This is the biggest driving day on this Kentucky Bourbon Trail itinerary. If you are really short on time, you can simply visit the gift shop, get your passport stamped, and do a little shopping. Luckily, there's lots to do (and eat) in Kentucky while traveling from distillery to distillery (or rather, from sample of bourbon to sample of bourbon). PRO TRAVEL TIP: Most distilleries do not offer tours seven days a week. This is a great spot for lunch or dinner while touring the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. A visit to Buffalo Trace is definitely worthwhile when you are in the area, even if it is not officially on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. As soon as you step out of your car, you can smell the grains cooking, the first part of the distillation process. If you have three days in Louisville, follow our day #1 and day #2 itineraries above. All content and photography shall not be reproduced without written permission from the Kentucky Distillers Association. Summer and autumn are busy months to visit the Bourbon Trail, so I also recommend booking your tours in advance at these times, even on weekdays. Take your pick from day #4 (the Best of Bardstown), day #5 (Makers Mark and the Kentucky Cooperage), or day #6 (Woodford Reserve, Wild Turkey, Four Roses, and maybe Wilderness Trail). Explore the Kentucky Bourbon Trail Craft Tour New Riff Distilling 24 Distillery Way Newport, KY 41071 See on Map More Info Second Sight Spirits 301 B Elm Street Ludlow, KY 41016 See on Map More Info The Old Pogue Distillery 715 Germantown Road Maysville, KY 41056 See on Map More Info Boone County Distilling Co. 10601 Toebben Drive Kentucky Bourbon Trail in 2 Days: Follow days #1 and #2. Cheers, Julie. Walk across the street to Proof on Main. It is not the actual log cabin of Abraham Lincolns birthplace. and cannot participate in the Passport program. MAMMOTH CAVE: Mammoth Cave is a national park in Kentucky and it makes a great day trip from Louisville and Nashville. If you've got a sweet tooth, definitely also try the bourbon cream (it's perfect if you're still not sold on straight bourbon) and bourbon brittle. And you definitely should try the Bourbon Cream. We have visited the Kentucky Bourbon Trail twice. Four Roses. We are looking for a private driver for 2 days. Stillwagon Distillery. BUDGET: Glo Best Western Lexington. BUDGET: Holiday Inn Express and Suites Downtown Louisville. From Bardstown it is a 45 minute drive. But there is more to the Kentucky Bourbon Trail than just distillery tours and bourbon tastings. For more distillery rules and Kentucky Liquor laws, check out Kentucky Liquor Laws and The Bourbon Trail. Also, the visitors center offers lots of history, facts and figures. Plan to spend at least 2-3 days traveling along the Bourbon Trail, and stop off at some of the many charming Kentucky towns along the route. This is a great bit of Texas BBQ in the heart of Kentucky. Cheers, Julie. The typical size is Letter to North America and DIN A4 for the rest of the world. There are eighteen distilleries on the official Kentucky Bourbon Trail. Located in Lexington, this bourbon distillery also produces beer. There's a reason that bourbon is historically produced in Kentucky (even though legally it can come from anywhere in the US): the limestone filtered water and locally-grown grains just plain taste better, and the fact that the region has, for most of history, made most of America's bourbon, means that the people there have a deep passion for it, and they also have old-school, time-tested recipes, too. Lunch: Doc Crows Southern Smokehouse and Raw Bar or Troll Pub under the Bridge. Whether you're a bourbon snob, or you just like drinking, the Kentucky Bourbon Trail is a must-visit. If you are short on time, or have no desire to visit all eighteen distilleries, here is a short list of the top experiences to have on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. When the printout is completed then you can save it as PDF. There are 37 distilleries total, but whether you tackle them all is entirely up to you! The mash always looks the same but the horse farms have different aspects to showcase at different times of the year. In one day, it is possible to do three to four tours and/or tastings. Each distillery has a gift shop selling bourbon and related souvenirs. When you're ready for a hearty meal, there's super delicious BBQ right off I-75 at Red State BBQ. Lexington Brewing Company. Printable Bourbon Trail Map- We offer flattened and free TIFF file formats of our maps in CMYK color and high resolution. Morning: Evan Williams Experience. How to Use This Map: Click the icons on the map to get more information about each point of interest. They must be designed to work with a standard printing press. Sundays, Mondays, and holidays are the most common days to have limited or no hours. You'll avoid most crowds, enjoy off-season hotel prices, and the scenery along Kentucky's rural roads is unsurpassed in autumn. It is open daily except for major holidays. The 1 hour Discovery Tour ends with a tasting at their bar on the second floor. Its a step back in time where you learn about the history of Kentucky. After a hearty breakfast of biscuits, its time to hit the trail! Its centrally located, so you can walk to many of the sights and distilleries on Whiskey Row. Rather than paying the fee to join the Kentucky Distillers Association, they prefer to offer free tours and tastings to their