Grandpa Jim and the Barrel House Distilling Co.

Did you know that in order to call Bourbon, Bourbon, it needs to be made in the USA? Yeah, that's a thing. I took a trip over to the Bourbon Trail and had a hardy amount of spirits whilst hanging out with my favorite person, me! I had no idea the Bourbon trail existed until recently and needed to get out of dodge asap because it's been a month filled with illness, over extending myself and a lot of peoples faces. Also, we had planned a small road trip for the weekend before and everything fell apart and I wasn't able to lean into just staying home without having a small breakdown or tantrum or whatever we want to call it. My goal for this year is to get out of town at least once a month. AT LEAST. Not all times will be solo, I love family road trips but my December and January had been filled with family. I'm trying to navigate a healthy work life balance and some trips will absolutely be with the kids and my husband but with one kid on antibiotics, a new pup and no reason to bring children to the Bourbon Trail, my only choice was to go solo. Thankfully this isn't my first solo trip but this would be the first time I wasn't going to visit with people. I tried to see my husbands cousin but she and the baby fell ill. I really considered cancelling but at the last minute I got a cheap airbnb and my car rental was cheaper than expected and it all fell into place. I wasn't this adventurous before. I never went off on my own before last year but I've learned that my place of rest is usually alone now. Especially after a busy holiday season. I love having time visiting with friends and family and I really love that the babies are home for 2 full weeks but when it's filled with endless running around, half our family being on antibiotics and no down time, it's exhausting. Some might say this season, literally drove me to drink... or at least, I drove myself. From Chicago to Lexington, off Bell place, the 6.5 hours or so that it took to get there was worth every minute for all the music, all the snacks and the experience of a road trip to Kentucky.

Side note but a very important one, my road trip playlist is comprised of Talib Kwali, Billy Joel, The Chemical Brothers, Kendrick Lamar (of course) and 90's alternative. A few weeks ago I reached out to Barrel House Distilling Co. about visiting their distillery. I was interested in visiting specifically because they are a small craft distillery. They are really affordable at $10 for tour and tasting; (21years +) but I still used my content creator wiles to seduce them into comping my ticket. Katie, the GM, was incredibly gracious via email and she was the first person I met when entering the Elkhorn Tavern which is also the entrance to Barrel House. I walked in a little confused since I thought the tavern and distillery were separate but thankfully the look on my face welcomed a bartenders attention and as my eyes darted around the room I slowly spoke "I'm... looking for... Katieeeee... I'm Renee...". Katie, popped her head up at the end of the bar, said "Hi" and welcomed me with a handshake. She was really friendly and she immediately directed me to the giftshop which was near the entrance that I had just walked in from. I secretly appreciated the blue in her blond hair, and she lead me into the giftshop. There I met James (who was super dope and who directed me to all the cool happenings in Lexington) and Jim (whom I will call grandpa Jim from here on out). There was another associate whom I have completely blanked on the name of and we had zero interaction outside of a brief acknowledgment of my existence.

Tour Barrel House Distilling Co. is a small craft, small batch distillery and I found that the majority of the tour is done through the story telling, which, I personally appreciate so much. Grandpa Jim told the story of how Barrel House Distillery contributed to the Bourbon trail and the origin story of their brand and the history of the space, like a true historian. He showed us the two rooms where everything is made and talked in front of barrels of bourbon, fermenting grains and maps, which visitors from around the world place pins in. The distillery is small, like really small but you'd hardly know that because Grandpa Jim keeps you focused on the story of Bourbon so much that you kind of just get lost in his words. These rooms don't offer much and I'd imagine that larger distilleries might offer more flair but I thought the entire tour was wonderfully crafted. Get it? Like craft bourbon? Okay. Moving on.

After viewing bubbling fermenting grains and a single copper distiller our tour group walked back into the giftshop where the real magic happens. Drinking on an empty stomach at 12:45pm on a Saturday in January. Who am I even? Here I tried a total of 6 different spirits.

I have a zit. We can pretend it doesn't exist but it does and the red lipstick didn't hide it...

Pure Blue Vodka - Okay, please allow me to reiterate, I don't drink this much ever. I really don't drink more than a small amount of Bourbon maybe once a week or less so this is definitely an experience. With that said, what an experience! The Vodka is clear, sweet and made from white corn! I had no idea you could make Vodka from anything other than potatoes so the entire experience was a shock. It was incredibly smooth and so enjoyable that I brought some home with me.

Devil John Moonshine - Nope. Nope. Nope. Moonshine tastes awful, like pure rubbing alcohol. Not for me but other people in the group enjoyed it.

Devil John Dark 'Shine - another nope but much more tolerable than the clear Moonshine.

Barrel House Rum - Good clear rum with a nice clean flavor.

Four Year Old Oak Rum - this was the high proof spirit at 108.7 Proof where I learned about the Kentucky Chew. This was a little difficult to swallow because again, empty stomach, but also learning about the correct way to drink made it easier to handle and I enjoyed the sweetness at the end that I could taste since learning how to breathe after such a strong spirit.

