On the trail of Kentucky bourbon

A bucket of ice, two samples of bourbon and a bourbon-ball chaser welcome visitors to the tasting room at Woodford Reserve Distillery.  (Benjamin Chandler / Chicago Tribune)

Workers in the bottling house at Buffalo Trace Distillery attach labels and ornamental corks by hand.  (Benjamin Chandler / Chicago Tribune)

Thousands of oak barrels hold a total of 400,000 gallons of aging whiskey in warehouses, also called “rickhouses,” at Buffalo Trace Distillery.  (Benjamin Chandler / Chicago Tribune)

Bottles of Woodford Reserve, a 90-proof straight bourbon whiskey, are displayed at the distillery’s visitors center in Versailles, Ky.  (Benjamin Chandler / Chicago Tribune)

A copper-pot still is one of three that’s used in the triple distillation process at Woodford Reserve.  (Benjamin Chandler / Chicago Tribune)

At Willett Distillery in Bardstown, Ky., seven fermentation tanks each “cook” 10,000 gallons of mash, yeast and water for three to five days.  (Benjamin Chandler / Chicago Tribune)

“Rickhouses” guard the precious aging whiskey at Willett, a craft distillery in Bardstown, Ky.  (Benjamin Chandler / Chicago Tribune)