visitors. For more restaurant recommendations, check out our article Best Eats in Louisville. Here's how. Some printers from the past might require you to connect to your computer before printing. Do you need a reservation? In fact, if you visit every. We were thinking of going the week before Memorial Day weekend and staying through the weekend. They have a few iconic bourbon brands that are produced here: Buffalo Trace, Blanton's (with the little horse on top of the round bottle), and Eagle Rare. The red markers are the seventeen distilleries on the trail. We started at Wild Turkey and were the only ones on their 9 am tour. Now, you can stay in a colonial style room in this very same building. Eating is important, of course, and luckily, there are tons of local restaurants where you can get a great meal to soak up some of the liquor. Even if you dont plan on staying here, a drink in the Lobby Bar is a must-do while in Louisville. Wild Turkey produces one of the most popular bourbons in the US and one of the best-selling bourbons in the world. To ensure you benefit from our products Contact us for more details. This Bulleit facility offers a handful of different tours, tastings and cocktail classes. Many of these distilleries are historic and their story is fascinating. There are four major regions of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. This is an ultrasonic process that removes impurities and improves the quality and taste, speeding up the refining process without spending years in the barrel. Being on our own, we could choose which distilleries to tour and which ones to just do a tasting. Is there a fee to visit the distilleries? On the third day, watch the horse races at Churchill Downs. This day includes the remaining distilleries in Louisville with the option to add on one or two museums. Tours last approximately one hour, ending with a tasting. Today, bourbons popularity is at an all-time high, and in the past 20 years or so, many new distilleries have popped up among old favorites. For more suggestions on how to plan your time, dont miss our Kentucky Bourbon Trail itinerary planner. It's a great destination on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail Craft Tour, which focuses on smaller and more inventive distillers. Chuckanut Bay Distillery. Plus, its easy to find. After touring the three distilleries, you can either return to Louisville or spend the night in Bardstown. Jim Beam. This is a great place to start your visit to the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. If you like the idea of getting out of Louisville for the day, I recommend day #1 plus day #4 (the Best of Bardstown) or day #5 (Makers Mark and the Kentucky Cooperage). Our website uses cookies. Visit Your Favorite Distillery. On Google Chrome, go to Bookmarks -> Bookmark This Tab and then this post will be saved in your bookmarks. Day after day, distillery tours can get to be monotonous. And the smell is amazing! Some of these yeast strains have been used for decades at each distillery. It smells wonderful and it kind of made me hungry! Artsy, unique, contemporarythis is another top pick in Louisville. Right down the road is the Four Roses Distillery. This is a beautiful property with a lot of tour and tasting options. Santa Claus is a small town filled with Christmas-themed hotels, shops, restaurants, and even an amusement park. USA TRAVEL INSPIRATION: For more great ideas on where to go in the United States, check out our article Best USA Road Trips, which has 18 sample itineraries for your next big adventure. If you only have one day on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, the combination of these three tours hits the most important steps in the distilling process. Since it is located off of the Bourbon Trail and does not have the actual log cabin that Abraham Lincoln was born in, this is only worth it if you have an interest in American history or Abraham Lincoln. The Old Nelson County Jail housed prisoners from 1797 until 1987. All three of these cities have great hotel and restaurant options with easy access to the Bourbon Trail. Visiting these distilleries is similar to visiting a winery. If you want to tour the distilleries without the crowds, visit Kentucky from the end of November through March. Most distilleries give you a few, tiny sips of several of their bourbons, just enough to get a good taste, and not so much that you will walk around schnockered for the rest of the day. Tim and I stayed here on our first visit to Louisville in 2016. This distillery features bourbon finished in port wine barrels and rye whiskey finished in rum barrels. Plus, everyone who visits gets a mini souvenir Louisville Slugger for themselves! Prior guests rave about cleanliness, comfort, and location. Read on to learn how to use printable maps. Note: Due to COVID-19, distillery tours may be cancelled or offered on a reduced schedule. For dinner, opt for classic and refined, or hip and casual. This inn has been welcoming guests since 1779. UPSCALE: 21c Museum Hotel. In this post, we cover everything you need to know to have the best experience on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. This hotel also gets great reviews and has an excellent location. Nearest Green Distillery. Take the evening to explore downtown Lexington. You can search by name, state, spirit, amenity or simply click on the map to discover distilleries you never knew existed! Bring your military ID, if you have one. Renting