Distillery Tours | Whisk(e)y Apostle: Proselytizing the way of the malt

Distillery Tour: Jim Beam

January 20, 2015 / Richard / Bourbon, Distillery Tours

Jim Beam is about as ubiquitous to bourbon as you can get. As the number one selling bourbon in the world (we won’t get into the whole Jack Daniel’s thing today) you can find it in the far reaching corners of the world. Even though you can find it almost anywhere, you might want to consider visiting where it’s made. Well, it’s actually made at two distilleries…one in Clermont, Kentucky and another in Boston, Kentucky but only the Clermont location is open for tours. This past April I made the trek to Clermont with some Georgia Bourbon Society pals to see what it was all about.

I’ve been to Jim Beam once before a number of years ago and the video and gift shop they had then was a distant and sad memory from what they have now. It’s referred to as the American Stillhouse and it is a great new facility. To get there you can either take I-65 north to Kentucky highway 245 south to Happy Hollow Road or from Bardstown, Kentucky take 245 north to Happy Hollow Road. Ten years ago when I was last there you could walk up, get in line, see the video, have a sip of bourbon and be on your way in about 30 minutes. Now, I would recommend booking a reservation in advance. There are two tours available at the moment. We took the standard Guided Tour which is $10 and that does not go towards any purchases in the gift shop. It’s about 75 minutes. There is also the VIP Super Premium Tour with Fred Noe for a modest $199 and that one lasts about six hours.

Once your tour begins you load up outside of the gift shop in a branded bus and head up to the distillery. The tour starts by walking you through the distilling process in the miniature experimental distillery they have set up in a smaller complex next to the main distillery. It’s been around for about two years. The tour guides are well spoken and surprisingly knowledgeable. They walk you through the history and legal designations of bourbon and what is required to make it while in the old water sourcing warehouse.

From there you head to the miniature cooker, fermentation tanks, and still to talk through grains, mashbills, and yeast. The standard mashbill for Jim beam, Old Crow, Knob Creek, Baker’s, and Booker’s is 76% corn, 13% rye and 10% barley. Their higher rye mashbill used for Old Grand Dad and Basil Hayden is 63% corn, 27% rye, and 10% barley. During the discussion of yeast our guide confirmed (multiple times) that they are now using the same yeast for all their whiskeys. In 1987 when National Distillers Group sold their spirits business to Fortune Brands Beam brought over the yeast National Distillers was using for the Old Grand Dad brand and mashbill. At what time that was converted to the standard Beam yeast strain for Old Grand Dad products has not been confirmed. I guess that kind of makes it “New” Grand Dad. 😉

In discussion of distillation it was also confirmed that the Boston plan makes exclusively product destined for Jim Beam White and the flavored Beam products. Everything else comes from the Clermont distillery along with the balance of the Jim Beam White destined distillate. For nearly all the Beam products the low wine comes off the still at 125 proof/62.5% ABV and off the second distillation at 135 proof/67.5% ABV for the high wines. From there it gets watered down to the legally required 125 proof for barreling. Booker’s is the exception. It is distilled at a higher temperature thus equaling a lower proof (more of the water evaporates with the alcohol at the higher temperature) and comes off the first distillation at 115 proof and the second distillation at 125 proof so that it can go straight into the barrel with no additional water.

Next they take you to the miniature filling station. A volunteer gets to fill a barrel surrounded by the barrel heads of all the commemorative barrels of bourbon made by Beam. After this it’s off to the full distillery.

Down a walkway you head into the main still room. These babies are huge compared the little experimental stills you just saw. This is a high performance, high quality control operation. Through the mass of production noise you can see computer displays showing all the production metrics. It’s quite a sight but it’s so loud that you’re happy to soon head back out.

