Kentucky 2015 – We're Here

As you come in over the Ohio River, you begin to see downtown Louisville out the window, lined with trees and those historic brick buildings that always remind me of Bourbon country (I just put this iPhone snap up on the Instagram page). The 981-mile waterway once played a major role in Kentucky's past, allowing for the swift transportation of goods aboard river steamboats. In fact, it's the reason that Louisville as a city even exists. The only hitch in navigating the river's transit were the falls, where weary water travelers needed to pull the boat over, come back on to land, and prepare to start again just down stream. It only made sense to build some sort of hub at that point on the Ohio River. A place to rest, get supplies, and take a break before heading back to the boat. That's how Louisville was born. 

On the other side of the river is Indiana—just a stone's throw from the Kentucky border. A little ways up river—where the two states meet Ohio—is the town of Lawrenceburg, Indiana where MGP distillery cranks out much of today's rye whiskey selection, and a number of fine Bourbons as well. I know people freak out when they see "distilled in Indiana" on the back of their label because they want real Kentucky whiskey, but in essence it's all from the same vicinity. It's all been traveling down the same river since the steamboats came in and made the transportation of Bourbon much more efficient, opening up new markets and spreading the word of the great American spirit.

And you can picture all of that as you fly over the Ohio River, into Louisville. A winding piece of American whiskey's history on display.

-David Driscoll