Local: (502)584-2121 It really is just that easy! We and our partners use cookies to Store and/or access information on a device. This rustic family-owned distillery is beautiful and well-maintained from its photo-filled visitor waiting area to the final tasting room. Top Mumbai Distillery Tours: See reviews and photos of Distillery Tours in Mumbai, India on Tripadvisor. Justins' House Of Bourbon. Exploring the property is as fun as tasting the bourbon in a cocktail from Counter 17. The entire experience is similar to the Buffalo Trace tour, even down to the tasting at the end where you request which bourbon you want to taste (limit 2) and take it back to a high-top table to enjoy. It would be an amazing anniversary trip! Our group of 15 or so had to hover around a small wooden bar, rushing through the tasting to make room for the next tour coming through. Thanks! Thats unbeatable. 21c Museum Hotel is probably your best bet for a little culture next to great food (Proof on Main in the lobby is a must-stop for brunch or cocktails) and comfy rooms. You might even spot Hall of Fame distillers Jimmy and Eddie Russell hard at work. Learn more about Buffalo Trace Distillery (Frankfort, KY). Enjoy your trip this summer! 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All Rights Reserved. Copyright 2015-2023 Champagne TastesAll Rights Reserved. And then theres the tasting room which leads us to. . Bourbon Barrel Tours (Miller Transportation) - Distillery Trail Thetasting glassis included in the tour price. If you are a resident of another country or region, please select the appropriate version of Tripadvisor for your country or region in the drop-down menu. Its also a dive bar so its incredibly cheap to drink here. We also offer a Suppliers Directory to help distilleries find the . Holy cow, I had no idea the Kentucky bourbon trail existed. Yes! The decor is an uber-dive bar with chalk graffiti everywhere, pinball in the back, a funky pool table, and neon everywhere. Future tours are currently closed for booking. Perfect for lunch or dinner,Talbotts Tavern, built-in 1779, is a site steeped in history. Basic shots and bottles of beer are a couple of bucks each. Jim Beam is one of the most recognizable names in Kentucky bourbon, which makes the James B. Beam Distilling Co. a must-experience for many. Learn more about Willett Distillery (Bardstown, KY). All of the distilleries in Nelson and Jefferson Counties have over 1.8 million barrels aged in 63 warehouses. The tours run from Tuesday to Thursday from 11 am to 4 pm, Friday and Saturday from 10 am to 4 pm, and Sunday from 1 pm to 4 pm. Then, if you're ready to plan your own distillery tour, you can click into the links below and see the greater detail of my experience at each distillery along with links and maps to the distilleries, or check out the entire 19 distilleries journey I took via my Kentucky Bourbon Trail Tour Guide and Planner. When our guide said "how long do you guys have?" Here are 16 Kentucky distilleries all bourbon fans should visit and don't worry, some even offer gin or vodka for those hoping for variety. ADDRESS: 1311 Gilkey Run, Rd, Bardstown, KY 40004. An impressive operation, to say the least. Theres a great, but small, whiskey and chocolate pairing thats definitely worth it as it leans into Angel Envys overall vibe. The mini-distillery is kind of there for show (the real distillery is out in Bardstown and totally worth the drive down), but whiskey is being made behind the glass as youre guided through the place. Great work! The distillery is in Owensboro, just across the Ohio River from Indiana. detailed directions on their website here: Makers Mark/Directions. What youll want to do at Fort Nelson is fill your very own bottle of Fort Nelson Michters Barrel Strength Bourbon straight from a barrel. Take a tour or enjoy a guided tasting at this Lawrenceburg distillery. Second, these guys really love the idea of being a small craft distillery. Theres a long bar up front and a lot of seating that stretches toward a backroom. A perfect spot to stop off in between Lexington, KY and Markers Mark out in Loretto, KY, Wilderness Trail is an up-and-coming distillery that digs into the science of making whiskey. Youll see a lot of the same bourbons available to buy at both locations. January 12, 2023 Bourbon Advertisement The Southern Bourbon Distillery Tour is a guided tour through some of the most popular bourbon distilleries in the southern United States. I am looking forward to visiting Kentucky this summer 2023. $22 per person tour and tasting; specialty tours available. The majority of the bourbon distilleries are spread throughout the regions of: Due to the distance between these regions and potentially conflicting tour times, it might be difficult to tour your 2-3 favorite bourbon distilleries in one day. If youre staying in Louisville, The Brown Hotel is my favorite, but there are lots of great hotels along 3rd street between W Broadway and the Riverwalk which put you right in the middle of Louisvilles downtown scene where you can walk to restaurants and other attractions. This