Sampling Louisville with Bulleit and 21c

 

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The American Whiskey Tour led into Kentucky and Woodford Reserve, but before we hit more distilleries for Kentucky bourbon, we had some other sampling to do at some pretty renowned places in Louisville. There was the Pendennis Club for a tasting with Tom Bulleit himself and the 21c Museum Hotel where we got to taste a lot more than whiskey in one of the most unusual accommodations in the world.

The Pendennis Club has quite a history.  It was once an all men's club that only made exceptions  for events like Debutant Balls. It has also been the home of boxing matches by Louisville's own Muhammad Ali and meetings of the minds of the city's top business people.  But on at least one night it was the place where Kentucky Bourbon was explained and sampled with lots of fun. 

With the Bulleit distillery closed for renovation, the tasting was led at the Pendennis Club by Tom Bulleit, a colorful character whose great granddad Augustus was responsible for making this combination of corn (68%), rye (28%) and malted barley (4%) into the successful drink it is today.  Not quite as sweet as some other bourbon (Knob Creek has 80% corn, for example), the Bulleit formula is aged 6-8 years and tastes almost more like a scotch whisky -- drier, spicier and more woodsier. 

Though Tom Bulleit remains involved in his family company, it is now a property of the spirits giant Diageo, who has brought it through the markets of Japan, Australia, Indonesia, Scotland, Sweden and German, but managed to keep the taste in tact by continuing to produce it as a small batch product.

After the tasting it was on to dinner and drinks at our home for the next two days -- 21c Museum Hotel, recently named one of the top hotels in the world by Conde Nast readers.  This photo just gives a glimpse into the world of 21c you enter, even at the front desk. The hotel/museum is filled with unusually modern art (be sure to look at some more photos in the slideshow below).  The most interesting -- and fun -- part of the hotel, however, revolves around penguins.  These large plastic creatures roam (OK, they don't actually "roam") the halls/elevators/rooms of 21c until the next patron comes along to move them again!  It's an interesting game for guests to play as they wonder through this unique complex.

I could go on endlessly about the experience of staying at 21c Museum Hotel, but to get back to the wine and spirits travel, I need to focus on their menu. 

Proof On Main is the restaurant and bar at 21c where the food and spirits here change with the season -- and follow the same eclectic style as the hotel.   It is here you can purchase wines by the glass like M. Chapoutier Belleruche Blanc from France, Rayun Unoaked Chardonnay from Chile, Next Riesling from Washington State or Urban Uco Malbec from Argentina.  Or, you can taste cocktails like The Intuitionist, Sonny's Blues,  Snow Maiden or the Ernest Hemingway*.  Then again, you can just have a Fig Vodka Martini.  To get through all this, I strongly recommend filling your stomach while you are at Proof On Main tasting drinks. I can personally recommend the Beet Risotto and I heard the Grilled Bison Tenderloin was incredible.

Since this is Louisville, there is of course never a shortage of bourbon.  Proof On Main offers over 50 different kinds on the menu.  But I couldn't do too much sampling because I had to get up early for my tour/tasting of Maker's Mark and then Jim Beam.

Photos of Bulleit Bourbon at the Pendennis Club and the 21c Museum Hotel front desk by Marcia Frost. Vote for the 21c photo in the Solo Travelbug Contest.

*Check back for some of the recipes for 21c specialty drinks.