Eats & Treats in KY

While on a (mostly) southern states road trip traveling from New Hampshire to Florida, we're sampling foods along the way. It's part of the road trip fun for us. Here's some recent experiences in various KY locations.

First, we are not whiskey or bourbon drinkers, but when in Rome (or in this case KY). 

That said, when you're visiting the Bluegrass state (as we did) you quickly learn that it’s known as the Bourbon Capital of the World. We met folks who had traveled from many there states to sample whiskeys on what's called the Kentucky Bourbon Trail®. This is a program sponsored by the Kentucky Distillers' Association (KDA) to promote the Bourbon whiskey industry. And from those we spoke to it seems very successful as many were repeat "trail" walkers.

Nothing mandates that bourbon must be produced in Kentucky, which dominates in distilling this corn-based, barrel-aged whiskey. According to the KDA, the state produces and ages approximately 95 percent of the world’s bourbon whiskey. Only whiskey produced in the State of Kentucky can be labeled Kentucky Straight Whiskey

We visited the Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, KY which was near our hotel and the only one nearby that offered free tours. 

Buffalo Trace Distillery, Frankfort, KY

Buffalo Trace Distillery is the oldest continually operating distillery in the U.S. During Prohibition, the distillery was permitted to remain operational, making whiskey for "medicinal purposes.” In addition to the free tour, everyone is treated to a complimentary tasting of Kentucky bourbon, not uncommon in distillery tours.

We learned that KY is the world's bourbon capital because of three factors: water, climate, and soil. First, KY has vast deposits of blue limestone, which filters out hard iron and imparts calcium and magnesium. Second, the state's temperature goes from chilly winters to hot summers which causes the charred oak barrels, which give the spirit its amber color and distinctive taste, to alternately absorb and release the whiskey. Third, the fertile ground there is right for growing bourbon’s second main ingredient, corn.

Buffalo Trace Distillery sits on 130 acres. The facility has a capacity of almost 2.7 million gallons annually, enough to fill about 51,000 barrels. This production flows into 14 bourbons, a handful of whiskeys, and a vodka brand the company markets.

The company brochure explains that the name "Buffalo Trace" refers to an ancient buffalo crossing on the banks of the Kentucky River in Franklin County, KY. The path used by buffalo is called a trace. The distillery's namesake bourbon is called Buffalo Trace Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey.

As of 1992, the distillery is owned by the Sazerc Company. Historically, it' had several names, including the George T. Stagg Distillery and the Old Fire Copper (O.F.C.) Distillery. In May 2001, under the Stagg Distillery name, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and designated a National Historic Landmark in March  2013.

Jim's Seafood & Steaks, Frankfort, KY

When dining out, our menu preference is usually seafood which made Jim’s Seafood & Steaks our choice for an early dinner stop in Frankfort, KY. It's called “the best restaurant by a dam” and is the only eatery in the area that can make that claim. It was built on the site of Kentucky River Mills hemp factory, which closed in 1952 and was the last hemp factory operating in KY. 

This casual, local restaurant was uncrowded when we dined there in late afternoon at a window seat overlooking the Kentucky river with a waterfall view by the dam. 

The family-owned eatery has served seafood made from scratch using family recipes for over 30 years. The menu is varied from shrimp, oysters, crab legs, lobster, scallops, to sirloin, rib-eye steak and chicken. Grenville's had grilled Boston scrod with wild rice and coleslaw andI had New England clam strips with coleslaw and a veggie. It wasn't the best seafood dining we've experienced, but the service was friendly and unhurried. 

During a walking tour of Frankfort the next day, we found Hoggy's Ice Cream (in truth, we looked for it). This locally-owned ice cream shop is at the corner of West Main and St. Clair streets and a March 2019 addition to the downtown area.

The ice cream served while was not home-made, but hand-dipped by a group of youthful and energetic young folks. There's about 20 flavors of ice cream with names like Superman, Sea Salt Caramel, Blue Moo Cookie Dough, and ice cream sundaes, banana splits, milkshakes — all good treats. That said we restrained ourselves to ice cream sundaes. (It was in the 90s, after all.)

Whoops, I forgot to take a photo of the sundaes we enjoyed. If you go, be sure to try the peanut butter chip and the salted caramel which were my choices. The mocha chip and espresso were also good according to Grenville whose only "complaint" was that he needed more hot fudge, but don't we all?

Not the next day, but a day later, we sampled homemade gelato at Spotz in Versailles, KY. This small and brightly decorated business advertises that its “Gelato mission is to create a taste of Italy with the very best ingredients the Bluegrass has to offer.” The business was started by a husband and wife in 2013 after leaving corporate careers.

Gelato is the Italian word for ice cream and we're admittedly ice cream fans first and foremost and have tried gelato but not as often. The gelato at Spotz was handmade with local ingredients from Kentucky farmers. The flavors are produced in small batches in a commercial kitchen in a local family farm without artificial additives or flavors. The company is a certified Kentucky Proud business. Be sure to try the banana pudding flavor.

Completing this post about KY eats and treats, here's another favorite we enjoyed in KY — White Castle. Our fondness for this fast-food burger joint was the subject of a previous post. We know WC from our native NJ, but (unfortunately) there are none in New England where we now live. Leaving KY, there was just off the interstate. We had to go there for lunch and weren't disappointed.

Thanks, as always, for virtually traveling along with us. We've been reading and appreciating all your comments. Our days are spent on the road touring and eves are spent posting about our adventures. Blog reading may fall behind, but I'll catch up as time allows.