is a real working distillery (thats not 100 percent true of a lot of the other whiskey experiences on the Row) and youre likely to see the Master Distiller actually making the whiskey youll taste after your tour. Go for a tour at Heaven Hill Bourbon Experience, in the maker's birthplace of Bardstown, for a behind-the-scenes look at its production process, stroll through the on-site museum, and enjoy a tasting at the Five Brothers Bar. Then make sure to peruse the art collection throughout the distillery for a bit of culture outside of whiskey. Named for the Kentucky colonel and third-generation distiller who advocated for his family's whiskey recipe in the 1800s, the James E. Pepper Distillery reopened in 2018 after being dormant for half a century. Kentucky Bourbon Distillery Tours & Tasting | Mint Julep Experiences Make sure to sample the barrel picks from behind the bar, especially if youre looking for a special pour from Wild Turkey or Buffalo Trace. Spotify The Castle itself stands as the main attraction, but the grounds also include a sunken garden and beautiful springhouse. Founded in 1935, Heaven Hill Distillery maintains more than a million barrels aging in 60 warehouses across Kentucky for a portfolio of brands. Kentucky Bourbon Distilleries Nearby | The Samuels House 2- Most of the distilleries are nearby either Louisville or Lexington. It was without question the most unique distillery tour Ive been on! A family-owned distillery, Willett is growing by leaps and bounds and they have an incredible selection of whiskies. Like Justins above, this is open to the public. It will take you a little effort to find it, way out in Loretto, KY, but it is a fantastic tour. Let me know if you've got more questions . Damian Lillard On Manipulating Defenses And Gives His Takeaway From The Nuggets Title Run, The Denver Nuggets Won A Title By Building Bigger And Smarter, The LOXs Sheek Louch Shares Unfiltered Stories Of DMX, Biggie, Diddy, Kiss, Styles, Projexx Revs Up His New Single Top Speed In A Charismatic UPROXX Sessions Performance, Fresh Pair Returns With A Special Episode Starring Bun B, Conan Gray Talks Texas, Viral Fame, And More While Breaking Down His How I Blew Up Story, We Blind Tasted A Whole Bunch Of $30-60 Bourbons To See If Any Could Beat Weller, We Blind Tasted Classic Bourbons And Were Shocked By The Winner, The Best Ten-Year-Old Bourbon Whiskeys, Tasted Blind And Ranked, We Tasted Bourbon Whiskeys Double-Blind And Tried To Guess Each Bottle, All The Double Gold-Winning Straight Bourbons From This Years San Francisco World Spirits Competition. I'm a traveler who loves to eat. Woodford Reserve (Versailles) $32 per person tour and tasting; $25 per person for tasting only; specialty tours and tastings available. 21 Comments. My extended family is from Martinique in the Lesser Antilles and it's where the acclaimed Rhum Agricole is distilled. Its an entire half of a chicken thats battered and deep fried and then drizzled with hot honey. Here, visitors can learn more about bourbon history and plot their distillery stops. Tours, as of May 2022, run in the $15 to $30 range per person. TheWild Turkey Touris as industrial as it gets. At the end of the tour, you are given 4 bourbons to taste: Ive really come to enjoy Blade & Bow, but Bulleit 10 Year is still my favorite of this selection. It is true that whisky improves with age. There's also an on-site restaurant with boozy milkshakes, poutine, chicharrnes, and bourbon-spiked bread pudding. Hi there - Handful of questions: Like most artisan distilleries that do not want to source Bourbon to create a brand, they started making vodka, moonshine and rum to pay the bills. 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The one special tour we had actually taken the time to reserve, unfortunately, turned out to be our least favorite:The Buffalo Trace Hard Hat Tour. Yes! Bulleit Distilling Co. opened its distillery to visitors in 2017, making it a relatively new addition to the Kentucky distillery scene, but the bourbon made here is based on family tradition dating back to the 1800s. Where did you stay? The distillery tour is very small, as Peerless is still a small-ish craft operation. Exciting Tours of the Kentucky Distilling Industry, An Insider's Guide to the Origin of Bourbon. Woodford Reserve is like the country club on this distillery tour. TRAVEL + LEISURE is a registered trademark of Travel + Leisure Co., registered in the United States and other countries. We were able to samplethree bourbons and keep the tasting glass. 