The Kentucky Bourbon Trail is not a trail in a true sense, but a collection of bourbon distilleries primarily spread between Louisville and Lexington. The trail itself officially consists of 16 distilleries, but there are also several other distilleries in the area that are not part of the official trail, but worth checking out.
The Kentucky bourbon trail has been on the list of places to check out for awhile now, so I figured Corey’s birthday was a perfect excuse to get down there. We spent about 2 ½ days on the trail and visited six distilleries. Read on for an overview of where we visited and some tips for planning your own visit to the bourbon trail.
“The world’s best bourbon is the one you like best.”
-As told by our tour guide at Buffalo Trace
A little legend about how bourbon came about…
It all started back when deliveries were made by shipping wood barrels loaded onto boats down the Mississippi River to New Orleans, and fish was one of the products commonly shipped this way. When they needed to get liquor shipped, they decided the wood barrels would work for this purpose as well. However, they didn’t want the liquor to smell like fish, so they charred the barrels first, then poured the still clear bourbon in. By the time it arrived in New Orleans, it was no longer white, but when they tried it, it had a nice caramelized flavor. And thus, bourbon whiskey was born.
Which distilleries are officially part of the bourbon trail?
- Angel’s Envy
- Bardstown Bourbon Co.
- Bulleit
- Evan Williams
- Four Roses
- Heaven Hill
- Jim Beam
- Lux Row
- Maker’s Mark
- Michter’s
- Old Forester
- O.Z. Tyler
- Rabbit Hole
- Town Branch
- Wild Turkey
- Woodford Reserve
What other distilleries should you check out?
- Buffalo Trace
- Willett
*Bold indicates the ones we visited
Where We Visited
Buffalo Trace
Buffalo Trace is not officially on the bourbon trail, but I highly recommend a stop there! It was the first stop of our trip, and remained one of the favorites throughout the whole trip. I loved the old industrial vibe of the property, and our tour guide was wonderful!
Highlight: Getting to see Blanton’s being bottled by hand
What Makes them Different: While they make some of the rarest bourbons (looking at you, Pappy Van Winkle), even their most affordable bottles are a great quality at a reasonable price.
Other Notable Brands: Blaton’s, E.H. Taylor, Pappy Van Winkle
Woodford Reserve
We almost didn’t make it to Woodford Reserve, but were able to squeeze it in on our last day. It’s one of my favorite bourbons, so I was thrilled when we were able to get the last two spots on a tour that left one minute after we got tickets. It was also one of the most beautiful distilleries we visited!
Highlight: The Horse’s Neck cocktail – simply sublime and highly recommended. They also have recipe cards, so this will be going into my regular rotation!
What Makes Them Different: Their bourbon is triple distilled, giving it the smooth taste. Most bourbon is distilled only twice.
Wild Turkey
We arrived to Wild Turkey a bit early, so we spent some time at the bar and tried a few cocktails. They recently debuted the Wild Turkey Ticket, which includes Wild Turkey 101, simple syrup, Grand Marnier Raspberry Peach, lemon juice, and bitters. It was a wonderfully balanced drink that is perfect for spring!
Highlight: Bubba, our tour guide, was a true gem. Matthew McConaughey may be the official spokesperson for Wild Turkey, but I’m pretty sure it it should be Bubba.
What Makes Them Different: They use the highest proportion of rye in the industry, which gives the bourbon its bold flavor
Four Roses
Highlight: The beautiful Spanish style buildings of the distillery. While I love the industrial, dark stone architecture of many of the other distilleries, the design of Four Roses is truly unique, and equally beautiful.
What Makes Them Different: Four Roses uses 10 unique bourbon recipes to create their line of products, many others use just a few, and some only have a single recipe.
Maker’s Mark
Maker’s Mark has a beautiful campus, nestled way out in the Kentucky countryside. For a bit, my husband was worried that I had typed something wrong into the GPS as we wound our way through narrow roads that should have been one-way only, down smaller and smaller side roads. However, a short time later, we turned on Makers Mark Road, and almost out of nowhere the campus unfolded in front of us.
Highlight: If you buy a bottle, you get to dip it yourself in the iconic red wax. Needless to say, we bought a bottle each.
What Makes Them Different: While most bourbon is a blend of corn, rye, and malted barley, Maker’s Mark replaces the rye with red winter wheat.
