{"id":37120,"date":"2017-11-01T18:00:50","date_gmt":"2017-11-01T23:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/?p=37120"},"modified":"2017-10-27T13:32:22","modified_gmt":"2017-10-27T18:32:22","slug":"dale-chihuly-at-makers-mark-bourbon-distillery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/?p=37120","title":{"rendered":"Dale Chihuly at Maker’s Mark Bourbon Distillery"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Dale<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Bourbon and Kentucky kind of go hand in hand.\u00a0 I recently spent a beautiful fall afternoon with a bunch of friends touring the Maker’s Mark bourbon distillery and enjoying an exhibit of fabulous art glass designed and created by Dale Chihuly.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Maker's<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Bourbon in Kentucky<\/h2>\n

Ninety percent of the world’s bourbon is made within a hundred mile radius of where I live.\u00a0 It’s all because of the water.\u00a0 Limestone runs under our soil, and it makes our water extra special.\u00a0 If you buy bourbon made in any other state, it isn’t really bourbon.\u00a0 As an aside, the limestone puts calcium into our water, and that’s why our horses have such good bones for running, but that’s a whole other story.\u00a0 Maker’s Mark is probably the most famous bourbon in the world, and it is made in a little village called Lorretto, KY.<\/p>\n

\"Maker's<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It is nestled in beautiful rolling hills, and the day we went was one of those perfect fall days.\u00a0 Dale Chilhuly has a traveling exhibit.\u00a0 I saw it a few years ago at the Botanical Garden in Brooklyn, NY, and this year it came to Kentucky.<\/p>\n

\"Dale<\/p>\n

It is a fabulous display of colorful glass in all shapes and sizes.\u00a0 Maker’s Mark owns two of his creations, so having a special exhibit was a great pairing.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Maker's<\/p>\n

If you are local, the exhibit runs until Nov. 25, and you can see it in the daytime or illuminated at night.<\/p>\n

\u00a0The Bourbon Process<\/h2>\n

\"Maker's<\/p>\n

Our trip included a tour of the distillery, which was fascinating.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\"Maker's<\/p>\n

We were able to see how bourbon is made from its very first day to when it comes out of the bottle years later.\u00a0When the mixture is in the big vat, which measures 12 feet in diameter and is 12 feet deep, it produces heat and bubbles like crazy.\u00a0 It’s the yeast at work.\u00a0 We were allowed to taste it, and to me it tasted like vinegar.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Maker's<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Maker’s Mark is different from many bourbons because they use corn, wheat and barley.\u00a0 Most bourbons use rye instead of wheat.\u00a0 They say this is why their bourbon is so smooth.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\"Maker's<\/p>\n

After going through all of the processes, it is then put in an oak barrel that has been charred on the inside for 90 seconds.\u00a0 This burned wood is another thing that makes bourbon what it is.\u00a0 If the barrel isn’t charred, it isn’t bourbon.\u00a0 Then they store it in a building that is NOT environmentally controlled.\u00a0 The barrels experience the Kentucky weather for real.\u00a0 If it’s hot and muggy, which it is a lot in the summer, then the barrels feel that.\u00a0 If it’s an extremely cold winter, they feel that to.\u00a0 The barrels stay on the top level of the building for three years because heat rises, and they need that heat.\u00a0 Then the barrels are moved down over the years, and tasted.\u00a0 Eventually, it will be determined by the tasters that the bourbon is ready.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\"Maker's<\/p>\n

I found it all to be just fascinating.\u00a0 We saw them dip the bottles in their signature red wax, and they even gifted each of us a bottle\u00a0 to dip on our own.\u00a0 How cool is that!!!\u00a0 If you want to know more about the bourbon and Maker’s Mark, then read this<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Dale<\/p>\n

There is a Bourbon Trail here in Kentucky, and people come from all over the world to visit the distilleries, do a tasting, and enjoy beautiful Kentucky.<\/p>\n

\"Dale<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

If you are ever looking for a way to spend a few days with your significant other, visiting the Bourbon Trail would be a great trip.\u00a0 You might not get to see the Chihuly exhibit, but you will be able to see this display which is part of Maker’s Mark’s permanent collection.\u00a0 And by the way, if you have ever been to the Bellagio in Las Vegas, they have entire ceiling covered with it.<\/p>\n

\"Maker's<\/p>\n

At the end of the tour, we were given a flight for tasting.\u00a0 I am not a big hard liquor drinker, but I appreciated the effort that is put into making a quality product that people enjoy all over the world.\u00a0 People who love bourbon say it is smooth.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I hope you enjoyed this tour, and if you are ever near a Kentucky distillery, stop in for a tour.\u00a0 Thank you all for spending part of your day with us.\u00a0 We really appreciate each of you.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Take care.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  Bourbon and Kentucky kind of go hand in hand.\u00a0 I recently spent a beautiful fall afternoon with a bunch of friends touring the Maker’s Mark bourbon distillery and enjoying an exhibit of fabulous art glass designed and created by Dale Chihuly.     Bourbon in Kentucky Ninety percent of the world’s bourbon is made […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":37147,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":""},"categories":[9,4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37120"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=37120"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37120\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37163,"href":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37120\/revisions\/37163"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/37147"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=37120"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=37120"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=37120"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}