After a quick (google) search around Blue Licks….the nearest Liquor Store (Kentucky has this radical notion of selling liquor , wine and beer from the same store) was on Old Paris Road….in Carlisle. That alone made it worth the trip to see what kind of beer we could find.
(Nb. We lived in the town of Paris Ontario….for 30+ years…)
Whilst browsing the store we came across a Daniel Boone Settlement Rye Whiskey. It seemed to be one worth further investigation given the history we had found ourselves in the midst of.
We struck gold with our first official Kentucky bourbon stop on this bourbon trail adventure, Regeneration in Winchester KY. They have a partnership with a local restaurant, Beech Springs Cafe, making it a perfect lunch spot with free whiskey/moonshine tasters. (and the service was excellent too…!!) They make a whiskey made from rye grown on land Daniel Boone farmed……how cool is that…..and it tastes not half bad…!!! (yes I have a bottle.) Winchester is a lovely town…beautiful old brick buildings constructed between the late 1800’s to early 1900’s.
Winchester itself is a pretty little town…we had a wander up and down the main street….
Having passed around the edge of Paris, KY on the way to Regeneration..it was most fortuitous to find the other nearby distillery, Hartfield and Co…was located in the middle of the town of Paris itself. It seemed like too good an opportunity to miss…so we hot-footed back there and found a parking spot to run in and book ourselves on the tour.
This was a great one to pick….not only are they a young, family owned company (opened in 2016) but they are also the only Kentucky Bourbon Distillery actually operating in Bourbon County where it all began. (Pre-prohibition Bourbon County had 29 distilleries…!!)
It was a superb tour looking at the bones of this growing operation as they follow in the footsteps of many before them to becoming established in the bourbon world.
It speaks of the ingenuity, the grit and graft of this family as they make it work.
Tour done…..and thoroughly enjoyed……it was time for a bit more discovery in the town itself.
I did not know, but do now…!!….that Paris is a major thoroughbred horse town. Driving between towns takes you through the most amazing, lush, rolling landscape filled with horse farms, manicured fields dotted with beautiful horses, picture perfect fences and magnificent stables.
The sidewalks through town have the names and shoes of all the famous horses from here….
The most famous being Secretariat, who was owned by a local stable…and was buried locally after his passing.
Thus far the decision to stay off the beaten track and search for smaller, lesser known distilleries has paid off. Not being lead by the nose through glitzy tourist information, but happening upon obscure but fascinating historical bubbles has so much more appeal.
I will raise my glass to the next ‘who-knew-it-was-there’ spot.
Extra Pix
OsteoPraxis on the road 