A Complete Guide to the Kentucky Bourbon Trail
Bourbon. I’m not going to lie, I haven’t always been a big brown liquor fan, but after heading down to the motherland and making my way through The Kentucky Bourbon Trail, I’ve got a special place in my heart for the stuff.
Now, if you’re wondering what the heck the “Bourbon Trail” is, no, it has nothing to do with running, hiking, or any sort of exercise (don’t let the word “trail” fool you), and yes, it has everything to do with drinking. It’s basically a self-guided, alcohol-infused tour through Kentucky’s bourbon distilleries where you stop to tour and taste along the way. There’s a map you can use to guide your journey, but as they say on their website:
“Your journey on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail begins and ends wherever you’d like.”
Dan and I did our first tour through the trail a few years ago with my friend Kim and then we headed back this past summer with our friend George (drinking trips are even more fun with friends). Now that I’ve been a few times, I feel like I have a pretty good lay of the land and a solid list of recommendations that I’m happy to share.
General Tips
When To Go: I’ve gone down for Memorial Day Weekend and Fourth of July Weekend and both were great (plus all distilleries seemed to be open on the holidays themselves which was a plus). July was definitely pretty hot, but because you’re inside a lot at the distilleries, it didn’t feel so bad most of the time. May was definitely a bit more tolerable temperature-wise though.
How Long to Go For: There are so many distilleries in Kentucky, so many. You could spend a few weeks straight down there trying to hit all of them, but in my experience, I’ve found that 3-4 days seems to be just right. You could even do shorter if you’re flying in, but we road-tripped it down from Ann Arbor (about a 5-hour drive) so it made sense to make a long weekend out of it.
Where to Stay: Lousiville and Lexington are both good home bases for Bourbon Trail exploring and only about an hour apart from one another. The first time we went down we stayed in Lousiville, and it was a cool city, but this last time we switched it up and stayed in Lexington and I absolutely fell in love. It is such a charming southern city and the people there were some of the nicest and friendliest I’ve ever met. We were all completely smitten.
How to Get Around: While I’m sure there are plenty of guided tours that cart you around, we opted to drive ourselves both times and it worked out fine. Most distilleries are a bit of a drive from one another and a lot of them require that you take a tour (which are typically about an hour or so) in order to taste—and the tastings are only about a shot’s worth of liquor. Basically, you end up driving for a bit, then taking a long-ish tour, then casually sipping on a little bit of bourbon. As far as alcohol-trips go, I wasn’t nearly as intoxicated as I was expecting to be. Plus, I’m fortunate enough to have a husband who’s pretty much always happy to be the designated driver.
How Many Distilleries to Plan For: Realistically, it’s tough to hit more than 3 a day. Most are only open until 4 or 5pm, and between driving and touring, it’s hard to fit a lot in unless you’re really strategic and stick to a tight schedule. That’s part of the fun though—since there are so many distilleries in the area, you can do the trip multiple times and explore new places every time.
Ask a Local! This is my #1 travel tip always, but I’ve found that Kentuckians in particular are more than happy to share all their favorite local spots with you. We had many great recommendations from people we encountered along the way—don’t be shy!
Bourbon Distilleries in the Louisville & Bardstown Areas
Stitzel Weller: I’ve done this tour twice now and I’d probably do it again because it’s that good. Stitzel Weller is the distillery that makes Bulleit Bourbon and I’d definitely prioritize visiting them. They’re only a few miles from downtown Louisville too so it’s an easy stop if you’re staying in the city.
Jim Beam: Jim Beam isn’t my favorite bourbon, but their tour is excellent and they win for the most fun tasting experience. They give you a shot glass (that you get to keep) and a few tokens and set you free in the tasting room to fill up on samples of your choosing. It was basically a room full of soda-fountain-style bourbon dispensers. Amazing. Fun Fact: Did you know that Jim Beam also makes Knob Creek and Basil Hayden’s?
Makers Mark: We didn’t tour here, we were toured-out by the point in the day when we arrived, but the grounds were beautiful and it felt sort of like the Disney World of the Bourbon Trail. They have a little restaurant here too (good to note, not all distilleries have food) that served some amazing bourbon slushies. Bourbon slushies are a must while in Kentucky.
