Arrived in Lexington Monday afternoon about 4pm and GPS easily located our Marriott Fairfield Inn in the SW portion of New Circle Road & Harrodsburg Pike, located within minutes of Keeneland and the Bluegrass Airport. Delighted to discover our hotel recently had an extensive makeover and reopened in February, 2013--they certainly did a great job! Nearby were some good restaurants and an amazing liquor store called the Liquor Barn. We had dinner one block away at a great Mediterranean restaurant with a deservedly high rating from both TripAdvisor and Yelp.
The next morning we were picked up at 8:30 by Larry, the owner of Thoroughbred Heritage Horse Farm Tours. When we had spoken the evening before, we were slated to be his only clients on this tour. However, at the last minute we were joined by a couple of "pinhooks" who were taking a day off from the Keeneland Fall Yearling Sales for a busman's holiday to explore horse country.
"Pinhooking" is an old southern term used for the short term buying and selling of livestock with the specific intention of reselling for a profit. In this case, these men had been attending the Keeneland Sales looking to purchase yearlings, train them and then resell them as two year olds. One of the pinhooks had been a jockey for 38 years and also was married to the older pinhook's daughter. Their comments and insight added a fascinating dimension to our tour.
Our first stop was at Keeneland, where I had worked while I was attending the University of Kentucky. The track and grandstands were quiet except for a small number of horses being lightly exercised. Keeneland is less well known than Churchill Downs, but most certainly is the more scenic and meticulously-maintained track in Kentucky.
Larry took us through all the hidden passages, entrances, clubhouses and betting salons in the grandstands. Viewed the Queen Elizabeth Winner's Circle, constructed in 1984 for Queen Elizabeth's presentation of the inaugural QE II Challenge Cup. Each racing season, the syndicates who garner the greatest number of points are allowed to place their racing colors on the jockey circle in front of the clubhouse.
We finally arrived at the Keeneland sales pavilion just as the Yearling Sales were starting for the day. The 2013 Fall Sale runs September 9-21 with 3,908 yearlings up for auction for prices this year ranging from $10,000 to $2.5 million to date. About 400 yearlings are sold each day, except on Friday the 13th, which is a traditional "dark day"...not that the horse industry is superstitious!
Two by two, the yearlings are brought into a covered ring to be walked in front of potential bidders who look carefully for a number of possible physical and personality defects. Just before being brought onto the auction stand, then are brought into a smaller ring for one last look before the bidding begins.
While taking photos in the sales auditorium, I was intrigued by the auction process. The auctioneer is calling out the prices and the "spotters" in the seating area are confirming bids...but no way could I spot any outwardly visible signal by the folks who were doing the bidding! Speaking with one of the pinhooks on our tour, he explained the bidding signals are unique and the spotters know what to look for with each individual bidder--sometimes it is just a slightly emphasized blink! The day before, he said one bidder had his foot in the aisle and just tapped his toe to confirm each bid.
After Keeneland, we visited Hill 'n Dale Farm to visit the grave of 1977 Triple Crown winner, Seattle Slew. Hill 'n Dale is a grand old Bluegrass area horse farm and Seattle Slew is buried in a well-maintained garden surrounded by several trees. The subtle differences between the horse barns, guest houses and owner's homes on the horse farms we visited often made it difficult to distinguish them apart. Some of the multimilliondollar horse barns were all stone, gabled, with cupolas and $25K custom doors.
Larry had permission to drive his clients through two very wealthy "showplace" farms, but with strict rules not to let anyone out of the vehicle. Our final stop was an actual working/training farm called Magdelena Farm, home to McPeek Racing. The foreman, Jerry, is a personable 24/7 workaholic who went 12 years without a vacation until a recent trip home to North Carolina. He lives on the farm and has delivered some 7000+ foals during birthing seasons that run from Valentine's Day until the Fourth of July.
Because he knows each of his horses since birth, he also knows their distinct personalities. Some are very warm and people friendly--while others are not. He showed us a two year old female who will not tolerate anyone in her stall--in fact, one person must distract her (acting like a "rodeo clown", he said) while the other stall jockey tends to the feeding, cleaning, etc. To emphasize his point, he reached over the gate, simply stroked her back and she immediately delivered a powerful kick to the gate...and Jerry was the one who delivered her! He is philosophic about the filly's personality saying that some of the crankiest horses make great racers.
After a quick lunch, we jumped in our car and headed out to Versailles, KY (locally pronounced "Vur-sales", which has GOT to be like fingernails on chalkboard to the French!) to tour the Woodford Reserve Bourbon Distillery in adjacent Woodford County. Woodford Reserve, the oldest and smallest distillery in Kentucky, traces its origins to 1797 when Elijah Pepper began distilling in Woodford County. This National Landmark crafts Woodford Reserve Distiller’s Select, the Official Bourbon of the Kentucky Derby, and features the only copper pot still and triple distillation process used to handcraft Bourbon today.
Woodford Reserve in located in a little valley nestled next to a stream. The distillation building itself dates from the 1838...note the dates on the millstone! Woodford's hour-long tours are very well presented and explain the exacting bourbon-making process from start to finish. Next door, the historic small white office with the scales in front is where deliveries of grain would arrive and be weighed before payment was given.
For bourbon newbies, our guide explained bourbon must be distilled from mash that is at least 51% corn--Woodford uses 72% corn, 18% rye and 10% malted barley.These grains are cracked before cooking them in a huge cooker to further open the grains to the distillation process. This mash is then transferred to 7500 gallon cypress wood containers to begin the six day fermentation process. It was interesting to note the 6 hour old mash (prepared that morning) was rapidly bubbling, while the 4 day old batch was noticeably less active.
From there, the mash is placed in the first of a series of 3 large copper distillation vessels, which gradually increase the distillate from 40 proof to 110, then finally to 158 proof. The first distillation of "beer mash" produces "high wine"...beginning an wonderful conversion from beer to wine to whiskey!
The copper control panel is an interesting feature still in use today. Piping from the three copper stills allows the distiller to sample the distillate from each stage as it passes through this control panel--look carefully at the photo and you can see the young bourbon flowing. Back in the 1940s, both the US government and the distillary owner would place a bar with separate locks to prevent both theft and untaxed liquor.
The toasted and lightly charred American white oak barrels give bourbon its characteristic caramel color. The new barrels cost $125. and, by regulation, can only be used once for bourbon. They are resold for about $85. to Scotch and Irish whiskey makers as well as tequila and rum producers.
Each weekday, the Woodford Reserve fills about 20 barrels (53 gallons per barrel) with young bourbon to be aged for an average of seven years. The clear spirit goes into the barrel at 110 proof and is ready to bottle when it reaches the final 90 proof level at which it is sold. Evaporation (the "angel's share") of 3-5% per year means these wooden barrels have lost a third of their capacity by the end of the aging process.
The bottling building is rustic and uses a combination of mechanical equipment and human labor to get the job done. While Jim Beam produces nearly three million cases of bourbon each year, Woodford Reserve produces only 165,000 cases. Because of this limited production, Woodford Reserve primarily supplies bourbon to only five states: Kentucky, California, Illinois, Texas and Florida.
The tasting room and gift shop at Woodford Reserve are beautifully constructed and the staff is very friendly and service-oriented. After the tour, they serve samples of their Woodford Reserve Distiller’s Select along with tasty bourbon ball candy. After leaving Woodford, we stopped at a great authentic Mexican restaurant (El Charro) also highly rated online. All in all, an enjoyable day in the Bluegrass State!
Posted by TBW Travel Today!