a car was cheap, driving between the distilleries was easy (and gorgeous), and we could make our own schedule. There is even an art museum located inside of the hotel. As one of the largest sellers of bourbon in the world, their tour seems to reflect that in having one of the more interactive tours. Your timing depends on which experiences you choose to have at each distillery. Their signature tour is a one-hour tour of the distillery. Take the history and the gorgeous natural settings, and add delicious, often entertaining whiskey tours and tastings, and you'll see why traveling along the Kentucky Bourbon Trail is such a special experience. Check out this map of the KY Bourbon Trail. In Louisville, stay downtown at the Brown Hotel, a city landmark full of history and romance. Angels Envy puts a twist on whiskey distilling. One of the highlights of this tour, other than the tasting, was standing inside of their rickhouse. The grand finale of the tour isthe bourbon tasting. Kentucky Bourbon is perfectly aged. Rooms are modern and trendy and there is an onsite restaurant. Most tours cost $10 to $15 (including tastings), and are open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Surprisingly, it is not part of the official Kentucky Bourbon Trail. The Old Talbott Tavern, located in Bardstown, is also a great pick. If you have specific non-KBT distilleries in mind I recommend checking their websites for pricing information. It has received accolades from Conde Nast Traveler, Southern Living, and Travel & Leisure. For more information, visit the Kentucky Bourbon Trail website. More Information for Your Trip to Louisville. They have a good beer selection, excellent pulled pork, tasty baked beans and a variety of BBQ sauces. The distilling process at Green River is very innovative and a visit here is worthwhile if you want to learn about a unique way to distill bourbon. Get our travel tips Delivered to your inbox. It is a National Historic Landmark property and they offer several different tours depending on your level of interest. The Kentucky Bourbon Trail began in 1999 as a way to bring tourism to Kentucky. BUDGET: Hampton Inn Bardstown. It is said to be the oldest western stagecoach stop in America and legend has it that Jesse James left behind bullet holes in the tavern. Bourbon Country Map Use this interactive map of Kentucky to plan your visit by finding nearby attractions, hotels, shopping, and restaurants. One of our favorite parts of the tour was a visit to the rickhouse. Take a Mixology Class. We give links to all of the distilleries in our Kentucky Bourbon Trail distillery post. It can be chilly, but most of the time we were indoors, so weather wasnt much of a factor. Tarpon Springs Distillery. Visit the final two distilleries on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, plus one notable bourbon distillery that is not part of the official trail, Buffalo Trace. The red markers are the seventeen distilleries on the trail. You can bookmark this post on your browser. Its located right around the corner from 21c Museum Hotel, so you can walk to many sights in downtown Louisville. Note: This post contains affiliate links. I am not sure. Yes, all of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail distilleries charge a fee for a tour or a tasting. Its located right around the corner from 21c Museum Hotel, so you can walk to many sights in downtown Louisville. The worst time to visit the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, according to the guides that we spoke to, is during the summer months. LUXURY: The Brown Hotel. Is May a good month to do the Bourbon Trail? At Lux Row, the first few rows of the rickhouse are removed, forming a small lobby. Standing here, you get to appreciate just how many barrels sit on the shelves of a rickhouse. Best Distilleries on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. Buffalo Trace has a long and fascinating history. You could easily spend an hour or two here, sampling their beers and boozes and chatting with the owners. Similar to the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, the Craft Tour takes bourbon touring and tasting to the next level. Today, the Kentucky Bourbon Trail is a collection of 18 major bourbon whiskey distilleries (Heritage Distilleries) and 23 smaller and newer microdistilleries (Craft Distilleries) that will give you the ultimate experience of learning all about Kentucky bourbon: its history, technology, craftsmanship, and artistry. Kentucky's Bourbon Trail now consists of 18 whiskey distilleries. 526 Happy Hollow Road, Shepherdsville, KY, US. If you have any questions about this Kentucky Bourbon Trail itinerary, let us know in the comment section below. You know you are at a distillery when you see these prison-style buildings. For lunch, dine at Star Hill Provisions at Makers Mark or Ragettis Italian Food in Lebanon. But map makers don't want to let that stop them from building trails. Kentucky Bourbon Trail in 3 Days: Follow days #1 and #2. If you want to stay in a historical, luxurious hotel in Louisville, your hotel search can end right here. MIDRANGE: Staybridge Suites Lexington. This hotel also gets great reviews and has an excellent location. During the aging process, a small percentage of the bourbon evaporates per year, what is referred to as the angels share. If you want to take home this aroma, many gift shops sell bourbon-scented candles. The best time of year for a road trip down the Bourbon