Rye Bourbon - Good flavor, wasn't overwhelming, especially after the Oak Rum. At this point I was pretty toasted. Also, I may have missed one but I don't recall if I tried the Barrel House Select. I want to say I did but I don't have footage of it and Lord knows I don't remember much of this day except the Kentucky Chew and food I had after. I won't spoil everything for you but this is definitely worth the $10 if you're in Lexington. The Gift Shop or the place where I spent a bunch of money The gift shop offers lots of Kentucky themed gifts including corn bread mixes, candles and soaps from local artisans. Of course I regret not picking up a Barrel House shirt with the cool barrel diagram and I wish I would've come home with a bottle of the Barrel House select but I capped out at the Rum and Vodka that I brought home with me. I don't actually need that much alcohol in my house. I also purchased a tiny little keychain flask for those "just in case" moments, a soap bar for a gift, a copy of the Bourbon Trail guide book, some amazing Bourbon Pecans and Old Fashioned Cocktail mix. The Pecans are almost gone and I'm a little devastated. In fact I might take a moment to reach out to Katie to find the distributor and order a pound of these, they're that good. OHHHHH, I almost forgot, I also bought myself a little bourbon glass which I have been wanting for quite some time for those nights when I'm writing and need a little Bourbon to help avoid any feelings from spilling over onto the pages and ruining the lives of people who have wronged me... I digress. Edit ImageEdit ImageEdit Image I really wanted a mug. Y'all know I don't need any more mugs The Elkhorn Tavern Everyone kept talking about how amazing the Elkhorn Burgoo is. So I tried it. I knew I would have a bias about it since I've never had Elk or Rabbit and was not a huge fan of gamey meat but to my surprise, whatever meat I tried was good. It resembles shredded meat or beef. I still had a really difficult time eating it because I love bunnies and never met an Elk I didn't like, so I decided I'd make the most of it, enjoyed the veggies and ate around the meat. I didn't think the Burgoo was particularly flavorful, I would've added more salt but it was a good soup. Also, there was no salt on the table and I didn't catch the server in time to ask for any although, I don't think I would've changed my mind about the soup. For me it is worth trying once just to say I tried it but I don't think I'm open to all the meats in the world.

Edit ImageBLT - okay so less memorable was the BLT but the main reason is because it wasn't toasted which to me seems like a foul. I remember that the menu says to ask for it to be toasted but it's usually a given, and I forgot to ask and then was given this NON-TOASTED BLT. The lettuce was fresh, so were the toms and the bacon was bacon. I'd ask to add mayo, cheese and of course toast if I ordered again.

For a drink, I enjoyed a nice vodka lemonade. It was a good drink but I couldn't fully enjoy it or finish it. It was wonderfully tart and I appreciated the iciness it offered but I should've come back to try it when I wasn't so full of alcohol. Really planning to revisit this sometime over the summer for sure.

There are two things I ate which are worth visiting the Elkhorn Tavern for, even if you don't drink. I still have yet to meet a better match to these two items and this is probably the best thing I ate while in Kentucky. The first, which took up the majority of my meal, which could've been a hit or a miss based on the ingredients, is the Spicy Corn Queso. Yeah, I know how it sounds but dammit it was amazing. I go out of my way to eat queso's, corn dips and things that try to be elote to dis them because I hate when restaurants don't get it right and try to make a junk 'street corn dip' but this wasn't that. Just seeing these pics makes me absolutely want to go back to eat the whole tray. Believe me, I tried to eat the whole tray. It had the perfect amount of spice and the cheese was really good. I'm not sure what else was in the cheese but that corn hit different. And yeah, I have a personal bias with blue chips because I prefer them. Anyway, total win. Eat this when you visit!

The second most wonderful thing I had was dessert. This is a bar guys, a tavern, with an incredibly limited menu. However, that matters not! Up until this point I had never tried bread pudding. James told me I had to try it. I did it with the full intention of hating it because Capirotada is gross but Lordt, I wish I had some of this right now. It has a warm bourbon sauce, which I mean, c'mon. It was so freaking good. It wasn't super mushy, it had a very soft monkey bread like consistency and the sauce is poured on top of it and it's absolutely the most perfect dessert I've ever enjoyed. I think this is my favorite dessert in the world. There, I said it. Edit ImageIf the only thing I take away from the trip to Kentucky is the kindness of the Kentuckians I met, it was well worth the visit. Thankfully, that's not all I brought home. I learned so much on this tour about all things Bourbon that this is easily a place I want to revisit the next time I'm in town. Bourbon is laborious. Stirring fermented grains for hours and then filling barrels with the hope that you'll yield as much as possible years down the line is just love... or insanity. Or insanity and love. I've come home more knowledgeable about the process and more appreciative of the time it takes for a single glass on the rocks that I might have otherwise taken for granted. The tour is worth a second visit, and I so look forward to touring Barrel House next time with my husband to get him sauced and then treating him to a nice sobering plate of Spicy Corn Queso and a side of Bread Pudding. Thank you Barrel House Distilling Co for as warm a welcome as the burn from a good Kentucky Chew and a great introduction to the Bourbon Trail and Kentucky.

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