“Bourbon is a legacy of blue grass, water and Kentucky limestone,” Carol Peachee tells me when I ask what makes Kentucky bourbon so prized.
Limestone? Water? Bluegrass? What’s that have to do with fine bourbon?
Turns out it’s quite simple. According to Peachee, the limestone filters the iron out of the water as it flows through the rock, producing a sweet-tasting mineral water perfect for making the greatest tasting liquor. Limestone, with its heavy calcium deposits, also is credited with the lush blue grass the state’s prize-winning horses gaze upon — making their bones strong.
It’s been a long time since I took geology in college, but I do like the taste of good bourbon and the sight of stately horses grazing in beautiful pastures and the more I can learn about it all, the better. Which is why I love Peachee’s entrancing photographs.
Carol Peachee
I first met Peachee, an award-winning professional photographer, when she was autographing copies of her latest book, Straight Bourbon: Distilling the Industry’s Heritage (Indiana University Press 2017; $28). Creating beauty as well as a sense of yearning, her books, including The Birth of Bourbon: A Photographic Tour of Early Distilleries, take us on a wanderlust journey of lost distilleries and those now re-emerging from the wreckage of Prohibition. At one time, Kentucky had over two hundred commercial distilleries, but only sixty-one reopened after the repeal of Prohibition in 1933. Now, as Kentucky bourbon becomes a driving force throughout the world, once barely remembered and long closed distilleries are being restored and revamped and are opening again for business.
Using a photographic technique known as high-dynamic-range imaging ― a process that produces rich saturation, intensely clarified details, and a full spectrum of light ― Peachee hauntingly showcases the vibrancy still lingering in artifacts such as antique tools, worn cypress fermenting tubs, ornate copper stills some turning slightly green with oxidation and age, gears and levers —things we would never typically think of as lovely and compelling.
Traveling with the Book
Keeping copies of her books in my car when I travel to Kentucky, I love visiting some of the places and sites she’s photographed.
Her passion for bourbon may also have come about, in part, because she lives in Lexington, Kentucky which is rich in the history of bourbon making (and, we should say, sipping).
To get a taste of how bourbon connects to the land, when in Lexington, Peachee suggests a stop at the Barrel House Distilling Co. including the Elkhorn Tavern located in the old James B. Pepper barrel plant. It’s part of Lexington’s happening Distillery District. But fine bourbon doesn’t just stop in Lexington.
“There are so many bourbon distilleries now,” she says, noting that the heritage of good bourbon making is more than the equipment and the water.
“The cultural heritage of distilling also lays in the human culture,” she writes in the Acknowledgements section of her latest book, “the people who learned the crafts of milling, copper welding and design, barrel making and warehouse construction and then passed them on through the generations down to today’s workers and owners.”
And now Peachee has passed them down to us so we can fully appreciate the art of distilling
Town Branch Bourbon Bramble
2oz Bourbon
3/4oz Fresh squeeze lemons
3/4oz Simple syrup
5 Fresh blackberries muddled
Shake with ice, strain and pour over fresh ice in rock glass with blackberry garnish.
Town Branch Bourbon Mint Julep
2 oz Bourbon
8 mint leaves
1/4oz simple syrup
Dash of bitters
Muddle ingredients.
Add crushed ice with mint garnish and straw.
The above recipes are courtesy of the Lexington Brewing & Distilling Company.
When it comes to bourbon, it’s never too early to start making plans. So even though we have to wait until September, mark your calendars for celebrating Bourbon Heritage Month in Paducah, Kentucky. Paducah, a river town with rich past, is a UNESCO Creative City. And when it comes to bourbon, that creativity is on display at several of the city’s restaurants.
Barrel and Bond is a bourbon-centric bar in Historic Downtown Paducah, recently named one of the Best Bars in Bourbon Country according to Bourbon Review. The new bourbon and cocktail bar features one of largest selections in the United States, boasting more than 1,400 Bourbons and American whiskeys. Expertly curated cocktails and charcuterie boards offer a perfectly paired introduction to Kentucky food and drink. Take the bourbon experience to the next level by attending a meeting of the Paducah Bourbon Society.
Freight House, a farm-to-table restaurant in Paducah, serves up traditional Southern flavors, paired with locally sourced meats and garden-fresh fare. Freight House Paducah features a full bar and with a staggering selection of bourbons, as well as a seasonal rotation of cocktails and craft beer. Named one of America’s Best Bourbon Bars by The Bourbon Review and Buffalo Trace.
This cocktail, which has been a year in the making, is inspired by the Kentucky Buck cocktail. FoxBriar takes this ginger beer-based cocktail and combines it with the ratios of a French 75 to create something new and special.
While you’re waiting, here are some recipes to make.
The following recipes are courtesy of the Freight House in Paducah.
Freight House Fried Chicken
marinade
1 pt buttermilk
1/4 c hot sauce
1 T granulated garlic
1 T granulated onion
1 T granulated salt
breader
4 c flour
2 T smoked paprika
2 T salt
1 T cayenne pepper
for the marinade
mix ingredients together, then add chicken to marinate. marinate for about 4 hours.
to fry chicken
mix all breader ingredients into a bowl.
remove chicken from marinade and shake of extra liquid. dredge pieces one by one, shaking excess. make sure to coat chicken well.
let rest at room temperature for 10 min while you heat your oil.
heat oil on stove top to 360 degrees.
slowly lower chicken into oil and fry for about 5-8 minutes (depending on thickness. longer if you have a chicken that has the bone in it) to reach a temp of 160-165f. breading will have a golden brown color.
season with salt.
Champagne Chess Pie
ingredients
1 9 in pie crust (rolled, crimped, and chilled in refrigerator)
2 1/4 c sugar
1/2 t kosher salt
1 1/3 T yellow corn meal
4 1/2 eggs beaten well
1 1/2 T champagne reduction (see below)
1/2 T white wine vinegar
1 1/2 t vanilla extract
6 oz melted butter
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 325 F. combine the sugar, salt, and cornmeal in a medium size bowl and mix. add your eggs, champagne, vinegar, and vanilla and whisk to combine. add the butter and whisk again. make sure everything is well mixed with no lumps. it should be kind of thick.
Pour the mixture into your pie crust.
Bake the pie for 55-60 minutes on the bottom rack of your oven. the pie should have golden brown crust and be pretty firm when done cooking. You only want a little jiggle when you give it a wiggle.
Let it cool for at least 4 hours before serving. it can be cooked the day before and kept in the fridge. bring to room temperature before serving.
For champagne reduction: reduce 1 bottle (25.4 oz) of champagne to 3/4 cup. will hold in the fridge for months.
Freight House Deviled Eggs
1 dozen eggs
hard boil, chill, and split eggs in half (we cut ’em horizontally). remove yolks and set aside.
ingredients
3 e yolks
2 T salt
1 t granulated onion
1/4 c caramelized onion should be dark
4 T red wine vinegar
1 c vegetable oil
1/4 c sour cream
instructions
add all ingredients but the veg oil and sour cream to food processor.
process for about 1 minute.
slowly add oil. taste for seasoning. the base will be highly seasoned.
add the egg yolk and process until smooth.
add the sour cream and pulse to incorporate.
pipe into egg whites. garnish with caramelized onions.
