This blog post contains affiliate links. This means (at no cost to you) I may be compensated a small amount if you purchase anything from the in-text links. As always, I would never recommend a product or service that I wouldn’t or haven’t used myself.
After taking a long break from writing it feels so good to be back! I’ll be the first to admit, the pandemic got me a little down but I’m back at it and ready to get back to traveling!
Anyone who knows me knows I never know what to get Sam for his birthday. Lately I’ve been sticking to experiences rather than buying him junk we don’t need. As I was researching trips we could take for his birthday this May, my mom gave me a great idea- the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. Sam is a huge bourbon lover so I knew this would be right up his alley.
Somehow I managed to plan the whole trip and keep it a surprise until (almost) Sam’s birthday. Planning was actually really fun for me. I’m one of those weird people who love to plan out all the logistics- timelines, reservations, details- I love it all. This is actually a good quality to have if you’re visiting the Bourbon Trail because if you want to do some tours or tastings you will need to do some planning.
So What Is the Kentucky Bourbon Trail?
The Kentucky Bourbon Trail was established in 1999 as a way to showcase Kentucky’s many distilleries. 95% of the world’s bourbon is produced in Kentucky so really there is no better place for a bourbon-lover to be. There are currently 18 distilleries on the official Bourbon Trail. In order to be an official distillery on the Trail, you need to be a member of the Kentucky Distillers’ Association which requires the distillery to pay fees. There are many other distilleries you can visit that aren’t apart of the official Bourbon Trail. A good example of this is Buffalo Trace which is not a part of the official trail. The beauty of the Trail is you can pick and choose the distilleries you want to see- visit just a few or all 18, the choice is yours!
Distilleries on the Trail
As I said before, there are 18 official distilleries on the Trail. The distilleries are:
- Angel’s Envy
- Bardstown Bourbon Co.
- Bulleit
- Evan Williams
- Four Roses
- Green River
- Heaven Hill
- Jim Beam
- Lux Row
- Maker’s Mark
- Michter’s
- Old Forester
- Rabbit Hole
- Stitzel-Weller
- Town Branch
- Wilderness Trail
- Wild Turkey
- Woodford Reserve
How to Plan Your Trip
Since I don’t really care for bourbon, I decided that two full days on the Trail would probably be a good length of time to keep both of us happy. (We spent another two days in Nashville- post to come later). There is plenty to see and do so if you are a big bourbon fan you could definitely stay longer. I would recommend planning 2-3 distilleries per every day of your trip. Keep in mind, other than in Louisville, you will likely be driving 20-30 minutes in between distilleries.
Another tip is to make sure you mix up the tours and the tastings. Unless you are very interested in distilling, I would recommend only booking a few tours. Even with different settings, the bourbon making process is basically the same no matter where you go so unless you were super interested in distilling I would imaging it might get a little boring. At all the tastings we went to, the presenter talked about how the distillery made their bourbon so even if you don’t take the tour you will still get a little background on the process.
That being said you absolutely don’t need to do a tasting or tour at every distillery you visit. If you can’t book a tasting or you don’t have time for a full tour you can always swing by any of the distilleries’ gift shops.
To plan our trip, I started by selecting the distilleries I knew we’d want to visit and divided them up by location. I then checked each of the distilleries’ websites to see what each had to offer in regards to tours, tastings, etc.
It’s important to book your tastings well in advance. I personal would start as soon as my travel dates were set in stone. I planned our trip about 4 weeks from the time we were going and already a lot of the tastings were limited on availability. Angel’s Envy, Woodford Reserve and Maker’s Mark in particular only had a few times left for the dates I needed. Even though it’s not part of the official Trail, it’s worth noting that Buffalo Trace had absolutely no available tastings one month out- if you want to visit I would recommend checking way in advance.
(Side tip: If you’re planning a trip at the beginning of May, keep Derby weekend in mind. The Kentucky Derby is always the first weekend in May. If you’re set on doing the Bourbon Trail that weekend or the surrounding days, know that it’s likely going to be very busy and plan accordingly.)
