Can St. Joe Cave help Bardstown be the Bourbon Mushroom Capital of the World?

STAFF REPORT

HARRY MIATAKE

Tuesday, April 1, 2014 — Bardstown is known as the Bourbon Capital of the World, but can it also become the “Bourbon Mushroom Capital of the World?”

That’s the question that entrepreneur Harry Miatake will attempt to answer in the very near future here in Historic Bardstown.

In an email exchange early this morning, Miatake confirmed to the Nelson County Gazette that his company, My Old Kentucky Bourbon Shrooms LLC, has patented a process that infuses the flavor of an as-yet unidentified premium Kentucky Bourbon with a variant of the morel mushrooms commonly found in wooded areas following a Spring rain.

“We believe our 90-proof morels will be ideal for cooking in any number of Bourbon-themed dishes served at the nation’s top five-star restaurants,” Miatake told the Gazette.

The company will also offer morels with proofs of 86 and 80 proof. Miatake said his company is currently at work to add wheated bourbon and rye whisky Shrooms to their lineup of designer-flavored morels.

Perhaps the biggest announcement today was Miatake’s plan to locate his business in one of the city’s most historic locations: St. Joe Cave.

Mushrooms prefer dark, cool and moist environments, and St. Joe Cave represents an ideal growing environment for his specialty mushrooms.  “Bourbon-infused mushrooms are a natural fit with Bardstown, and where in Bardstown is there a location so perfectly suited to growing our product?”

Miatake plans to make his request to use the venerable cave system before the Bardstown City Council Cavern, Sinkhole and Drainage Ditch committee at its next meeting, 4 p.m. April 31. He also plans to approach Kentucky distillers to discuss licensing opportunities.

In the meantime, Miatake said he plans to purchase case lots of Kentucky Bourbon varieties and spend the next month locked in the company’s research facility with his research assistants developing taste profiles for future products.

“Drinking all of that Bourbon in the name of research is a tough job, but somebody’s got to do it,” he said.

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