If you’re heading to Kentucky, chances are you will spend at least a little time in Louisville. And if you spend any time in Louisville, chances are you will sample a little of America’s native spirit – bourbon. Our guess is that you will like this stuff. We certainly did. Here are a few notes and top tips from our experiences on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail.
It turns out that Louisville has more to offer than just whiskey. Weird, we know. It is home to the Kentucky Derby, wonderful neighborhoods, museums, restaurants, horses, and more. Drive through the beautiful bluegrass hills and dales, breathe in the fresh country air and relax. You’re on bourbon time now.
We made this 4-day trip in October of 2019 with our good friends, Curt and Jordan. Three of those days were heavily focused on Bourbon – it was the main reason we went to visit after all - but we did other fun things too and had a wonderful time, visiting our share of distilleries, museums, eating amazing food and making an early morning visit to Churchill Downs where we were able to get a behind the scenes tour and watch horses training on the track courtesy of Jordan’s aunt – a former horse trainer with deep connections in the horse industry.
Oh, before we get started - This content is not intended for minors. By continuing to read this content, you agree that you are of legal drinking age in your local jurisdiction.
Day One:
We breakfasted at a small restaurant located in a strip mall. Con Huevos is nothing fancy but the Mexican inspired food was flavorful, filling, and expertly prepared. It was just the thing to lay some groundwork and prepare us for the day.
We then started off our bourbon experience at Buffalo Trace Distillery, which is not actually part of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, but somehow manages to produce incredible bourbons all the same and offers a free tour. We arrived at 10 am on a Thursday and the parking was 100% full. Who would have thought? The distillery claims to be the longest continually operating distillery in Kentucky (1805 to present), being one of six distilleries that were allowed to remain operational during prohibition making whiskey for “medicinal” purposes. It turns out that nearly everyone in Kentucky was pretty ill for much of prohibition. Buffalo Trace is located just outside of Frankfort (1 hour east of Louisville) on 130 acres along the Kentucky River on a former trail (or trace) used by buffalo herds as they moved through the region. It is now a National Historic Landmark.
The distillery produces some of the most sought after and incredibly hard to find allocation bourbons in the world (Blanton’s, Pappy Van Winkle, Stagg, and Weller to name a few) and offers several free tours and experiences for your visit. Our tour guide “Jimmy” was a delight - fun, full of humor, and a wealth of information. Jimmy took us through the grounds and Blanton’s bottling room. Their flagship brand Buffalo Trace is easily one of the tastiest and easiest bourbons you will find and is one of Curt and Kevin’s favorites. Each of the tours will get you a tasting of several bourbons, a white whiskey, their vodka, a bourbon cream, and a bourbon chocolate ball made by Muth’s Candies in Louisville.
We lunched in Lawrenceburg, then made our way through the bluegrass and rolling green hills to make stops at Woodford Reserve, Four Roses, and Wild Turkey. The Woodford Reserve distillery (also a National Historic Landmark claiming to be the oldest distillery in the state) is located in a beautiful valley just outside of Versailles and the grounds and buildings are gorgeous and pristine. The buildings and grounds were immaculate – almost too clean. We skipped the tour, opting instead for a couple of cocktails on their outdoor patio in the sunshine, with a few Clemson football fans in town for the big game. We are especially fond of the Woodford Reserve Rye, and their Horse’s Neck cocktail.
At the Four Roses distillery, we opted for the $7 tasting and learned a bit about their unique method of crafting bourbons from just two mash bills and 5 yeast strains. Our tasting guide was young and energetic. She may have just been looking forward to getting off work. The tasting seemed a bit rushed, but each bourbon made at Four Roses belongs on your must-try list. We love Four Roses yellow label for everyday drinking and the Small Batch or Single Barrel when you want to step it up a notch. Pro-Tip: Forget the mixer and ice. Pour a finger or two of Small Batch into a highball or tasting glass, add a bit of spring water, and a twist of orange peel. That’s about as good as it gets.