Jim Beam
Jim Beam is a staple among bourbon and maybe the first that many are introduced to. However, they also own several other smaller batch labels, including some of my favorites, such as Knob Creek and Basil Hayden’s. There is also a restaurant onsite, Fred’s Smokehouse. We grabbed lunch here, and I highly recommend the pulled chicken and the brisket!
Highlight: Bottling our own Knob Creek Single Barrel, one of my favorites! You also get to seal it off with your thumbprint on the top of the bottle.
What Makes Them Different: Jim Beam is the largest KY bourbon producer, responsible for about 1/3 of all bourbon coming out of Kentucky.
Other Notable Brands: Basil Hayden’s, Booker’s, Baker’s, Knob Creek
Plan Your Visit
The Kentucky bourbon trail is something that you can spend a day or two on or several days if you’re really into bourbon. I found that our 2 1/2 days was about right, although I would have liked one more day to be able to visit a few distilleries in Louisville. We were able to see most of our favorite distilleries and also made a stop at the KY Vietnam Veterans Memorial and bet (and lost) on a few horse races at Keeneland.
Due to driving time and to ensure that you can best enjoy the experience at each distillery, I’d recommend limiting your itinerary to 2-3 distilleries per day, although it would be possible to squeeze 4 into a day for some of those that are located closer together. Also, make sure you have a safe way of getting around between the distilleries!
The below itinerary suggestion is based on starting near Lexington and working towards Louisville, but can be easily reversed if you’re starting in Louisville.
Sample Itinerary:
Day 1:
Buffalo Trace – 9 am (no reservations required for the Trace Tour, and it’s free)
Woodford Reserve – 11 am
Wild Turkey – 1 pm
Four Roses – 3 pm
You can do all four of these in one day, but it will be a tight squeeze, with not a lot of time for time in the shops or other stops in between. It helps that the driving distance between these is only 15-20 minutes each. We were staying in the same town as Woodford Reserve, so ended up doing that one on our last day in town.
This could be broken up into 2 days or a day and a half with time to visit the Kentucky Vietnam Memorial and a stop over to Keeneland before moving on to other parts of the tour.
Day 2:
Maker’s Mark – 10am
Willett – 12:30 pm
Jim Beam – 2:30 or 3:30 pm (arrive early to have lunch at Fred’s Smokehouse)
Maker’s Mark and Jim Beam make for a fun, but busy day! Be sure to leave plenty of driving time to arrive to Jim Beam. We had trouble figuring out which building we were supposed to go to when we arrived and were 3 minutes late. When we got in, the tour had already left and we had to wait until the next tour with availability, an hour and a half later. Shortly after we got rebooked, we saw that their tours were entirely sold out for the day. It gave us time to grab lunch at Fred’s Smokehouse (I recommend the pulled chicken or the brisket!), but if they had already been sold out, it would have been a real bummer.
Day 3:
Bulleit Bourbon – 10 am
Angel’s Envy – 1 pm
Evan Williams or Old Forester – 3 pm
Many of the Louisville distilleries are located near one another, making it easier to squeeze a handful in. Helpful tip: Be sure to book your Angel’s Envy reservations ahead of time, as they book up pretty quickly, especially around the weekends.
General Recommendations:
- Take a look at the different types of tours offered – many distilleries offer just their general tour and history of the distillery. I thoroughly enjoyed comparing the differences between each of the bourbons, but consider taking advantage of more unique tour options. Buffalo Trace, Makers Mark, Old Forester, and Woodford Reserve are just a few offering unique tour options.
- Don’t have a lot of time? Choose just your favorites for tours, then swing by other close ones to take a walk around the distillery and grab a cocktail at the bar.
- Make sure to leave yourself sufficient driving time and schedule in a lunch break! While many distilleries are pretty close to one another, some of them are an hour apart.
- While all distilleries don’t require a reservation, I suggest making one unless it explicitly says reservations not required or that tours are on a first-come first-serve basis. Some of the distillery tours book up pretty quickly, so you want to make sure you can get in to see all of your favorites!
Have More Time? Here are some other great places to check out.
- Mammoth Caves
- Red River Gorge – Hiking and a top rock climbing destination
- Kentucky Vietnam Memorial – An awesome sundial tribute to Kentucky’s Vietnam veterans, designed so that the sun falls on their name on the anniversary of their death. Such an awesome monument, and well worth a visit!
- Keeneland – Lexington’s horse racing track
- Churchill Downs – the home of the Kentucky Derby
Need help planning your own itinerary? Want recommendations on where to stay? Reach out! I’d be happy to help!
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Beautiful! You captured us well. Thanks for sharing.
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