2. Its a great hotel, not a luxury resort. There are 4 tours I think could stand on their own, if you just don't have time to hit more than a distillery or two, and this is one of them. Located just outside of Louisville, it's a nice stop off between Frankfort or Cincinnati and Louisville. This way, you not only get to see the distilleries and learn about the process of making bourbon, but you also get to taste a variety of different types of bourbon. The distillery is located in Clermont, where the first Jim Beam was distilled in the late 18th century. Without a tour, you'll still have a great experience sampling a flight at the cocktail lounge. To avoid potential confusion and arrive in time for your tour, Makers Mark provides detailed directions on their website here: Makers Mark/Directions. This micro-distillery and gift shop is located in one of downtown Louisvilles best preserved historic buildings. And yes!!! The lineup is very high-end and includes Old Foresters famed and fleeting Birthday Bourbon. Our weekend tours can book up many weeks in advance so remember to consider touring Mondays through Thursdays for greater availability. Copyright 2022 Travel + Leisure Co. All Rights Reserved. The House of Bourbon ( English: / brbn /, also UK: / brbn /; French: [bub]) is a dynasty that originated in the Kingdom of France and is a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. At the far east end of Main Street, youll find Angels Envy Distillery. Dining Tip: Eat Lunch in Historic Bardstown, 2. Come on over and tour the distilleries here- its so much fun! Located only five miles from downtown Louisville, the Bulleit Frontier Whiskey Experience is one of the most convenient and impressive stops along the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. They have a standard Trace tour, a Hard Hat tour, an Expansion tour, a Historic Landmark tour, and the Old Taylor tour. A "high-rye recipe" sets the spirit apart from others in Kentucky Bourbon Country. Call us at 502-233-9903 to discuss all the great possibilities. Forum posts were selected by looking for forum titles asking specific questions and taking the top showtopic page by total pageviews as the optimal topic. The Woodford Reserve tour is charming in every aspectfrom the old barrel railway used to move the freshly filled barrels to the rick house to the on-site bottling facility and visitor / tasting center. However, if you miss out this place gets busy and books tours months in advance you'll still walk away with a higher whiskey IQ after trying the bourbon varieties at George's Bar. The shop is in a historic building and really is an insider-only spot. They don't give you more than maybe one shot total (if that) at any of the distilleries (the samples are pretty small, maybe 1oz). Take a tour of Old Forester's Whiskey Row facility to learn how the 1870-founded brand ferments, distills, matures, and bottles its bourbon. Hi, I'm Sarah! Those looking for a well-rounded whiskey experience should start their journey at the Kentucky Bourbon Trail Welcome Center in Louisville. Most guests can visit about three bourbon distilleries per day. Starting at the far west end of Main Street, youll find Kentucky Peerless Distilling Co. the best place to start your Whiskey Row experience. Jim Beam Urban Still house expirence just opened. On tours, guests can learn about the history of the brand, dating back to the 1950s, its makers, and its centuries-old recipe. Well, any tour should be a good mix of craft and mass produced whiskey tours and some of the bigs are on the way. They run Tuesday through Saturday from 10 am to 5 pm. And finally, I love that this distillery was started by and Irishman Pearce Lyons who wanted to bring old country single malt whiskey to America. Youll end up here for a five-dram tasting of the core line. Required fields are marked *. You walk through every step of the barrel-making process from stave selection to charring the barrel. The Willet Distillery is perched on a hill overlooking the green valleys of Bardstown, Kentucky. All tours conclude with a bourbon tasting in one of the upstairs rooms on the recreated street of Whiskey Row.. Book your hotel FAR in advance, and call the distilleries ahead to find out what their touring schedule is for that weekend. An iconic brand known for its red wax-dipped bottles, the Maker's Mark Distillery in Loretto is a National Historic Landmark. Add a distiller's yeast to your cooked mash and transfer the mixture to the jugs to begin the fermentation process. Its pretty much perfect bar-food fried chicken and pairs awesomely with a tall boy of Coors Banquet and a pour of the Buffalo Trace Bourbon barrel pick. Selection New Month- are you going left or right? Thanks for sharing all this information, and I will be keeping it it mind for when we finally do go! Heaven Hill's Bernheim Distillery in downtown Louisville produces 1,300 barrels of American Whiskey per day, making it the largest single-site Bourbon distillery in the country. That means all the seafood from each coast stops in Louisville before it goes everywhere else in the country. But wine isn't the only beverage that has outstanding geographic regions! Youll want to collect those stamps from the various distilleries. If you dont think youll have another chance to try high-end bourbon, this is your chance! Tastings cost between $10 and $18 and run Monday through Thursday at 1:45, 3:45, and 4: . Keep in mind that most distillery tour times are from 9 a.m. or 10 a.m. to 3 or 4 p.m. Best whiskey distilleries in the USA, ranging from straight Bourbons & Rye and single malt Scotch to meticulously barrel-aged bottles. The bourbon tasting