“Come with me and you'll be in a world of pure imagination” Willy Wonka.
When Wonka was singing Pure Imagination while he was introducing the families to the factory, the common belief is he may have been talking about his chocolate. I think he was really singing about Angel’s Envy. Don’t confuse me with the fact that Angel’s Envy was established decades later. I see the world through whiskey-colored glasses when it suits my needs. We could debate the finer details of that movie forever so let's jump into today's tale!
Angel's Envy is located in the heart of bourbon country, Louisville KY. Unlike a lot of other distilleries, it is actually located in the downtown area of the city and not off on a vast farm. To be honest, seeing old buildings tucked away in the outskirts does bring about a romantic image of what bourbon-making should be, but Angel's Envy has a prime spot to attract attention. Since Lindsay and I were currently living in Southern Maryland it was too far of a drive to Louisville so flying was our only real option. Easy right? WRONG! I can see the confusion on your face and hear you saying, "But people fly all the time?" Fear not dear reader because I will elaborate.
One of the biggest negatives with living where we did in Maryland was we were over 2 hours to the nearest airport. Now that sounds pretty bad but trust me it gets worse. That 2-hour drive is if we caught no traffic but it is in Washington D.C so we always caught traffic. Tons of traffic. We were prepared though. We were so excited to fly to Louisville for my 30th birthday and to tell my family that we had just found out Lindsay was pregnant. We left the house 3 hours before we needed to be at the airport. Since you are supposed to be at the airport 2 hours early, this meant we were leaving 5 hours before our flight. That should have been more than enough time but D.C had other plans for us. When we were still about an hour from the airport the traffic really started to pick up. We were losing a lot of time but at least the traffic couldn't get worse. Well just like what happens to everyone who thinks that...it definitely got worse. Our hour buffer had already been used so now things were getting stressful. Eventually, we crept up enough to see a toll road that we would hope would get us to the airport faster. The traffic was stopped so it was worth the risk. Lindsay was already looking for other flights while I paid $15 for use of a toll road for about 20 mins. Mercifully we made it to the airport, parked, went to ticketing, went through security, and got to our gate while they were already boarding and just as they called our zone. The moral of the story never live anywhere near Washington D.C. A quick flight later we were on the ground in KY and ready to enjoy the weekend!
Let me just start off by saying Louisville is a great town! It has a bunch of great restaurants and bars and plenty to do. I will get to the whiskey in a second but everyone already knows about that so I want to highlight the other activities quickly. First and foremost is Churchhill downs. I know nothing about horse racing other than the Kentucky Derby is the most exciting two minutes in sports. That was more than enough knowledge to appreciate the beauty and history of the area though. It was really cool to be on the track and get a tour of the grounds. Another great stop was the Louisville Slugger Museum. My wife and sister hate baseball I think they both really enjoyed the tour of the plant. This was another place steeped in a rich history that you could have spent all day in. Also, if you have read the Mizanura post you know how much I love the Mega Caverns. We didn't know about them this trip but you should go now that I am telling you about them. Enough stalling though! To the whiskey!
Obviously, the bourbon trail is packed with amazing distilleries but since we only had a couple of days we choose to tour my personal favorite. Angel's Envy. Lindsay and I plan on going to more in the future like Makers Mark, Woodford, Jefferson's, to just name a few. This trip, however, we had two tours planned for Angel's Envy. The normal tour of the distillery and a first in the bourbon industry to my knowledge, bottling your own whiskey experience. In this post, I am going to focus on the tour, and in my next post, I will breakdown the bottling experience and throw in a review of the Cask Strength we bought on that trip.
Since the distillery is downtown, parking can potentially be an issue. Every time we have gone there though, we have not had a hard time finding a place to park. There are a bunch of parking lots that let you pay by the hour. It works out because there is a lot of other sites and restaurants that are close by. It is a necessity to schedule your tour ahead of time because they tend to book up pretty quickly. We went on a weekend so that may have added to the crowds. As you walk into the building there is a small welcome area where you are greeted by one of the staff. To your left is the gift shop area where you can buy bottles of their whiskey, or shirts, or barware, and now barrel heads. It is a nicely laid out shop that I have spent far too much money in. You can hang out there before your tour is ready. They will then call everyone together and go over some of the basic safety and health concerns. Like be careful of trip hazards or don't try to taste the different stages of whiskey on the tour. You will then be lead by an extremely friendly guide into the factory. Every tour guide we met or passed while we were there was amazing so I don't think it matters who you get. Our guy was very knowledgeable and eager to answer questions. The inside of the distillery is a gorgeous backdrop as you learn about the history of the family and the company. It was started by Lincoln Henderson and his son Wes. Lincoln was a legend in the bourbon industry and had retired before Wes convinced him to start their own company. Thus Angel's Envy was born.
The tour takes you through the whole whiskey-making process from the grains to the finished product. We were able to see whiskey that was in every stage and they taught us what makes bourbon different. It was really cool to see the barrels being filled and watch the assembly line of bottles being filled as well. They also took us to another area of the plant where they store some of their barrels that are currently "finishing". That means after the bourbon has been aged, Angel's Envy does a second age in a different barrel that held port or rum to enhance the flavors. It was so interesting to see all the steps and learn how grain can be turned into the nectar they produce. No matter your whiskey knowledge you will walk away learning something new and will be engaged the entire time. The tour finishes in their private bar where they teach you how to taste whiskey. Here we were able to sample so of their whiskey and learn the proper way to smell and taste (with and without ice) to get all the flavor profiles of the drink. They also had little chocolates to show how that changes it. Lindsay, being pregnant, made me promise we will go back so she can do that portion. Being the good husband I am, I guess we can go back to my favorite distillery but just because she wants to! After that, we were able to order cocktails from their bar made with their whiskey and hang out until the next tour came through. Unfortunately, we were unable to do that portion because we had to get to the bottling experience. I will describe that in more detail in the next post!
If you ever get the chance definitely head down to Louisville and check out all the cool things that the city has to offer. While your there exploring the bourbon trail, I highly recommend a stop at Angel's Envy!
Cheers!
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