Page 169 - WINE DINE AND TRAVEL EATING IBERIA

JustoutsideLexingtonarethefamedbourbon
distilleries of Woodford Reserve, Buffalo Trace,
Wild Turkey and Four Roses, to name just a few,
and each of these offers tours and tastings.
Or you can do what we did and visit Justins’
House of Bourbon (thehouseofbourbon.com), a
shop and tasting room that opened just in 2018,
offering“thelargestdiversecollectionofbourbon
in the world,” co-owner Justin Sloan told us. With
his partner, Justin Thompson, the Justins took
their extensive collections public and even built a
secret Speakeasy Room. It may cost $500 to enter
this room for a customized tasting, but with five of
us splitting the cost, it was worth the experience.
“We loved educating on bourbon history and
how to taste it,” Sloan told us. “We carry bourbons
from pre-prohibition days to today; the highest
price of one bottle is $40,000.”

Brian Booth was our palate guide in the
SpeakeasyRoomthatliessecretivelybehindaglass
display case. He instructed us how to taste bour-
bon: “First, put your nose in the glass. Then open
your mouth and sniff with your nose. Then breathe
through your mouth,” he told us. “Then there is the
three-siprule:onecoatsjustthetoppalate,thesec-
ond is bigger and the third is biggest.”
You may also sip some at Jeff Ruby’s (jeffruby-
.com/lexington), a new steakhouse in Lexington
that is already popping with popularity. Jeff Ruby
opened his first restaurant in Cincinnati in 1981,
added three more there, then branched out with
his steakhouses in Louisville, Nashville and now
Lexington.
So we headed to Kentucky for more biscuits and
bourbon — and those blue horses. Its“high-energy,upscaleatmosphere”wowed
us at entry, and the prime steaks, seafood and
Kentucky is known as the “Bluegrass State” for
sides were the classics of a great steakhouse.
its special species of grass that feeds its famed thor-
oughbred horses. And Lexington, a most sophisti- The next day we went looking for those blue
cated and cosmopolitan destination, is known as the horses … well, horses anyway. And now Lexington
“Horse Capital of the World.” offers the real thing to horse aficionados —
whether they are on a track or off.
So all over Lexington you’ll find images and like-
nesses of “Big Lex: The Blue Horse.” There’s a legend
here that says a horse named Big Lex turned blue Top: A sampler of savory bites at
from grazing in those bluegrass pastures… Honeywood in Lexington, a locals’ favorite,
includes sweet potato beignets, country ham
That bluegrass thrives on the limestone that lies biscuits, fired oysters with bacon jam, baked
beneath the soil in this region. And that limestone cheddar dip with dippers.
provides a perfect filter for the water that makes
Kentucky’s famous bourbon.

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