16 May - Abraham Lincoln's Childhood Home and Jim Beam Distillery

16 May
Today we drove to Hodgenville KY and visited the birthplace of Abraham Lincoln.  We saw an informative video in the reception center and various displays.

Then we walked the 56 steps, representing the 56 years of age when Lincoln died,  up to the memorial building which houses a replica of his birthplace log cabin.

Also located there on the family property is the "Sinking Springs", which is a natural water spring that used to provide travelers and the Lincoln family with drinking water.  It is still active today, but cordoned off for visitors.

Then we drove northeast to Knob Creek Farm and toured Abraham Lincoln's childhood home.

It was not yet open for the tourist season, but there is a replica of the log cabin he and his family lived in while he grew up.  Later they moved to Illinois and he became a legislator there before being nominated for President.

We finished the day touring the Jim Beam Distillery near Clermont KY.  This was a very fascinating tour that lasted 1-1/2 hours.

You tour a small, single batch operational distillery and see each step of the process first hand.  
 

You can feel and taste the grain used to make the mash.

You can feel and taste the mash as it ferments.  This mash was over 50% corn.  The fermentation process creates a great amount of heat!

Jim Beam bourbon whiskey is distilled twice, once creating a "low wine" and then creating a "high wine", about 150 proof.

You can smell and taste the low and high "wine" created from the distilling process, and then they place it in barrels to age for several years.  They make their own barrels right here.  They are charred on the inside.  This is where it gets it's color and flavor.   It is amazing the amount of product lost during the aging process due to evaporation ~30%

Incredible.  Best tour I have seen in a long time.  Then we toured the big plant where they make the production bourbon and bottle it after it has aged.  You can fill your own bottle, add the label, and seal it with your own fingerprint in wax for a nominal charge ($49.99).  We took a rain check on that.  Finally you go to the tasting room where you can sample two 1/4 ounce servings of any product they make. I tried the Jim Beam Knob Creek Rye and the Knob Creek Single Barrel Bourbon.  Doreen tried the Jim Beam Apple Bourbon and the Jim Beam Kentucky Fire (cinnamon whiskey).  I was very impressed with our tour guide (Holly), and the entire tour.  Every question I had was answered and it was very informative.

Tomorrow we are going to Louisville and tour the Louisville Slugger baseball bat factory and meet Kentucky State Command CMSgt (ret) Jim Smith and his wife Denise for lunch downtown.  Then we plan to visit the Army Base at Fort Knox and the Gen Patton Museum.