I’m finally getting back to looking at some of my photos from our visit to Kentucky in …. oops, September!?  How did that happen?  Our first stop was at the Jim Beam Distillery in Clermont, Kentucky.

Every distillery seems to have their own “claim to fame” in terms of being first, longest, oldest, etc.  But it’s hard to argue with a company that can say “Jim Beam is the World’s No. 1 Bourbon.”  And you would be hard pressed to find a distillery in Kentucky that doesn’t trace it’s history back the Beam family line in some way.  In fact many and perhaps most of the Master Distillers at Kentucky distilleries today either have the last name of Beam or are somehow descended from the family.

For many people, Jim Beam is synonymous with Bourbon.  In fact, that’s what we drank almost exclusively until we started exploring other brands.  Like anything, there are lots of choices, but ultimately it comes down to preference and choice.

When we last visited about 10 years ago, Bourbon had not become mainstream like it is today, and the visitor areas consisted on a small tasting room and gift shop.  Today, the company has built a huge gift shop, tasting room and museum and is very user friendly.  The tours are let by very knowledgeable guides, and very little is “off limits.” Photos are encouraged and welcome, which is a refreshing change from some of the places we visit.

I didn’t end up taking many “artsy” photos, but between my phone and my camera I did end up with quite a collection.  These are just a few of my “blog-worthy” photos.

For anyone interested in Bourbon and just a nice, friendly old fashioned place to visit, you can’t get much better than Jim Beam!