The next area is for dumping. Knob Creek was on the dumping block when we came by. Everyone got a nice sniff and then we were ushered over to the bottling line. You now have the opportunity to hand bottle either a bottle of Knob Creek Single Barrel or Jim Beam White Single Barrel. The neat thing we found out is that the excess whiskey from the barrel (no barrel yields exact multiples of 750 mls) is used to wash these bottles so that there is no water or bourbon contaminating the Single Barrel bottles that didn’t come from that barrel.

The last stop in this area was the decanter room. It’s kind of neat to see all the different designs that have held Jim Beam over the years. Some of them are so ornate that you can barely imagine them actually holding bourbon.

Next we are off to the warehouse. Nothing to me smells as good as a whiskey warehouse. All that old whiskey slowly giving up shares to the angels makes for a delicious aroma. A few places where barrels are raised and dropped allow you the chance to look up vertically and see how many stories of whiskey are stacked in each warehouse. It’s impressive.

After the warehouse you head to the tasting room. This is a cool set up. You get a pass card that is good for two pours from these drink machines that I’ve only seen at wine bars. You can choose your two pours from any of Beam’s regularly sold products (no Old Grand Dad, Old Overholt, or Old Crow). After your tastes you can head home or back to the gift shop.

All manner of Jim Beam Brand paraphernalia can be had at the gift shop. If you’re looking for whiskey, they sell the range of Beam brands (again no Old Grand Dad, Old Overholt or Old Crow). If you want a gift shop exclusive you can get a bottle of Fred Noe’s select bourbon which is really just the seven year old white label. However, it’s got a different label and Fred selected it so that’s something. If you want to drop $200 you can get a Distiller’s Masterpiece is a sexy decanter finished in sherry casks.

I was really impressed with the new Beam complex and tour. It’s first rate in every way. If you’re in the area or even if you might consider making a designated trip then it’s worthwhile.

One last note on Beam: There is now “Fred’s Smokehouse” open on the grounds where you can get barbeque for lunch. It’s staffed by some older Kentucky ladies who are about as sweet as the chocolate bourbon pie. I feel comfortable saying that I am a lover of the “Que” and I appreciate all styles: Dry and wet, Kansas City and Texas, Carolina Mustard and Alabama White. However, I do NOT recommend the Smokehouse. The watery meat, stale buns, and mediocre sauce should be avoided. You can get a much better meal at any number of places down the road in Bardstown.

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Distillery Tour: Lazy Guy Distillery

September 8, 2014 / Richard / Distillery Tours, Other Spirits, Other Whisk(e)ys

Did you know that there is a legal distillery making craft spirits right outside of Atlanta in Kennesaw? Yeah, I didn’t either. It seems like every other day new distilleries are popping up and is a giant undertaking. That said this one is about 15 minutes from my house so I really should’ve been a little more on top of it. Luckily for me, I have friends that are just as obsessed with all things whiskey as I am. A fellow Georgia Bourbon Society member put the word out on the Lazy Guy Distillery a couple of months ago and another member was industrious enough to organize a little tour for us.

It’s best to plan in advance if you want to visit Lazy Guy. It’s damn near a one man operation and that one man, Mark Allen can’t be making spirit if he’s got people randomly knocking on the front door. Also, he has a day job in consulting too. He will schedule tours for small groups and periodically he has open house events. We at met the distillery before the August Georgia Bourbon Society meeting in a torrential downpour. This is an extremely small operation and I drove past it twice before getting to the right place.

The distillery is two buildings near historic downtown Kennesaw dating back to the 1800’s. The front is an old house that serves as the office, tasting bar, and gift shop. Out back is an old barn right above the railroad tracks that serves as the distillery and aging warehouse. The tour comprises a walk out back for a very detailed walkthrough of the operations and a tasting of the four products Mark is bottling right now. You go into the barn and front and center you see the still, column, condenser and mash tun.

Off to the right are the fermenting tubs, off to the left is the bottling line, and around the left corner in a little nook is the “warehouse” where the aging spirit is held.

