A distillery dog ​​with a nose for truffles – Garden & Gun

In late December, Amanda Humphrey and her dog, a Lagotto Romagnolo named Star, visited NewTown Truffiere, Margaret Townsend’s twenty-five-acre truffle orchard outside Scottsville, Kentucky. Humphrey, who oversees guest experiences at Maker’s Mark’s Star Hill Farm, had brought her then-sixteen-month-old pup for a truffle hunting lesson from Townsend and her trained Lagotto, Luca. “I was talking to Margaret, and Star came up behind me with a truffle in his mouth, like he was saying, ‘Mom, is this what you’re looking for,’” Humphrey remembers. “Then he lay with his nose against the ground. It was like a switch turned on.”

Star is now the truffle hunter of Maker’s Mark’s 1,100-acre ranch in Loretto, Kentucky, which is open for tours and home to a white oak research forest, honey, mushrooms, Wagyu cattle, herbs and, yes, native Southern truffles. In addition to incorporating other farm-raised ingredients into its food and beverage offerings, the distillery is working to expand its truffle program, where Star will shine.

Maker’s Mark’s Star Hill Farm.

Initially bred in Italy during the Renaissance to catch waterfowl, the Lagotto transitioned to the role of truffle dog when duck hunting declined in the 19th century. Truffle hunting has long been a lucrative pastime in Europe, with successful sites kept as closely guarded secrets and often passed down from generation to generation. Pigs were traditionally used to hunt for truffles, but someone walking into the woods with a pig stood out – and the pigs also tended to burn away the treats as quickly as they found them. Enter the Lagotto.

While other breeds can be trained to hunt truffles, Lagotti are particularly suited to this task due to their keen sense of smell, intelligence and drive. Star comes from a breeder in Kentucky whose line also includes a Best in Breed winner at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. “We don’t necessarily need show dogs to be good truffle dogs,” says Townsend, “but we need dogs with good structure and endurance because they work hard in the field.”

When a trained Lagotto steps on a truffle, it moves back and forth to locate the edges of the cone-shaped scent emerging from the ground and follow it to its source. He will then lightly paw or point to mark the spot so his handler can gently dig up the prize – and the dog can earn his reward. Humphrey says Star’s favorite are training treats are pieces of Kenny’s Farmhouse Cheese (made in Austin, Kentucky) and pieces of country ham. “He’s such a Kentucky truffle hunter.”

Star of Périgord truffles found during a hunt in NewTown Truffiere in Kentucky.

While the Pacific Northwest remains the site of truffle hunting in the United States, truffle cultivation and native varieties are gaining ground in the South as more chefs incorporate them into their kitchens. “Our weather patterns and climate in the Southeast – in Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina and Virginia – are very similar to the Périgord in France,” Townsend says. “So we have a huge advantage in the South for truffles.”

Compared to the large black truffles found in southern France, native Appalachian truffles (Tuber Canaliculatum) are smaller and more compact with a distinct aroma and flavor, Humphrey explains. “They have notes of a funky, runny French cheese – in a good way – with a delicious umami flavor,” she says. “They work wonderfully with bourbon.” Using truffles that Star unearthed during more recent trips to Townsend’s orchard, Maker’s Mark mixologists created a cocktail that included Campari, a Louisville-made pecan liqueur, and fat-washed bourbon made with truffle-flavored butter.

When Humphrey first invited a truffle hunter and his Lagotto to visit Star Hill Farm in early 2020, she didn’t expect much. But after a few minutes of sniffing around the base of what is known as the “mother tree,” a giant white oak estimated to be at least three hundred years old, the dog found a stash of wild truffles. “We sent them for testing and discovered that they are part of the family to which pecan truffles belong (Tuber Lyonii), but a species that does not yet have a name,” says Humphrey. “We are in the process of calling it the Kentucky Winter White Truffle.” The distillery recently planted a four-acre orchard with trees inoculated with spores of Appalachian truffles. Kentucky Winter Whites. The annual conference of the North American Truffle Growers’ Association will take place here in October.

Although it will be at least five years before the orchard starts producing, Star remains busy honing his skills on the Townsend property and sniffing out wild-growing truffles on the farm. When he’s not hunting, distillery guests can usually find him in his large kennel across from a small mushroom pit, or touring with Humphrey. (It gives ample room to the distillery’s cat, Whiskey Jean, whose favorite spot is a chair in the visitor center.)

The rest of his time he spends time at home with Humphrey and her English bulldog, Albert. (Humphrey grew up in Britain, after all.) She says Star often curls up on the center console of her truck with his head against her shoulder and falls asleep on the ride home. “He is obsessed and has so much drive,” she says of his enthusiasm for truffle hunting. “He runs circles around Albert, but they get along great.”