5 minute read
Distillery Spotlight - Woodford Reserve
The drive to Woodford Reserve is a beautiful one. You travel through the countryside, down a winding road boarded by well-maintained white fences, beyond which lie green fields.
The road eventually deposits you in front of a rustic white chapel only a few blocks fromWoodford.
Advertisement
The distillery welcome center is built from wood and stone. The two primary building blocks that comprise the vast majority of the historic distillery.
We were able to link up with Woodford's very own Katie Farley for a walkthrough of what makes Woodford such a unique and well-known brand.
A lengthy stone staircase cuts down the hill from the welcome center leads you to the distillery grounds. It's like walking back in time. You can feel the history around you as you stand before stone buildings over 150 years old.
You're immediately greeted by a full sensory experience built for lovers of whiskey andhistory.
You can smell the faint scent of cooking mash, the stone, the river, and the foliage. You can hear the sounds of barrels being rolled down rails and the faint echoes of machinery churning out that beautiful amber juice we all love. And you can see the wear of the years on the faces of the stone.
Katie brought us into the still room where three massive pot stills are turning mash into white lightning before it's placed into barrels.
The stills truly are a sight to behold and you can feel the heat pouring off of them. It's a great place to be during a cold Kentucky day.
Katie also let us know that the pot still helps add the unique flavor to the Woodford line, as many distilleries have moved to more modern and efficient distillation methods to improve production and reduce cost.
However, Woodford is not taking the easy route. They are taking the path that they feel produces the bestwhiskey.
The mash room is dominated by these beautiful wooden mash cookers. Again, many distilleries have turned away from using wooden cooking vats because metal has been proven to make a quicker and simpler process of cooking mash.
Woodford has preserved their method of mash cooking to continue to mirror their pension for preserving heritage. The mash is actually a much more rich golden color than we've been used to. Katie said that's because of the slower and more controlled methodology when it comes to handling the mash.
Woodford adds additional time to the cooking andfermentation. Again, asserting their care for the craft. The smell is also different than many other distilleries, as you can both smell and taste some citrus notes in the mash which surprisedus.
There are multiple different types of warehouses in which Woodford's whiskey is aged. This is because the distillery has been continually expanded over the years. However, the scope and beauty of them can't be overstated.
The warehouse is cooled by the stone in the summers, and insulated in the winters, but not so much as to compromise the aging process of the whiskey.
The more modern warehouses have been fitted with massive ricks upon which barrel after barrel are stacked to mature until they have been deemed ready to be blended into a Woodfordexpression.
There is no "specific time" for which the barrels are aged, as each one is allowed to rest until they have the desired notes and age for their blend.
The barrels are rolled down old rails between the buildings. From cooking their mash, to aging, to transporting their barrels, everything is done the old fashioned way.
It really is an impactful display of their heritage to be on a tour and be stopped at the rails to watch barrels of whiskey roll past you.
Katie was wonderful when it came to describing how the preserved distilling processes and extra effort put forth into their products is an affirmation of their direction both for their brand and their operation.
Easy isn't always the answer at Woodford.
We were lucky enough to be surprised with a visit from Woodford's master distiller, Chris Morris.
He started his whiskey career in 1976 as a trainee at the Brown-Foreman central lab. In 1977, he apprenticed to Lincoln Henderson. Woodford's first master distiller. In 2003, Chris took the reigns and has been responsible for some incredible releases, such as Woodford Double Oaked Rye and the Master Collection.
He knows his whiskey. To Chris, intentionality and patience are the name of the game. He said that Woodford takes a unique approach to crafting their products. They start with the end consumer in mind and reverse engineer what those people prefer, and then find the aging, wood, grains, and cooking methods that will produce it.
He believes being intentional with each of these steps and not cutting corners is crucial to Woodford's success.
The last of our time at Woodford was spent with Katie testing their portfolio of products and talking about the whiskey climate and shifting consumer preferences.
We found that each of their products carried a delicious uniqueness to them. The rye is beautiful in that it isn't nearly as spicy as you'd expect. It has a nice earthy and complex palate.
Another favorite was the Double Oaked Rye. It has a very unique profile with notes of dark chocolate and toasted oak that compliment each other nicely. It's an easily drinkable pour that doesn't sacrifice flavor for smoothness.
If you're ever in the area and are looking for a truly unique place to visit on your own distillery tour trail, ensure that you make time to stop at Woodford Reserve.
P.S. Don't leave without trying their bourbon cheese spread.