When I say small, this is small. However, right now it is a one man operation. Mark is quick to tell you about his efficiency yields and how all of this is set up to allow him to produce spirit by himself. Right now his only help in product production are volunteers helping with the bottling.

Mark is a very enthusiast and knowledgeable distiller and he is more than happy to keep the tour at the newbie level or dive into all the geek detail you could want. He is a very technical and practical distiller. He’s more the mad chemist out back in the shed than the romantic idea of distillers that some hold on to. Mark’s background is information technology and consulting. Distilling is new to him and he is self taught through voracious reading, visits to other distilleries, and good old trial and error. He’s very forthcoming with how he does what he does and why he’s made the decisions he made that led up to now. As examples of this he uses enzyme, not malted barley to kick start fermentation and how his “fermenting tubs” are giant plastic container that allow him to (relatively) easily monitor and adjust temperature and maintain sanitation.

It may not be as romantic of a notion as those 50 year old wooden fermentation tubs and germinated malted barley for fermentation but it gets the job done in a way he likes and can manage. I have to respect that.

Currently, Lazy Guy has four products on the market that you would probably call white whiskey or white dog with plans for a straight bourbon (aged 2 years) in 2015. Here’s a rundown of each one:

Threesome Whiskey
The mashbill is 60% corn, 30% wheat, and 20% unmalted barley and it is bottled at 40% ABV. The distillate for this product is essentially bourbon distillate. It’s aged very briefly in used barrels. Lazy Guy uses used barrels for everything except the new bourbon they plan for next year. The reason is that Mark can’t get anymore barrels. You’ve heard of the dreaded bourbon shortage, which doesn’t actually exist to the extent you may think? Well the real concern is a true barrel shortage. There just isn’t enough production to keep up with demand so small guys like Mark can’t even get on the list. The barrels he does use were toasted rather than charred. Mark’s reasoning is that it gives more of a smoky and floral note rather than the typical coconut and vanilla. It was nice for a white whiskey. Better than most for sure.

Cold Heart Whiskey
This is essentially a high proof version of the Threesome coming in at 60% ABV with the same distillate but it spends a little less time in the wood. It’s a similar profile to Threesome but it drinks surprisingly well at the higher proof.

Kennesaw Lightning
This is Lazy Guy’s corn whiskey. The mash is 80% corn and 20% barley and clocks in at 50% ABV. It is a solid vodka replacement for sure. Maybe in a bloody mary?

The General
Don’t let this one confuse you with the recent Compass Box release. The two could not be farther apart. This is also a corn whiskey, although a four grain corn whiskey. The mash is 80% corn, 6% rye, 7% wheat, and 7% barley. It clocks in at an impressive 75.5% ABV. This was something Mark was playing around with when a distributor stopped by and had a taste from the still. It went over so well it became a new product, although reduced to 75.5% from the 90% it was tasted at. It also drinks surprisingly well at high proof.

I’ve got to say that I was impressed with what Mark Allen is doing over at Lazy Guy Distillery. He has a passion for it but he’s not deluded by his passion. He realizes that the whiskey geek isn’t his target market. He has a great business head on his shoulders. He knows his product, market, and distribution and works smartly within those bounds. I’m not rushing out to buy a bottle because it’s not my type of thing but I respect what he’s doing and wish him the best.

You can visit the distillery at 2950 Moon Station Road, Kennesaw, Georgia. Make sure to call (770) 485-0081 or email media@lazyguydistillery.com first.

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Distillery Tour: Old Kilbeggan Distillery

October 9, 2012 / Richard / Distillery Tours, Irish Whiskey, Richard's Blog

Wow, it’s been a crazy summer. It’s already October and I’m just now getting back to the content from my trip to Ireland in May. Well, continuing from the post on The Old Jameson Distillery we’re off to Kilbeggan!