Trail: Summer is high season along the trail, so you'll have more crowds to contend with, and hotels will be slightly more expensive. Andrew Jackson and King Louis Phillippe both stayed here. Yes! Many offer tours and a few are very near to the popular distilleries! It must be distilled from at least 51% corn. In this article, learn how to plan your Kentucky Bourbon Trail itinerary, with suggestions on where to stay and what else to add in as you tour the trail. Wild Turkey. If time allows, consider the areas other great export: thoroughbred horses. Say goodbye to Louisville and head south to Bardstown. Consider Lexington and Louisville as practical bases for your trip: most distilleries are within these cities, or in the small towns orbiting them, and both cities have vibrant downtowns full of hotels, restaurants, and notable sights. Distillery Trail is the place to start your distillery tour experience. If you collect stamps from each distillery you can redeem your passport for a Kentucky Bourbon Trail tasting glass. If you need a break from bourbon, a fine margarita at Corto Lima, or craft cocktail at West Main Crafting Co., will do the trick. On this tour, you visit micro-distilleries and this takes an additional week to visit all of these distilleries. The blue markers are restaurant recommendations, Buffalo Trace Distillery, and other notable experiences to add into your Kentucky Bourbon Trail itinerary. Its hot, its crowded, and during the summer months, most distilleries take a break from distilling, anywhere from a week or two or longer. Plus, there is a high concentration of distilleries located right in town, not to mention lots of great restaurants and hotels to choose from. Travel back in timeto 1783, to the very early days ofLouisville, where you will learn about the early history of bourbon and this area of Kentucky. MIDRANGE: Homewood Suites. However, the spirits are further refined with their patented TerrePURE process. For more great things to do in Louisville, read our post 12 Best Things to do in Louisville. Many people state that the Buffalo Trace tour is their favorite in Kentucky. Have a classic, refined dinner at the hotel restaurant, or opt for a more funky choice in town (Latin farm-to-table, asian fusion, or BBQ and oysters). Visiting the winding trail of bourbon distilleries here (now officially called the Kentucky Bourbon Trail) has become a main draw to the area, and a whole tourism industry itself. Its good to know that classes about cocktails can be taken during a bourbon tour. Near the end of this article, I will give you suggestions on how to group these days together in order to have the best experience. Some distilleries are closed on Mondays. Maps & Downloads - Tennessee Whiskey Trail Official Site Maps & Downloads The Google map below represents all members of the Tennessee Whiskey Trail. Did you know: If you use the Roadtrippers mobile app, your trips will instantly auto-sync over Ready for navigation and good times! The final distillery is back up near Louisville: The Bulleit Frontier Whiskey Experience. As you drive back to Louisville, you have the option to stop at the Lincoln Boyhood Home and National Museum and/or Santa Claus, Indiana. This tour does the best job explaining the history of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. Ride sharing services are abundant in the area, and there are many guided tour options as well. Choose the size you would like to print and click OK. After that, select your print quality. You can also inquire for a quote with our team of cartographers. Why not? Buffalo Trace. On this immersive tour, travel back in time to 1783, when bourbon distilling got its start. There are tours and special events at both facilities year round. The tastings do get spread out over the day, but they are also right before you hop in the car to get to the next distillery, so know your limits. Heaven Hill is one of the biggest bourbon distilleries, producing Evan Williams and Elijah Craig. To read about all eighteen distilleries, check out our post about the best distilleries on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. A combination of ideal weather, limestone water sources, and a long history of the craft make Central Kentucky the bourbon capital of the world. After breakfast at the hotel, its a 30-minute drive to the Frankfort area, where touring the new distillery at Castle & Key is a true gem. Below is a map of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. Also, remember that the quality of maps is unbeatable! If you want a hotel with an awesome location and one that gets great reviews, the Homewood Suites is one to consider. Currently, there are eighteen bourbon labels that are a part of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. Getting to know more about liquor will probably help us know the right pairings to get when we eat at restaurants. Due to vivid -19? Copyright 2023 Kentucky Distillers Association. On day two, visit the distilleries located south of Louisville: Makers Mark, Jim Beam, Heaven Hill, Bardstown Bourbon, and Lux Row. In order to save paper, set all the borders to 0.3. LUXURY:The Brown Hotel. Tours last one hour and end with a tasting. Partners & Sponsors If you want to see the entire bourbon distilling process from start to finish, including the making of the barrels and the bottling of the final product, take the Old Forester Discovery Tour. UPSCALE: 21c Museum Hotel Lexington. They give a really