On a recommendation from friends who enjoy bourbon, Dick and I decided to follow the Kentucky Bourbon trail. The trail stretches from Louisville to Lexington and as far south as Bowling Green with destination points at bourbon distilleries as well as historic sites, towns, and restaurants along the way. I really do not like bourbon, but I figured the restaurants along the bourbon trail would serve a wonderful bourbon pie.
Since around 2005, bourbon has made a big comeback in popularity in the United States. Currently there are 14 distilleries in Kentucky with showrooms and tours of the facilities. Only fermented grains distilled in Kentucky can be called bourbon (in Tennessee they are called whiskey: all bourbon is whiskey, but not all whiskey is bourbon!) As with wine, bourbon labels now indicate the number of years it has been aged, and the bourbon is described by the “nose”, “palate”, and “finish”. There is small batch production and big prices. I tried drinking bourbon straight up which was too “fumy” (a friend told me it took her a year to learn to like it that way,) in a Manhattan, (too sweet, too strong,) and in a mint julep (the mint helps.) I liked it best in bourbon balls; the powdered sugar absorbs the fumes!
We spent most of our trip trying to find a bourbon pie. When we asked at one nice restaurant we were told that they could not serve a bourbon pie because “children eat here” (this was a very grown up restaurant, and we did not see any children!). At another “fine dining” restaurant we discovered we were in a “dry county” and they could not serve a bourbon pie. Hoping a third time would be a charm, we asked where to find a derby pie (which we thought surely would lead us to a pie that would use bourbon in the recipe) and learned that only the Brown Hotel in Louisville could serve that pie as the recipe is trademarked!
So, we hopped on the Urban Bourbon Trail and stopped at the Brown Hotel. We did order the derby “pie”, which turned out to be more like a square cookie bar cut diagonally and served with one piece overlapping the other and a dollop of whipped cream on top. The server suggested we pair the pie with an aged bourbon (at $125 a glass.) We chose a pinot noir, which was just fine. The server told us he was not aware that the pie had bourbon in it (but the recipe is trademarked after all!)
We decided to just roll with it.![IMG_1585[1]](http://peopleplacespies.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/IMG_15851-2.jpg)
Our last chance for a good pie was in Lexington where we met friends for dinner. The pie at that restaurant was a Key Lime Pie (been there and done that!) I continue to be amazed that areas of our country known for their special foods and drinks do not use them in their pies.
I mentioned to my friend Marla, who has lived in Lexington most of her life, that I had been looking for a bourbon pie. She graciously shared her recipe for a “derby pie” and told me I could add bourbon if I wanted to. I did, and here is her pie recipe, my way. The pie has the essential food groups, chocolate, nuts and brown sugar, and is made even healthier by adding the bourbon. Yummy! I had planned to share the pie with friends, but we ate it all within 24 hours.
People:
• Guides at the distilleries and in the tasting rooms. We learned to distinguish the small batch, well-aged bourbon from the cheap stuff.
• Abraham Lincoln. His stories and artifacts are a part of most villages and towns along the trail. I wonder what type of pie he liked! You can also follow the Kentucky Lincoln Heritage Trail (www.kentuckylincolntrail.org)
• Marla, an excellent pie maker with a great collection of southern recipes, and teller of humorous stories of being transplanted to Lexington from Illinois. Thanks to her, we finally had a Kentucky Bourbon Derby Pie
Places:
• The Kentucky Bourbon Trail http://kybourbontrail.com/
• The Urban Bourbon Trail http://www.bourboncountry.com/things-to-do/urban-bourbon-trail/index.aspx
• Hardin County History Museum in Elizabethtown. This museum has a worthwhile collection of Kentucky history, civil war artifacts, and Lincoln memorabilia. http://www.hardinkyhistory.org/.
Pie:
• Marla’s Pie with Bourbon (I will not call it Derby pie to avoid trademark problems!)
- Note: Makes 2 pies
- Crust
- Use the recipe from hattp://www.artofthepie.com to make 2 crusts
- Filling
- 4 eggs slightly beaten
- 1 cup light Karo syrup
- 1 cup pecan pieces
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- ¾ cup white sugar
- ¼ cup light brown sugar
- 1 T flour
- 1 stick melted butter, cooled
- 1 T vanilla
- 3 T bourbon (optional)
- Spread pecan pieces and chocolate chips on bottom of 2 unbaked pie shells.
- Mix the sugars, flour, butter, vanilla and bourbon and pour over the pecans and chips.
- Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. Pies will become firm as they cool.