We were delighted to see master distiller Jimmy Russell holding court, autographing bottles and chatting with folks at the Wild Turkey Distillery just a few minutes away. (See Jimmy's parking spot by the turkey above) The award-winning visitor center is new and has some very good educational exhibits about the history of the distillery and bourbon in general. Wild Turkey makes quite a few bourbons and brands from which to choose and it would take you a fair spell to get through them all. You could start at the top with the 14 yo Tradition, at the lower end with their 101 Straight Bourbon, or in the middle with Russel’s Reserve 10 year.
Not finished yet, we met Jordan’s aunt for drinks and some great blues music at TAJ in NULU (New Louisville) before having dinner at the Mayan Café just down the street. The Mayan Café is a restaurant devoted to the traditional flavors, dishes, and cooking techniques of Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula fused with local sustainably farmed ingredients. Try the rabbit. Or the pork. Or cactus. To be fair, you should probably just try it all.
Day Two:
We started the day early at Churchill Downs. Jordan’s aunt is a former horse trainer and has deep friendships and connections at the track. We went behind the scenes to watch some horses training on the track just as the sun was rising – muscles rippling in the early morning light as they galloped down the dirt track and the steam rising as they were bathed and brushed down after their workouts. These are magnificent animals and seem well taken care of by their trainers and owners.
After that, we visited the Kentucky Derby Museum at Churchill Downs to learn more about the history of horse racing and the Derby. There are several tours to choose from including a self-guided tour of fascinating exhibits covering every aspect of the Derby and its storied history. We left feeling a little more educated on horses, considering our starting point was ZERO, we felt good about that.
We indulged in a gut-busting lunch at nearby Wagner’s Pharmacy – a classic diner frequented by locals and especially folks from the track. Kevin and Curt ordered Louisville's culinary icon the "Hot Brown" sandwich. This open-faced sandwich features Texas toast, turkey, bacon, tomato, and about 3 cups of mornay sauce. Make sure you have time for a nap after throwing down one of these bad boys. You will need it!
After lunch, we bookended bourbon tastings at Evan William’s and Michter’s with visits to the Ali Center and Louisville Slugger Museum. If you are going to purchase a tour – you might consider doing the Evan William’s experience. We regret not doing so, because the exhibits are expertly designed, fun, and informative. We think Evan William’s Single Barrell is the bomb. We did a tasting flight on the upper floor.
Michter’s production distillery is located in Shively, a town abutting Louisville – very near Churchill Downs, but we visited the Michter’s Fort Nelson Distillery downtown – right across from the Louisville Slugger Museum. The tours were all booked so we did a tasting at the on-premise bar. We liked them all – though the Sour Mash and Straight Rye held our attention.
The Ali Center and Louisville Slugger Museums were fun stops before and between the distillery visits. The exhibits at the Ali Center are well done and extremely informative, even if you already think you know a thing or two about The Greatest. The Center is more than just a museum to honor Ali, it provides youth, young women, and professional development programs and is a community asset. Make sure you check out the gift shop for your t-shirts.
At the Louisville Slugger Museum you can have a look at the bats used by Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, Hank Aaron, and many more as well as a factory tour and many good informational exhibits on bats, players, and baseball in general. You can even take a turn in a batting cage if you’d like.
That evening we took a quick stroll through Angel’s Envy and had happy hour at Rabbit Hole Distillery. Rabbit Hole is a new and modern facility located in the NULU section of Louisville. They make a couple of Straight Bourbons (using different mash bills) a Straight Rye and a wheated-whiskey finished in sherry casks. It turned out to be a good spot for happy hour and we met one of Roxanne’s work colleagues who is an exhibit designer (part of the design team for the Evan William’s Experience).
Day Three:
Have you ever went to bed happy and fine but wakened barely able to move? Kevin has. He somehow threw his back out during the night (it might have been the Hot Brown) and no amount of stretching could get him perfectly vertical that morning. Luckily, we found a chiropractor in Bardstown that would take walk-ins on a Sunday. Bardstown is only 45 minutes away from Louisville and the gateway to some very fine distilleries. A few minutes on a medieval-looking traction device and a few well-placed twists from the doctor helped release Kevin’s spasming back muscles - mostly. He’d need a bit more stretching and a little bourbon to help with the rest. Luckily, we knew where to find some.