experience at the end of the tour leaves a little to be desired. This tour is recommended if you're doing 3 or more distilleries and want to get an impression of how a small craft distillery works. Check it out! As with all of these tours, the final stop is the destination of choice its where the tasting is. Ferment and Strain The Mixture. Travel + Leisure is published by Meredith Corporation under license from Travel + Leisure Co. Yes, this is the only distillery to include its own on-site cooperage. Most of the world's bourbon comes from Kentucky. Buffalo Trace has THE BEST tour variety of any other distillery we visited. The distillery is a mix of modern and street art and a full-on distillery and aging facility, which makes it one of the cooler destinations in the city. You won't be disappointed. Maker's Mark 46 Unveils New Bottle | Kentucky Bourbon Trail That, in turn, means that Left Coast and East Coast fish and shellfish are fresher in Louisville than, say, Chicago because no matter where its headed, it stops in Louisville first. Ready to sip your way through the Kentucky Distilleries along the Bourbon Trail? It was easily the most comprehensive standard distillery tour on the list. We decided to go for theconnoisseurexperience, and really enjoyed it. Louisville, KY 40202 1- We drove. The beds are very comfortable and the amenities are top-notch as well, but not mind-blowing. Learn more about Glenn's Creek Distillery (Frankfort, KY). Justins is also one of the best places in the country to score a dusty (old bottle from a bygone era). Per usual, each tour ends with a tasting. Beyond the bottle shop, theres also a very unassuming-but-great bar in the middle of it all. Whatever you do, remember that the first weekend in May is Derby Weekend. August 30, 2022 A Complete Guide to the Kentucky Bourbon Trail Everything you need to know to sample your way round the land of Wild Turkey and Maker's Mark. Amrut | Master of Malt This would be a fabulous, romantic trip for my husband and I (we love brewery tours) and we have always wanted to go to Kentucky and check out the scenery, eats and people! Terms and Conditions(function (w,d) {var loader = function () {var s = d.createElement("script"), tag = d.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.src="https://cdn.iubenda.com/iubenda.js"; tag.parentNode.insertBefore(s,tag);}; if(w.addEventListener){w.addEventListener("load", loader, false);}else if(w.attachEvent){w.attachEvent("onload", loader);}else{w.onload = loader;}})(window, document); my Kentucky Bourbon Trail Tour Guide and Planner, Kentucky Artisan Distillery (Crestwood, KY), AllTech Lexington Distillery and Brewery (Lexington, KY), Woodford Reserve Distillery (Versailles, KY). Oops! So plan ahead. The bottle shop will have limited releases and special single-barrel expressions you simply cannot get elsewhere. These distilleries make up the Kentucky Bourbon Trail! My hubby and I would have a blast. It was the hands-down favorite on both trips along the Bourbon Trail. I hope that helped a little!! New bourbon attractions are opening all of the time in Bourbon Country. Stay for some cocktails and enjoy the view. Thanks so much! Learn more about the Wilderness Trail Tour (Danville, KY). 101 W Market St, Louisville, Kentucky 40502 9.05 mi 601 West Main St, Lexington, Kentucky 40508 70.28 mi. Courtesy of @GoToLouisville Heaven Hill might not be a familiar name to you, but most likely, youve heard of some of their bourbon brands: While the website calls it a tour, its actually an informed tasting inside a room with a guide. The Speakeasy experience was sold out when we got there, but seemed similar to the Heaven Hill connoisseur tour (which makes sense, because Heaven Hill is the parent company for Evan Williams). The whole concept of a whiskey row is pretty self-explanatory on the surface there are several distilleries lined up along Main Street over a little less than two miles of road but beyond those whiskey experiences, there are also hidden bars, plenty of good food, and hotels worth splurging for. The older I get, the more I like it.. The best bourbon distillery tours in Kentucky offer a fun and exciting activity for people to enjoy. Distillery Tours - Bourbon Country Follow along to join me on my next adventure-- in food or on the road. Our weekend tours can book up many weeks in advance so remember to consider touring Mondays through Thursdays for greater availability. It's not all about the brown beverage here, either: Buffalo Trace also makes some tasty vodkas and refreshing sodas. Right is a Heaven Hill combo with the Old Fitzgerald 14 year and the Elijah Craig 18 year. $15 tour and tasting; specialty tours, tastings and classes available. Specialties: Named after the river that ripples and flows alongside it, The Elkhorn Tavern is a lounge and taproom for the Barrel House Distilling Co. to showcase our inventive cocktails using house-made liquors. If youre planning on just focusing on Whiskey Row on your trip to Louisville, you wont have to rent a car if you stay here. document.getElementById("ak_js_1").setAttribute("value",(new