not very tasty, it clocks in at an affordable 7% to 10% ABV.
Brown-Forman / Kertis Inventive
Distilling Turns “Beer” Into Fuel
Throughout the whiskey-making course of, distiller’s beer is pumped right into a nonetheless the place it’s heated in order that alcohol vapor separates from the grains and water left over after fermentation. Whereas these left-over elements sink to the underside of the nonetheless, the vapor rises to the highest. It’s captured there and transformed again into liquid kind by a condenser.
There are variations on this course of—some utilizing a couple of nonetheless. However all of them contain turning liquid into alcohol vapor after which again into liquid once more.
“Bitter Mash,” Outlined
You’ve little doubt learn or heard the time period “bitter mash” whiskey a thousand instances. However what does that imply? After the method of fermentation is completed and the ensuing “wash” or “distiller’s beer” is moved on to the nonetheless, a number of the yeasty, fermented mash is held again and added to the following batch of mash. This older, “bitter” mash stabilizes the pH of the mash to optimize yeast efficiency.
Brown-Forman / Andrew Hyslop
Understanding ‘Straight’ Bourbon Whiskey
One other phrase you understand nicely however have most likely by no means thought-about: “Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey.” What does the “straight” imply on this context? Based on federal rules, to be referred to as a “straight” bourbon, the alcohol should be aged for at the least two years in new oak barrels. Additionally, it can not comprise any added colours, flavors, or different spirits.
Why Copper Stills Are Very important
The centerpiece (actually) of the brand new Outdated Forester Distillery is a 44-foot tall copper column nonetheless. Whereas numerous distillers have flashy copper-plated stills to dazzle guests, it’s the copper on the within that issues. This steel is of course antibacterial and porous, and so it helps pull imperfections—most notably sulfur compounds—out of the distilled alcohol.
Brown-Forman / Kertis Inventive
Kentucky Bourbon Barrels Outnumber Residents
Much more. So says Jackie Zykan, grasp taster at Outdated Forester. A latest report from the Kentucky Distillers’ Affiliation backs Zykan up on that. It discovered that whereas “the Bluegrass state” is residence to 4.4 million individuals, it homes greater than 6.7 million bourbon barrels. However whereas dozens of producers are making bourbon in Kentucky, “Brown-Forman is the one spirits firm that makes its personal bourbon barrels,” Zykan says.
Brown-Forman / Kertis Inventive
