Jim Beam

Located a few miles south of Louisville is the home of Jim Beam,

probably the most famous of all bourbons. While it is extremely easy to find from the road, once you get on the grounds you are pretty much on you own for directional signage is nonexistent. Hint - cross the bridge and turn left.

Go over the hill for the visitors parking lot. Some folks used the first lot and were told, not too politely, that they used the wrong lot. Again, no signage. Hopefully the correct lot will not be too full for the layout is poor.

On the walk to the Visitor Center you pass an extremely aromatic warehouse. Some barrels can be seen through the window.

We had about a 25 minute wait for the next tour to began, so we browsed the fine selection of souvenirs. The tour headed out the side door to the brick patio where the guide spoke a bit about the distillatory before we were lead to the original family home.

Once in the old homestead we were invited to view the old pictures in the former parlor. Then lead across the hallway for a video. Once the video was finished the guide handled few questions and took us out the back door.

Outside she talked about the hand pump, pointed out the new outbuildings which held displays of a still and cooperage operation which we were free to visit on our own. Then thanked us for coming.

At no time were we shown any of the process, in fact the guide never explained what bourbon is or any other information about their product. A lady did ask "What is bourbon used for"? The guide thought it was a very humorous question and provided an answer which assured the asker that she was not going to find out.

The most entertaining part was getting the F150 out of it's parking spot. If your time is limited, skip the Jim Beam protion of the Kentrucky Bourbon Trail for they provided a very poor experiance.

 

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