What fun! An 11 a.m. start didn’t deter any of the group from having a sip of bourbon. They nicely paced the tastings so you had just a bit at intervals while learning about the bourbon making process. Willett is definitely “old school,.” A family business that depends on the tasting and blending skills of just one person (the husband of a Willett daughter). Made me wonder if they are “training” the next generation some how (all under 21!)
The 2nd photo above shows a vat of “mash” — the mixture of corn (at least 50% to be a bourbon), barley, wheat or rye and water. It cooks to create alcohol — the bubbling vat in the 3rd photo shows the change. The alcohol that’s created is not all the kind of alcohol you can (or want!) to drink (that’s called ethanol). The other alcohol is separated into a vat called “Heads & Tails” show in the first photo.. Heads contain toxic compounds like methanol (wood alcohol) and acetone (nail polish remover!). Tails are harsh, smelly and oily (but they won’t blind or kill you).
Two shots I couldn’t resist….kitty cats relaxing near the kitchen. Maybe they do some tasting of their own? And a British chap with a sense of humor after England’s World Cup defeat. He told me he wears the shirt, usually, on the 4th of July:-)