Join Noelle and Tom Crowe on pilgrimage to the cradle of American Catholicism west of the Appalachians. This pilgrimage is limited to 12 pilgrims.
In the 1780s and 1790s, a large number of Catholic families moved to the area around Bardstown, Kentucky to live in greater freedom than they had experienced in southern Maryland. They moved in such large numbers that when the Church in America looked for a place to establish the first diocese west of the Appalachian Mountains in 1808, Bardstown was the natural fit. The area also saw the first Dominican priory in the U.S., the first Trappist monastery at Gethsemani, the first cathedral and seminary west of the Appalachians, and the first religious order original to the U.S., the Sisters of Loretto. This holy place is still predominantly Catholic.
At the same time that these Catholic families came to Kentucky, those farmers who already lived in the area were developing what we know today as bourbon whiskey. Some of these Catholic families adopted this new distilled spirit and became some of the earliest, and most successful bourbon makers — Jim Beam, Wathen, Willett, Medley, J.W. Want, and Calvert among them. The leader of the Catholic families who came out to the region was none other than Basil Hayden, for whom at least two bourbon lines are named — the Basil Hayden line of small batch whiskeys, as well as the Old Grandad label. Both of those are made by the Jim Beam company today.
Join us as we visit so many holy sites, American Catholic "firsts," as well as the tombs of two likely saints (Bishop Benedict Joseph Flaget and Mother Catherine Spalding). We also visit five or six distilleries for tours and tastings, and we sample some of the best local cuisine.
This truly is a pilgrimage to remember.
Also check out other Food & Drink events in St Matthews.