After our time in Dublin and the surrounding areas, my wife and I headed west on the N6 to Kilbeggan. It’s actually pretty easy to get there. Off the N6 you turn on to R389 and take that north to R446 headed west and the distillery is just down the road on the right. Heading into the quiet town of Kilbeggan we meandered down the main road until we came to The Old Kilbeggan Distillery/Kilbeggan Distillery Experience (formerly know and the Old Locke’s Distillery). If you are smart you aren’t racing down any of the Irish country roads but heading through Kilbeggan you can drive right past the distillery if you aren’t paying attention. Hang a right just past the distillery and the parking lot will be on your right behind the distillery.

As soon as you get out of the car you’ll see barrels off in the distance and smell that tell tale whiskey distillery aroma of distilled water of life, grain, and fermenting distiller’s bear/mash. Let’s take a moment to level set expectations. This is not where Cooley makes all their Kilbeggan. That facility isn’t open to the public. They make a very small amount of whiskey here. More of this site is still dedicated to the shuttered remnants of the Old Locke Distillery than the new active distillery operation. It’s not a deal breaker for a visit. I just want you to realize when you are outside the distillery that only a relatively small part of what you are looking at is actually devoted to active production. Also, most of the “tour” is the Old Locke’s part and you only get to see a little of what is used to make the new stuff. I’m not sure why the Irish are so shy about their production facilities but at the time of this post Bushmills is the only distillery doing a tour anywhere close to what bourbon and scotch fans have come to know.

So with that disclaimer out of the way let’s head around front from the parking lot and go inside. As you enter the front there is a lovely little bar to the right and a desk to the left where you pay your seven euros per person for the tour. At the time of my visit in May 2012 they were not taking plastic. Cash only so come prepared. Now that I think about it that’s a good general tip for traveling in Ireland, especially for plastic dependent Americans.

After you pay your euros you’ll get a copy of the tour guide. Yep. Not tour guides. It’s a paper packet with notes for the various numbered tour stations throughout the Old Locke’s Distillery. For those of you who have toured other active distilleries this is a little anti-climatic. It’s really more of a museum at this point than a distillery tour. (According to the website Kilbeggan now offers guided, self-guided, and group tours seven days a week. I guess I went for a visit a little too soon.)

Once you make your way through the museum portion you can head across the breezeway and up the stairs to a small area housing actual Cooley whiskey. You can head to the back and overlook the active still. (According to Cooley this is the oldest pot still in production.) That’s as close as you’re going to get to active production here. Head back downstairs and follow the signs to the gift shop. Here you can get your shot glasses, minis, and other Cooley/Kilbeggan swag.

After you stock up on souviners head back over to that bar you passed on the way in. Here you can get your dram of Kilbeggan included in the tour price. This is really a neat little bar. They also have Guinness on tap and you’re just as likely to be sitting next to a local having a pint as you are to be sitting next to a tourist. You can also buy minis and bottles of many different Cooley offerings. Special among these is the Distillery Reserve version of Kilbeggan. This is actually what’s being made here at the distillery. It’s young and it’s pricey. I bought a bottle. I kind of wish I hadn’t. If you really want one then I recommend waiting and picking one up duty free at the airport in Dublin. It’s A LOT cheaper.

All in all it’s an interesting little jaunt going to Kilbeggan. I wouldn’t plan a whiskey pilgrimage around it but if it’s on your way why not stop by for a visit. My hope is that they continue to expand this facility and open the Cooley Distillery in County Louth to tours. Until then this is as close as you’re going to get to the birthplace of Kilbeggan or Cooley whiskey.