Note that each distillery is limited on the amount of bourbon they are allowed to give you. That being said, it is always important to know your limits and I would obviously never recommend driving if you feel impaired. If you’re concerned about the driving, there are lots of tours available that eliminate the need to for driving. If you’re traveling with a group, I think it would be really fun to book transportation so everyone can arrive together.
Our Distillery Experiences
Bulleit
Louisville is only a 5 hour drive from where we live in Ohio. We left first thing in the morning and swung by Bulleit Bourbon on the way into town. We had booked a tasting at this stop and were able to try four of their products. The Bulleit gift shop also had a bar which offered neat pours and two different cocktails. I would recommend bringing some water to the tasting if you need to cleanse your pallet (or choke down bourbon in my case hehe) as they don’t offer any once you’re in the tasting room.
Evan Williams & Old Forester
After Bulleit, we made the 40 minute drive into Louisville. We stayed at the Homewood Suites by Hilton which is right off of Whiskey Row in downtown Louisville. This really was the perfect location to experience the distilleries downtown. Unfortunately, Evan Williams and Old Forester were already closed by the time we got into town but if you start your day earlier, I would definitely hit them up.
Angel’s Envy
Angel’s Envy is located on the east side of Whiskey Row. Sam is obsessed with using the Lime scooters whenever we’re in a city that has them so we took them to Angel’s Envy from our hotel. Angel’s Envy was a great tasting. At the tasting we were able to taste their two products: their bourbon and their rye. Each product was paired with a chocolate. The presenter at Angel’s Envy was great and taught us a lot about bourbon tasting. We also were able to pick up some of the rye at the gift shop since it’s been hard for us to find in Ohio.
Four Roses
Early the next morning, we left our hotel and headed to Four Roses. In order to get all of the distilleries in, we had to book a 9am tour. I was worried it was going to be too early but it turned out great. Four Roses was my favorite distillery we visited. We were able to taste four of their products, all of which were very tasty. They also gave us our water glasses which made for a nice souvenir and some oyster crackers to cleanse our palates between tastings.
Woodford Reserve
Our next stop of the trip was Woodford Reserve. Woodford definitely gets points for ambiance. The horse farm landscape surrounding Woodford is so scenic and beautiful. Our tasting was located in a beautiful room off the gift shop. We were able to taste five different products and a bourbon ball.
Buffalo Trace
As I’ve already mentioned, Buffalo Trace isn’t part of the Bourbon Trail. We weren’t able to get a tasting but since it’s only 20 minutes from Woodford we decided to stop by the giftshop. Let me start with the pros: The Buffalo Trace campus is great. You are able to wander among all of the buildings and we were able to peak in a few to see some bottling. We were there on a Saturday afternoon and it was PACKED. We did have to wait about 30 minutes just to get into the gift shop. Sam was really hoping to pick up some Buffalo Trace, Blantons or other bourbons that we can never find at home. Unfortunately they only put these out in the gift shop intermittently and there were none available when we were there. If you have your heart set on getting some Buffalo Trace, I would definitely get there right at opening. Blantons, Eagle Rare and some of the other rare bourbons are very hit or miss on whether or not you can find them in the gift shop.
Maker’s Mark
Last but definitely not least was Maker’s Mark. We finally got to take a tour and we were not disappointed. The Maker’s Mark campus is beautiful and well maintained. They even have a restaurant on site (open Wednesday-Sunday at the time of this post). After the tour we were able to try four of the different products. They also gave us our tasting glass to take home. One of the highlights of Maker’s Mark is when we got to dip our own bottle into the famous red wax.
One of the cool things I would recommend you do if you like Maker’s Mark is to go to their website and become an ambassador. As an ambassador, you get your name on a bourbon barrel. Once that barrel finishes its aging process, you are given the opportunity to purchase a bottle from that barrel that’s customized with your name.
Final Thoughts
The entire way home from our trip, Sam and I were already making plans for what we wanted to do on our next trip to the Bourbon Trail! Overall, it’s an absolutely beautiful part of the country and even if you’re just along for the ride you’re going to love it!
Happy travels!
