Doodles with Bourbon, or a Day in Central Kentucky

Whether you drink it or don’t, love it or hate it, welcome it or ban it, there is no denying that bourbon holds a significant part of Kentucky’s history. Much more than fried chicken, despite the fact that when I tell someone I live in Kentucky, fried chicken is the first thing they mention. Even before horses, I might add.

Bourbon is something that truly puts Kentucky on the map and for good reason. The making of this spirit is quite an art that has been passed down for generations.  Ninety-five percent of all bourbon produced comes from right here in central Kentucky.

This weekend we had a birthday to celebrate, my husband’s. When deciding what he would like to do in honor of the big day, he quickly mentioned continuing The Bourbon Trail. Thus far, we have been to Woodford Reserve, Maker’s Mark, and Buffalo Trace (even though they don’t take part in the actual Bourbon trail promotion). This time we wanted to see Wild Turkey and Four Roses.

I’ll tell you a little about our day as well as sum up the one distillery you shouldn’t miss if you are in central Kentucky. First, however, let me tell you how we started our day.

Yes, let’s get to the food.

Doodles, in addition to its cute name and artistic roosters, resides in a building that was once home to a gas station. This is evident by the restrooms on the outside of the building.

It was then a liquor store and finally became a restaurant focused on serving mostly local, organic food with a slight New Orleans flair.

It’s difficult to find a word to describe Doodles. Unique, cute, original, whimsical, gourmet, old-fashioned yet trendy – they just don’t cut it. This place is all those things and more!

We were greeted by the most helpful hostess I’ve had the pleasure to meet and selected our meal from the menu board. We had studied it online so we knew what we wanted going in. Although the daily specials of a twist on a breakfast Monte Cristo and the French toast casserole were tempting.

For drinks we settled on cups of bottomless fair-trade, organic coffee. It should also be noted you can upgrade to a French press for two with coffee roasted in nearby Paris, Kentucky by Caffé Marco.

First came the beignets, coated in powdered sugar, deep fried to perfection as not to be heavy and greasy, but light and fluffy. I told my husband I could swing in for a couple baskets of these and some coffee on occasion and be a completely happy camper.

Oh, but my taste buds (and my eyes) were in for so much more.

Soon an artistic display of Huevos Rancheros came to the table. Being such a connoisseur of Kentucky farm fresh eggs, if there is such a thing, I had no doubt these were the real thing. Just look at those yolks.

They sat atop a flavorful pile of black beans and crisp corn tortillas. All was topped with red and green salsa, sour cream and a wedge of lime.

My husband went for the Corned Beef Hash with equally beautiful eggs on top. The hash was full of flavor and melted in your mouth. Alongside was a light and fluffy biscuit complete with Kentucky jam.

We left the place smiling contently and planning when we could return. Just remember – breakfast, lunch, brunch in Lexington – Doodles. You won’t be disappointed.

So with full bellies we took a drive out to the Wild Turkey distillery to begin the bourbon tasting.

I loved the sign driving in, but I do have to say that this particular tour was a bit…eh. Our tour guide was great, very knowledgeable which sometimes is not the case on these tours. We watched a video and got to see the storage facilities, but they have just doubled their production and the new facilities are not yet open for tours. In addition, they bottle out of state.

So lots to learn, but not much to see. Well, except for the warehouse. If you have never been inside a bourbon warehouse, put it on your to-do list.

All that goes into rolling the barrels, lifting them to higher rows and aging the barrels all in a piece of history that, let’s be honest, looks like it might tumble due to age, is pretty amazing. Then of course there is that wonderful aroma, deemed the angel’s share.

We saw barrels approaching 12 years of age next to brand new ones rolled into the warehouse the week prior. The whole process is intriguing.

A few interesting things we learned is that 50% of the bourbon Wild Turkey makes is exported outside the US, mostly to Australia and Japan. When we were in Ireland we took the Jameson Whiskey tour and learned their whiskey is aged in bourbon barrels from Kentucky. Our guide told us that they hold a contract with Jameson so the barrels used there are likely from Wild Turkey.

Small world in terms of spirits.

After a tasting, at which we took advantage of trying the single barrel and rare varieties, we headed to our next stop. I might add that being out at the distilleries on a Saturday provides a fun time to eavesdrop. Many people are out just to do the distillery tours in the area and come from all over the US as well as abroad.

Four Roses was our next stop and I was really excited about this one. This bourbon has been around for a while, but when we first moved to Kentucky they didn’t offer tours. We quickly learned the reason for this. For several years the bourbon was only exported to areas such as Europe and Japan. Although it was made in Kentucky, none was to be found in the States until it returned just a few short years ago after the brand had a change in parent companies.

The Spanish mission style buildings are well equipped for a tour and here you will get the real thing. We were able to see the fermenters and smell the mash. The only drawback is no aging of barrels or bottling is done on site, but it was still a great tour nonetheless.

After our tours my husband and I brought up the fact that one really does have to do almost all the tours along the Bourbon Trail to understand the entire process of bourbon making. Because the distilleries utilize different parts of the state for different processes it is difficult now to see all these steps at one single facility.

That being said, if you do want to see it all in one place, get a good explanation of bourbon history and understand what high quality, small batch bourbon is all about go to Woodford Reserve. We have done this tour twice since living in Kentucky and it is far and away our favorite.

So if you make it to central Kentucky in the near future drop me a note. I’ll meet you at Doodles!