Drink wisely my friends,

Richard

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Distillery Tour: The Old Jameson Distillery

July 10, 2012 / Richard / Distillery Tours, Irish Whiskey, Richard's Blog

The Old Jameson Distillery is located in Dublin. If you’ve never been to Dublin then let me tell you that in early May it can be rainy and cold as hell. In all fairness it was only in the upper 40’s when I was there but the drizzling rain and gusting wind made it feel much colder. So with that as my weather back drop my wife and I were looking for things to do inside while we were in Dublin. The Old Jameson Distillery fit the bill quite nicely. Honestly, my wife and I both love Irish whiskey so it wasn’t really a hard sell. The distillery is located in the Smithfield area of Dublin and is open for tours seven days a week. Tours runs every 25 minutes with the last one starting at 5:15 PM. Tickets are 13 Euros per person and that includes a drink of Jameson at the end. Unlike some Scottish distilleries the ticket price cannot be put toward any subsequent purchases in their gift shop.

If you decide to go for a visit you go in and get your tickets and then you wait. And wait. This is one of the top visitor attractions in Dublin. It’s big with the international crowd. You definitely won’t be the only foreigners there. Jameson is enjoyed around the world. You will likely be with other Americans, Germans, French, Russians, Japanese, and a whole host of others. Tours are generally conducted in English unless there is a tour group that makes other arrangements in advance. While you are waiting for your tour to begin you can do some early reconnaissance in the gift shop; have a drink of any of Irish Distillers fine whiskeys, cocktails, or Irish coffee in JJ’s bar; or head upstairs to the 3rd Still Restaurant for an a la carte meal. The restaurant is quite nice and all the staff throughout the distillery are very friendly and helpful.

Now they finally called your tour number. What are you going to see? First, let’s level set expectations a little bit. This used to be a distillery. Now it’s the Jameson Experience. Think of it like an homage to Jameson Whiskey. Spirit hasn’t flowed here since 1971, shortly after to merger in 1966 that created Irish Distillers from John Power & Son, John Jameson & Son, and Cork Distillery Company. The only “real” distillery tour (by bourbon and scotch standards) that you will find in Ireland now is up at Bushmills. Don’t let that dissuade you. It’s still a nice little joint. So with that we go on our tour. You start off with an intro speech from the tour guide and a video extolling the wonder that is Jameson Irish Whiskey. It’s a cute propaganda video that’s not too long and somewhat entertaining. After that you begin the tour proper. You are guided through the facility to different preset stations, each highlighting a different aspect of the whiskey making process. It’s not too exciting and anyone who regularly follows this site or reads up on whiskey probably won’t learn much.

At the end of the tour the guide will select six to eight people from each group to do a special tasting. As you are ushered into the tasting room most people will choose a Jameson beverage immediately to the right. You can get your Jameson straight up, with ginger ale, with cranberry juice, with Sprite, or over ice. Between my wife and me we got it neat and with ginger ale. Those individuals chosen for the special tasting will taste Jameson head to head with Jack Daniels and Johnnie Walker Black. The guide then takes a poll on who likes Jameson the best and presents the participants with a Whiskey Taster Certificate. You get a closing speech from the guide and then conveniently come out near the gift shop.

The gift shop was my favorite part. You can get all the Jameson gear you could want including t-shirts, sweaters, umbrellas, hats, chocolates, and a bunch more. You can also buy just about every whiskey Irish Distillers makes. The Distillery Reserve is an interesting pick as it’s only available at the The Old Jameson Distillery and The Old Midleton Distillery gift shops and you can get a bottle personalized. For everything else you would do better buying it at home or duty free because the prices (taxes) are steep.

That’s it. Is this a Mecca or utopia of Irish whiskey? No, but it’s a fun diversion if you are in Dublin and are inclined to go.

The Old Jameson Distillery
Bow Street, Smithfield, Dublin 7
353 1 807 2355
Open 7 Days a week from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM
3rd Still Restaurant open from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM

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A visit to Tuthilltown Spirits

November 9, 2009 / Matt / Bourbon, Distillery Tours, Matt's Blog, Other Spirits, Other Whisk(e)ys

I traveled up to the Hudson Valley this weekend to re-energize from the grueling pace of the City. While I was up there, I decided to head over to Tuthilltown Spirits for a distillery tour, a tasting, and nice chat with Gable Erenzo (Distiller, Brand Ambassador, etc.). As you know, I am a huge fan of the micro-distillation movement. So, this was a particular treat for me.