Date()).getTime()); Hi! SNX DLX: This Weeks Best Sneaker Drops, Including The AJ 12 Brilliant Orange, AJ 7 Chambray And More! Your tour will include private transportation, a fun and knowledgeable local guide along with admissions, tours and tastings at legendary Bourbon distilleries. Evan Williams is one of the cheapest whiskey on the shelves, so this might be the must-stop for every bourbon lover out there. This location distills the grains, and then theyre aged at the Four Roses Warehouse. Essential Information Location: 829 W Main St., Louisville, KY | 502-753-1699 Hours: Mon-Sat 10am-5pm; Sun 12am-5pm 1. Its tropical, boozy, and full of nuttiness that plays nicely with the Old Forester 1920 at the base of the drink. There is no excuse to miss this tour. Also, you can see them load the flat bed truck out front and hear them ring the bell (I think this happens around noon). Just remember to get a hotel downtown or have Lyft or Uber ready on your phone! This is where you get all the bottles you cant find at home or arent willing to stand in a two-day-long line for. Our tour included a walk-through of the large distillery area, a chance totaste the mash of fermenting grains, a view of the production line, a bottle label, four tastings, and a chance tohand-dip a bourbon bottle in their signature red wax. I have no idea, but they crammed it all in there. House of Bourbon - Wikipedia Theres nothing else quite like it in America. The rooms are bespoke but simple really, this is where the cool kids go to take selfies next to art, meaning the bedrooms are not the real draw. Read: Top Bourbon Tours In Kentucky. The tasting room is located on the other side of the fireplace wall of the visitor center, with a rectangular bar facing the fire. I heard complaints that they weren't offering anything exotic, but come on people, it is a free tour with some high quality whiskies offered! The Talbott Tavern is a uniquely well-crafted early American stone building and as a young boy Abraham Lincoln and his family stayed here. Note: I have no associations with these distilleries and they were not aware of my presence, thus these opinions were truly based on individual impressions. The world will always want a drink.. This in-depth bourbon distillery tour guide will take you through 9 of the best Kentucky distillery tours like Makers Mark, Woodford Reserve, Buffalo Trace, Four Roses, Bulleit, & more! 70cl / 50%. I probably learned more about the bourbon making process on that tour than with any tour I went on, mainly because we had such a freedom to ask questions and had such a great guide. Keeping family bourbon and moonshine recipes alive for more than 200 years, Limestone Branch is run by a couple of seventh-generation distillers. Louisville is full of hidden bars behind no-descript doors. While I was researching the Bourbon Trail, one distillery kept popping up theBuffalo Trace Distillery. Theres a killer bar with a great staff who can sense what your orderis going to be as the night wears on. The Bar at Fort Nelson is the bar above the Michters distillery. We can accommodate your customized private tour anytime. I took home a bottle, I liked it so much. Now a National Historic Landmark, Buffalo Trace Distillery welcomes whiskey drinkers to sip and learn about the history of bourbon production on a tour. They are rated really well and offer several packages to choose from with a driver to take you to the distillery region of your choice for the tours. All of the big bourbon names are here: Jim Beam, Woodford Reserve, Maker's Mark, Wild Turkey. Top 10 Kentucky Bourbon Distillery Tours - Whiskey Lore No distillery won my heart like Bartons. Nestor's Top 10 US Bourbon Distillery Tours - Nestor Liquor You can get a serious cocktail while contemplating that $500 bottle of Old Crow from the 1960s. Before we get to my favorite off-trail experience, here's a round-up of the newest distilleries that have been added to the official trail in the past few years. We're proud to have one of the largest selections in bourbon. The Lebanon location is a tranquil place to visit for an old-fashioned tour and a cocktail of the highest quality from the Minor's Lounge on site. Tour takes about 90 minutes. The Four Roses Distillery, unlike most Bourbon Trail stops, doesnt actually age ANY of their bourbon at this location. Barrel House Distillery was founded in the winter of 2008 by Jeff Wiseman and Pete Wright. countryside to vibrant downtown cities. Bourbon Trail Tour - A Guide to Visiting 10 Kentucky Distilleries Kentucky distillery tours, tastings, and experiences show visitors how spirits are made. Copyright 2023 Bourbon Country. The Restoration Tour. And of course, you get to sample a few spirits, and Buffalo Traces version of Irish cream. This list was updated and expanded with even more of the great bourbon distillery tours in Kentucky. Regardless of which tour you reserve (they offer 6), youre in for a great experience. Come with me on my Kentucky Bourbon Trail Tour (plus my favorite off-trail distillery)! These Are The Best Bourbon Tours In Kentucky Worth Your - TheTravel