Other Louisville-Area Recs: In Louisville we ate at Gralehaus multiple times (both for brunch and dinner, it was excellent) and Naive was a great veggie-focused cafe. For the nature-lovers, Mammoth Cave National Park is only about an hour and a half drive from Louisville so it’s definitely worth checking out while in the area.
Our friend George living out his dream of running the Bulleit empire
Bourbon Distilleries in the Lexington Area
Buffalo Trace: This place has my heart. I’ve toured here twice and I’ll go back again and again. There’s a lot of heart and history here (they’re even considered a National Historic Landmark) and they make some great bourbons, like their namesake Buffalo Trace (which is a staple for us at home), Eagle Rare, Pappy Van Winkle, and Blanton’s. We always buy a bottle of their Bourbon Cream to take home, which is basically Bourbon Baileys. I’m pretty sure Buffalo Trace is where I was introduced to the term “The Kentucky Hug” too, which is that warm and fuzzy feeling you get after sipping bourbon.
Castle & Key: Located on 113 acres of rolling hills in an actual castle, this is a fun stop in between Buffalo Trace and Woodford. They’ve only been operating in their current incarnation since 2014 (although the distillery itself has been around much longer) so they don’t have bourbon quite yet (aging is an essential step in the bourbon-making process), but they have a number of other spirits like gin and vodka that you can sample.
Woodford Reserve: This is another one we opted to skip the tour for (you really can only handle so many in a day) but we did a tasting here and got some delicious Bourbon + Honey ice cream from Crank & Boom at the cafe (note that Woodford is another distillery that has food options).
Four Roses: If you’ve been on a bunch of tours already and you just want to taste, Four Roses is a nice place to stop where you can just do some sampling—plus you get to keep the tumbler—which I now have 5 of.
Wild Turkey: Similar to Jim Beam, this is one of the big guys in the area, but I had a good time here and I think it’s definitely worth a stop.
Bluegrass Distillers: In addition to the mainstream Kentucky Bourbon Trail, there’s also the Kentucky Bourbon Trail Craft Tour, which I plan to explore more on my next trip down. This was the first craft distillery that we visited and it was great. George even bottled and labeled his own bourbon to take home which was fun.
James E. Pepper: This was our 5th stop of the day and where things started to get a little fuzzy (this is also when I learned that 3-4 distilleries a day is where I max out). It’s located in The Lexington Distillery District, which is a really cool area of town that has 2 distilleries, a brewery, a hard cider place called Wise Bird Cider Co. that we loved (hey, sometimes you need a little bourbon break), some bars & restaurants, and a live music venue called The Burl where we caught a show and a nightcap.
Other Lexington-Area Recs: The Stave. Trust me, go to The Stave. We went twice in one day. The food is incredible, the ambiance is A+, and they have a backyard deck bar right on the river where we made BFF with the older couple sitting next to us and caught an unexpectedly unplugged performance by Wynn Taylor when the power went out. It truly is “The Narnia of the Bourbon Trail,” as we were told by a guy named T-Bone while we were leaving. Also notable in Lexington was Goodfellas Pizzeria for absolutely giant breadsticks (the perfect late-night snack) and Dudley’s on Short for fancy dinner.
“I write a good love song but I make a terrible boyfriend.” — Wynn Taylor at The Stave
Lessons From the Bourbon Trail:
What Makes Bourbon, Bourbon?
So, what’s the difference between bourbon and whiskey you ask? While bourbon is considered whiskey, whiskey isn’t necessarily considered bourbon. The Buffalo Trace tour guide gave us a nice overview of what the official bourbon regulations are:
Bourbon has to be made in the USA.
Bourbon has to be aged in a new oak barrel.
Bourbon has to be at least 51% corn.
Bourbon has to age in the barrel for at least 2 years.
Bourbon has to be distilled at no more than 160 proof, no less than 80 proof in the bottle.
Bourbon must not contain any additives.
Distillery Cats > Brewery Dogs
p.s. Even though the Bourbon Trail is primarily a drinking trip, I honestly think it could still be fun & interesting for non-drinkers too—and there were kids on pretty much every distillery tour we took. You wouldn’t necessarily expect it, but the trail is definitely family-friendly.
p.p.s. I haven’t explored the northern section of the Bourbon Trail much yet, but I did make a pit-stop at New Riff Distilling outside of Cincinnati when I was driving back from Nashville earlier this year and I’ve been enjoying the bottle of rye whiskey that I brought home with me ever since.