thorough background on the drink and Louisville's history with it (and yes, it ends with a tasting). Coalition Whiskey. It's a National Historic Landmark, but it's also gorgeously maintained, and set in a dreamlike corner of the Bourbon Trail. For lunch and/or dinner, we recommend Kitchen& Bar, the restaurant at Bardstown Bourbon. Take a late afternoon or early evening tour of Michters Distillery. It's located next to a field full of giant rickhouses, which is what the building where barrels of bourbon age are called. From Lexington head over to Danville, Kentucky and visit Wilderness Trace Distillery. Prior to touring the Bourbon Trail, Tim and I were not whiskey drinkers. How you do it is completely up to you. Looking to plan trip in mid June 2020, I recommend checking the official websites of the distilleries to see if they are open. Even the most enthusiastic bourbon-lover can't just barrel through and sample bourbon at 9 places all in a rush. It is a very fun thing to do and it was one of our highlights on our first trip to Kentucky. We recommend staying in Louisville. List of Distilleries on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, Best Time to Visit the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, Tips, Tricks, and Advice for Touring the Bourbon Trail, check out our post about the best distilleries. KENTUCKY BOURBON TRAIL: Pick out which distilleries to visit in our article Best Distilleries on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. Then visit the Town Branch Distillery from Lexington Brewing and Distilling Company, and maybe cut all that booze with a beer or two as well! Yes, you can push CTRL+P and that will bring up the printer dialog box. Spend one day visiting the four distilleries near Lexington: Four Roses, Wild Turkey, Woodford Reserve, and Town Branch. Confirm that youre over 21 years of age. Tour the distillery, see the hundreds of barrels inside of the rickhouses, and maybe meet legendary Jimmy Russell while you are here. If you have plans to tour the Kentucky Bourbon Trail between July and early November, make your reservations in advance. Grab a bottle or some bourbon balls in the gift shop afterwards! In this guide, learn how to plan a trip around the world. Do you have to be a bourbon drinker to have a good time on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail? You can elect to skip the tour and just do a tasting instead. This was our all-around best tour experience. Lunch: Walk, drive or Uber to the Mussel & Burger Bar, another one of our favorite restaurants in Louisville. Nothing can be added to the whiskey other than water. Louisville is the most logical choice, with its relatively central location, abundance of hotels and restaurants, and easy access to the airport. You have the choice to head southeast out of Louisville to explore the Jim Beam facilities. We felt thatit was just enough to give us a taste but not so much that it impaired Tims driving. HISTORIC: Jailers Inn Bed & Breakfast. It's worth it to buy a bottle here, because you get to dip the top in the iconic red wax yourself! UPSCALE: 21c Museum Hotel. With more time, you can make the drive out to Owensboro and visit Green River Distilling Company or drive to Danville and visit Wilderness Trail. Old Forester offers a tour with the president of the company (a few times per year). They like to talk about their mash bill and their yeast strains that they use. A beautiful time of year, however, is mid-September to late-October. Download the TN Whiskey Trail brochure in PDF format. Traveling directly between Louisville and Lexington (when you arent stopping at distilleries) takes less than an hour, and both cities have convenient airports. Buffalo Trace is the oldest continuously operating distillery in America. Alternatively, and on a more direct route into Lexington, you can head to Bulleit Distilling Co.'s new state-of-the-art facility in Shelbyville. During the mid-20th century, Four Roses was the top selling bourbon in Japan but it could not be purchased in the US, even though it was being produced in Kentucky. And many distilleries offer longer, behind the scenes tours for a more detailed look at the distilling process. Visiting the winding trail of bourbon distilleries here (now officially called the Kentucky Bourbon Trail) has become a main draw to the area, and a whole tourism industry itself. The whiskey cannot be distilled higher than 160 proof, enter the barrel higher than 125 proof, and it must not enter the bottle less than 80 proof. If you move fast, you have enough time to visit both in the afternoon. This is the busiest time on the trail and tours can sell out. Kentucky Bourbon Trail in 4 Days: Follow days #1 and #2. There are eighteen distilleries on the official Kentucky Bourbon Trail. And we highly recommend lunch at the Old Talbott Tavern in Bardstown. If you plan to take distillery tours, you will need to visit the website anyway, in order to make your reservations. Take a specialized tour of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. Spend the next day slowly heading out of Louisville to visit a few distilleries on the citys outskirts, and then use Lexington as a homebase for the next couple of days. The food is delicious!! Makers Mark is a must-visit on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. On our most recent tour in November 2019, we booked all of our tours in advance but only one of them was sold out (the Inside the Barrel Tour at Angels Envy).