May 28 - Bourbon, Lincoln and Stephen Foster

May 28
Bourbon and horses is what this part of Kentucky is all about. We drove out to the countryside to Makers Mark Distillery today for their tour and tasting. All bourbon is made in the US and 97% of it is made right here in Kentucky; most of it in this area south of Louisville. They have a Bourbon Trail like the tasting rooms in wine areas. The distillery was started in 1805 with the water being a major factor. Like Jack Daniels in Tennessee, the water filtering through limestone is key to making good bourbon. Bill Samuel bought the distillery in 1954. One of the first things he did was burn the original recipe with the idea of coming up with something special. That he did. His wife came up with the idea of dipping each bottle in red wax as a trademark. We saw the kitchen where she did her experimenting in an electric fry kettle to get the wax just right. We also saw the plans laid out on the desk for the distinctive bottle. It is still being run by the same family using the same equipment. Production of the new blend began in 1958. Of course they have done a bit of expanding over the years. This happened to be the month that they do their cleaning so they weren’t in production. One good thing about that was we got to see the deep original cypress vats where the sour mash ferments. Drained and empty we could appreciate the size. There are more barrels aging bourbon in Kentucky than there are residents! They had a tasting all set up for us at the end of the tour. Jack Daniels is made in a dry county so no tasting allowed. We got to visit the still house, the oldest part of the facility. Two warehouses are over 100 years old. You could even hand dip you own bottle in the gift shop. The grounds are beautiful with the green grass, trees, creek and covered bridge; very picturesque with the historical black buildings with red shutters.

 Bill Samuel's wife got the idea of covering the top of the new bottle in this kitchen back in the 1950's.
She perfected the wax in the electric fry pot. 

Distillery at Marker's Mark - Over 100 Years Old

Cypress vats where the sour mash ferments are much deeper than they look.
They go deep below the flooring.

Beuatiful Grounds

Tasting!

We switched our sightseeing to Abraham Lincoln visiting his birthplace and his boyhood farm a few miles away. His father Thomas and his wife Nancy were considered middleclass citizens on the Kentucky frontier when they were married and moved to the small but typical farm in 1808 where Abe was born. Thomas had money in the bank paying $200.00 for Sinking Spring Farm. It ended up in a land dispute and when Abe was two years old they moved to Knob Hill. The Knob Hill cabin is where Abe had his earliest recollections. Later he told stories about his life here that he felt were influential in making him the man he eventually became. He was saved from drowning by his childhood friend, and walked two miles with his older sister to a “blab” school (school where everything was learned by recitation because there were no slates, pens or paper). He loved making letters in the dirt and reading became a passion. He had fond memories of his years here but life was hard on the frontier. He saw his baby brother die in this cabin and he helped his father plant the fields to see the crops disappear in a flash flood. Lincoln’s views on slavery probably began to be formed at Knob Hill. His parents joined a local church with antislavery beliefs. They lived on a well traveled road and probably saw slaves being marched to auction. “Abraham Lincoln, passionate defender of the Union and the man whose life and ideals affirmed the dignity of working people, was a product of the austere society of frontier Kentucky.” Before Lincoln was eight years old, the land dispute ended up in court. This must have been the reason we heard they stayed at the Talbott Tavern in Bardstown while waiting for the decision. When they lost their case, they moved again, this time across the Ohio River to Indiana.

The Lincoln family cabin at the Knob Hill farm.
Lincoln's first recollections are from living on this farm.

The Lincoln Memorial houses his birthplace cabin.

The Lincoln cabin where Abe was born.

Neither of the cabins we visited were actually in Lincoln’s family. The Knob Hill cabin we saw actually belonged to his friend’s family that lived on a neighboring farm. It was moved to this location where the Lincoln cabin had been. The memorial that houses the cabin of his birthplace was built in 1909. 100,000 citizens donated an average of $.31 each to buy the cabin and build the memorial that houses it. As the memorial comes into sight, it is very impressive with its 56 steps, one for each years of his life. However, the cabin probably isn’t the actual Lincoln cabin but a combination of Jefferson Davis’s cabin and Lincoln’s. Odd turn of events, but both cabins were disassembled and taken to a worlds fair. They think the lumber somehow got mixed up when it was disassembled after the fair. Cabins of the day were usually 16 by 18 feet, had one door, one window and a fireplace.

Chris and I visited the home, Federal Hill, at my Old Kentucky Home State Park where we were camping. It was here while visiting relatives in 1852, that Stephen Foster got his inspiration for his song, “My Old Kentucky Home.” This became Kentucky’s state song. He wrote so many songs about the south but never actually lived here. He also wrote “Swayne River,” Florida’s state song. It was a charming home but our guide needed to be a little less scripted and just relax a bit. Beginning this weekend, they have a Stephen Foster Concert here on Saturday evenings. Too bad we will miss it.

Federal Hill where Stephen Foster wrote "My Old Kentucky Home."

Chris and I hoping for a breeze playing cards in the 90 degree heat!