Kentucky offers the unique opportunity to tour and visit bourbon distilleries across the Commonwealth. A new experience has emerged in the industry with the popularity of bourbon blending, which enables visitors to create their own personalized combination of flavors in one bottle.
The fundamentals of making bourbon—starting with federal standards of having 51 percent of corn in its mash bill, through the minimum two-year aging in a new charred-oak barrel—are non-negotiable. But those in the industry have found ways to customize bourbon-making by aging the spirit longer or changing the finishing process.
Several distilleries offer new experiences for visitors. We found three locations in Kentucky where guests can mix bourbons, varying the components, to come up with a blend that pleases their palates. Visitors who really like their custom blend can bottle it, personalize the label, and take it home.
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Wenzel Whiskey
Wenzel Whiskey in Covington is transforming a historic building into a distillery and plans to have its own bourbon on the shelves in about five years. Meanwhile, the owners have created an event space in the building next door, where they offer blending experiences. With bourbon sourced from other distillers across the country, visitors can create their own blend.
“Instead of having one DNA, we went and bought 10 barrels of this and 20 barrels of that and six barrels of this, so we have a variation,” said Bill Whitlow, brand ambassador for Wenzel Whiskey.
Whitlow explained that guests start the blending experience with the tools they need—blending glasses, a graduated cylinder and a whiskey thief—plus two Kentucky bourbons and two out-of-state bourbons at their disposal.
The guests then try different blends until they come up with a combination they really like.
“There is a whole lot of trial and error,” Whitlow said. “We always say two great barrels don’t necessarily make one great bourbon.”
Whitlow said that Wenzel hosts many groups, and after individual guests do the blending, they have a friendly competition to choose the favorite of the group, and that is the one that is bottled for the group members to take home.
“Sometimes, guys on a bachelor party come in, create a blend, and then they serve it at the wedding,” he said. “It is a fun way to spend some time together.”
Barrels & Billets
Barrels & Billets is a blending experience in downtown Louisville that uses its own bourbons, which include the original, called J. Frederick, along with the Home Plate Series: Lucky Lumber, Lead Off and Smokin’ Fastball. Did you catch the ties to America’s favorite pastime in these names? Bourbon & Billets is located beside the Louisville Slugger Factory and Museum. Visitors taste the varieties and then blend their own bourbon, which they can have bottled to take home. Along the way, they learn about the connection between bourbon barrel wood and baseball bat wood. The location of Louisville Slugger on the street known as Whiskey Row is no accident.
J. Mattingly 1845 Distillery
As the crew members at J. Mattingly 1845 Distillery in Frankfort patiently wait for their bourbon to age, the distillery offers blending experiences with sourced bourbon.
“Our guests are surprised to realize that it is not as hard as it seems,” said Dakota Towles, head of blending experiences at J. Mattingly. “You hear about what distillers do and how complicated it is, but if you start out by using bourbon you already like, it is easy.”
The guest bourbon blenders choose from four mash bills—two local bourbons, a rye and an American light whiskey—and use the one they like best as their base. Towles said the fun part is adding other combinations to the base to come up with the most pleasing flavor. When they have decided on their finished product, they can truly make it their own by choosing the name that will be written on the label, the bottle shape, and the color of wax to seal it.