Our first stop after Brunch/Lunch at Mammy’s Kitchen and Bar in downtown Bardstown was none other than Heaven Hill Distillery, makers of a great many bourbons such as Heaven Hill (our new-found chiropractor friend’s favorite), Elijah Craig, Larceny, Henry McKenna, and Rittenhouse Rye. We did no tours or tastings here but explored the Bourbon Heritage Center. Heaven Hill is still family-owned and features some top-notch educational displays in the visitor center. Learning can be fun.
We paid a quick visit to the small, craft distillery Preservation just outside of town and had a look around the grounds as the tours were full and there were no tastings. Preservation focuses on small, micro-batch pot stills of intensely flavored whiskeys in 1-3 barrel batches such as Cowboy Little Barrel, Very Olde St. Nick, and Wattie Boone whiskeys. You’ll be hard-pressed to find these even in Kentucky. If you want to try them, it’s best to contact the distillery and sign up for their allocation notices.
We did a free tour and tasting at Barton’s 1792 distillery. The tour was fun and informative – we visited one of the aging warehouses and got to see the column still in production mode. Like Buffalo Trace, Barton’s is owned by Sazerac and is not part of the official Bourbon Trail. So what! We sampled the 1792 Small Batch and the 1792 Single Barrel. Since then we’ve tried the 1792 Full Proof. We like that one too. They provide you with a bottle of water during the tour and some bourbon chocolate candy as part of the tasting. Barton’s claims to be the oldest fully-operating distillery in Bardstown. They have 29 barrel aging warehouses in addition to their stillhouse and other buildings on their 196 acres.
Willett Distillery is a relatively small craft distillery that is still family-owned and operated and produces bourbon and rye whiskey. You might know them for their Johnny Drum, Old Bardstown, and Rowan’s Creek (drinking some now) bottlings. You will be sure to remember their Willett Pot Still Reserve bottling for its distinctive bottle in the shape of a pot still. We arrived too late at this picturesque distillery for a tour but were able to score a few cocktails before the bar closed. Several wedding parties arrived on-site to snap some photos – so you know the scenery is lovely. We were especially taken with the multitude of white barrel aging houses holding all that amber liquid. They are practical, no-frills, iconic structures that look really cool. They may not seem like much but they are a bride one can trust.
On our way back to Louisville, we stopped at Bardstown Bourbon Company - a relatively new facility with some impressive bottlings and brands. They offer both tours and cocktail experiences at the high tech column-still distillery. Bardstown produces several straight bourbons through their Fusion, Discovery and Collaborative Series, have a first-class restaurant on-premises and a bar offering cocktails and bits and bites to eat. Roxanne and Jordan indulged in bourbon milkshakes with toasted marshmallows. It was a decadent, rich, creamy dream of a thing that tasted as though you’d gone to milkshake heaven. Just like an ocean sunset, it was a thing of ephemeral beauty for a few moments, and then it was gone.
We felt that we had one more stop in us so we went to the Jim Beam Distillery, but they were closed. More’s the pity. The iconic logo and dramatic black warehouse buildings did make for some good photo opportunities. Jim Beam is a very large producer of bourbon, much of it flavored, which isn’t really our thing but it can certainly be yours.
FUN FACT TO KNOW AND TELL
Kentucky has 9 million barrels of whiskey aging in storage. That’s 2 barrels per Kentuckian. If every barrel were at full capacity, that would equal 485,000,000 gallons, enough to cover 1,637 football fields 6 ft deep.
See these other posts to learn more about Louisville and The Kentucky Bourbon Trail
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Kevin authored this one. He has some time on his hands these days.
"485,000,000 gallons, enough to cover 1,637 football fields 6 ft deep"?.........you have too much time on your hands.
For some reason I never pegged you for a Bourbon person. Looked like a great and 'educational' tour.