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Barton's 1792

We arrived at Barton’s at about 9am on a Tuesday morning to take the Bushel to Bottle tour that started at 9:30am. This is the 1.5 hour tour that goes more in-depth than their 1 hour Barton Tradition tour so I can only speak to this one. My wife and I were the only two people on the tour which may have enabled us to do more than a larger tour so that should be taken into account.


The site is exactly what I imagine from a distillery. The whole works, rickhouse included, were in front of us as we drove down the hill. It’s all pretty compact so you can see everything and walk around it easily. Parking wasn’t too far away. We smelled the mash cooking as we walked right up to the visitor center and got our tour spots reserved.

Our tour guide, Amanda, first took us through the bottling room where we learned about their single-barrel product. We then walked over to the grain delivery area to get an up-close view of the delivery process. This was followed by an explanation of the milling process and a quick look into the milling room. Next, we looked at the column still at ground level before heading up to the catwalk to view the fermentation tanks from above. Amanda opened at least four tanks and let us directly sample sour mas
h at various steps in the distillation process. I loved this interactive aspect of the tour as I got to experience the fermentation process through tasting and viewing the mash. This was the closest I felt to being off of a tour and just experiencing the distillery. It’s similar to the recommendation that I received from a friend, Elijah (and I wouldn’t have gone without that recommendation so it was much appreciated). We then went one level down to sample the white dog whiskey before rubbing it over our hands and noting how its smell changed as it dried. Last, before our tasting, we walked over to the rick house to view the barrels doing their work. Again, Amanda led us through the building, answered all of our questions, and let us get up close to the process.

The tasting was fine but not my favorite. On the positive side, it was FREE. Barton’s (and Buffalo Trace) are owned by Sazerac. Sazerac’s tours are all free (which keeps them off the official Kentucky Bourbon Trail as a requirement to membership is charging for tours). This, on top of the excellent tour, made it a great value. And though these weren’t my favorite whiskeys, they were also my first two on the tour so I may have just needed to ease into them. I gave the tasting an average grade because though it was not my favorite, it was great for the price.
  
Overall, I would definitely recommend a visit to Barton’s, with a few cautions. First, Amanda was an amazing guide. The experience could have been different with someone else. Also, we were the second tour to leave on a Tuesday morning. Amanda mentioned that they’ve had as many as sixty people in a single tour on weekends which, I imagine, would create a very different experience as well. Finally, though I really enjoyed this tour, I’m not sure I would go back again. Other distilleries have an atmosphere that I would want to return to and hang out in. As much as the environment at Barton’s appealed to me personally, it’s not exactly the type of place you go to when you want to pass an afternoon.


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