When Tuthilltown opened around six years ago, they were the first whiskey distillery in New York State since prohibition. They are no longer the only (Finger Lakes Distilling started producing whiskey this year), but they are still the first and there are a few other things that make them special. Every whiskey produced at Tuthilltown is double distilled. They have a “large” 400 gallon combination pot and column still that uses a steam jacket to heat the mash (which includes the solids from fermentation for a more flavorful product). There is another smaller still for the second distillation.

As with many of the microdistillers, Tuthilltown uses a variety of small barrels for maturation. Smaller barrel size allows for greater surface area contact between wood and spirit, thus speeding up the maturation process. Since the whiskey only matures 6-10 months, the spirit does not experience the environmental changes that a 3-6 year old bourbon from one of the Kentucky behemoths feel. In an attempt to rectify this situation, the warehouse walls are lined with baseboard heaters. The heaters are powered with hot waste-water from the stills. So, when the stills are running, the warehouse gets very warm, but the warehouse can get very cold (in the winter at least) when the stills are dormant for the night. Additionally, there are bass speakers placed all over the warehouse that play very deep bass each night. Gable calls this “sonic aging”. The bass vibrates the barrels, agitating the spirit and creating micro expansions and contractions in the barrels themselves. If you visit Tuthilltown, you will notice another oddity. They store their barrels on end. When I asked Gable if he noticed a difference in the end product. He said they’ve always done it that way, so he’s never been able to compare They regularly rotate the barrels though.

What is really striking about Tuthilltown is their commitment to the environment. Except for the oak in the barrels and the malted barley in their single malt and four grain whiskies, all of their whiskey ingredients are grown within 10 miles of the distillery. The waste water from distillation is used to heat the warehouse and is then circulated through a reed pond to be absorbed by the reeds. They currently burn the waste alcohols for fuel and the ultimate goal is to be completely off grid.

While whiskey is job #1 at Tuthilltown, Gable and his father Ralph (along with business partner Brian Lee and a small staff of workers) also supply the Hudson Valley, New York City and select other markets with rum and vodka. The vodka is made from cider produced at a farm down the road and they offer both a double distilled (Heart Of The Hudson) and a triple distilled variety (Spirit Of The Hudson). My wife and I both prefer the Heart of the Hudson Vodka. Triple distillation is overkill and makes it just another vodka. The double distilled spirit smells strongly of fresh apples and carries a hint of the flavor.

Due to the nature of their license, the tasting room can only pour spirits made from local products. So you won’t find the single malt or the rum in the tasting room. I’m a fan of their whiskeys in general and you can read our review of the Four Grain Bourbon here. The Manhattan Rye is one of my favorite ryes (although the one they bottled for Park Avenue Liquors is even better than the standard). They offer a Baby Bourbon (100% corn bourbon aged in tiny casks for about 6 months) and un-aged corn whiskey (which is surprisingly smooth and flavorful). Richard and I will be posting a formal review of the latest bottling of New York Whiskey this week. The New York Whiskey line is Tuthilltown’s experimental collection. This bottling is 100% wheat. It’s smooth and lovely.

So what is on the horizon for Tuthilltown? Well, they have already laid down some whiskey in second use barrels for bourbon style whiskey. They won’t be able to call it “bourbon” because of the second use barrels, but I’m sure it will be well received. Whiskey enthusiasts and cocktail crafters alike love Tuthilltown whiskeys but some complain about the price point. It’s around $45 for 375ml of their main whiskey line. The second use matured whiskeys will be available under another label at a lower price point. Gable is also growing some hops on the property for a hop infused whiskey. I really enjoyed Charbay’s hop infused whiskey, I can’t wait to see Tuthilltown’s offering.

If you want more information about Tuthilltown or for a tour, check out the website.

Drink well, drink responsibly.
-Matt

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