Saturday, my beau and took a trip to Loretto to the Maker's Mark Distillery. It was a gorgeous day to open the sunroof and let the GPS do the thinking for us.

I'm a longtime Maker's fan, but I'd somehow never made the trip to Loretto. Every detail of the distillery tour was delightful, from the tollgate

to the journals detailing names that the Samuels family considered for their product

to quirky flower arrangements in Maker's bottles.

We actually arrived during the brief window when it's too hot to distill new product and equipment is being checked for repairs. How gorgeous is this brewing vat?

The bottling process was going strong, This conveyer belt full of freshly dipped bottles included a  photo paying tribute to Margie Samuels, founder Bill Samuels' wife, who famously helped create the brand.

We then moved on to the tasting, where four samples of Maker's awaited us. The white, an un-aged whisky, which tasted very similar to weak moonshine, original Maker's Mark, Maker's 46, and the Cask Strength, which has a very up-front alcohol punch. Very few things can top original Maker's Mark in my book, although the 46 is pretty delicious, with notes of creme brûlée.

After we tasted the spirits, there were some bourbon balls to try as well. I've never turned down a bourbon ball, and these were pretty fantastic.

Finally, we took a look at the amazing blown-glass ceiling installation that commemorated the label's 60th birthday. It was so amazingly beautiful!

After a trip through the gift shop, we walked around the grounds for a bit, then headed to the Toll House Cafe for a delicious barbecue sandwich.

I can't recommend the Maker's Mark tour highly enough! The grounds are stunning and the bourbon is delicious!