Central Kentucky was originally dubbed bourbon country because it’s ideal climate, plentiful corn crop, and limestone filtered water make it a perfect place to produce the beloved drink. Now there are 20+ distilleries in the state that produce over 200 brands of bourbon and collectively make 95 percent of America’s bourbon. Any whiskey connoisseur needs to add the bourbon trail to their bucket list.
Tips for your trip:
*Pick up your free passport at the first distillery you visit. Get it stamped at each stop; once you collect them all, mail it in to receive your free t-shirt.
*You do not have to do a guided tour of the distillery for them to stamp your passport. If you do not do a tour just ask someone at the desk for a stamp-they are happy to!
*You do not need to take a guided tasting tour of each distillery. Pick the ones you like the most and tour those.
*Some distilleries offer tastings without doing a tour and some do not.
*Do not book your tours in advance so that it allows more flexibility in your schedule and you can decide upon arrival to the distillery if you want to do a tour.
*Take time to explore the cities and towns, not just the distilleries.
*You only need to stop at one of the locations for the distilleries that have two. i.e. Jim Beam has the urban stillhouse and the main distillery.
Distilleries on the Tour:
Bulleit
Tour Price: $10.00
Monday – Saturday | 10am – 4pm (closed on Tuesdays)
Sunday | 1pm – 4pm.
No reservations for groups under 10. The last tour of the day is at 3:00. Wednesday and Thursday tours leave on each hour. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday tours leave on the half-hour.
Angel’s Envy
Tour Price: $15.00
Monday – Saturday | 10am – 5pm
Sunday | 1pm – 5pm
Tours leave on the hour and are by reservation only and begin on the hour with the last tour at 4:00.
Evan Williams
Tour Price: $12.00; active military: $9.00
Monday – Thursday | 11am – 5:30pm
Friday – Saturday | 10am – 6pm
Sunday | 1pm – 5:30pm
Last tour is one hour prior to close. Tours leave every 20 minutes on weekends and every half hour on weekdays. No reservation necessary, however tickets are available on the website.
Jim Beam
Urban Stillhouse:
Tour Price: $6.00
Cocktail Experience: $8.00
Monday – Saturday | 1pm – 9pm
Closed on Sundays
Cocktail experiences are offered on the hour from 2pm – 8pm. Limited availability-reservations can be made at 502-855-8392.
Distillery:
Tour Price: $14.00
Monday – Saturday | 9am – 5:30pm
Sunday 12pm – 4:30pm
Tours leave every half hour with the last tour an hour before closing. Reservations are not necessary but can be made online to guarantee your time slot.
Heaven Hill
Tour Price: $10.00 – $20.00
Monday – Saturday | 10am – 5:30pm
Sunday | 12pm – 4pm
Last tour offered one hour before closing. Reservations are not required but can be made online. Tours leave every hour.
Makers Mark
Tour Price: $12.00, active military: free, retired military: $9.00
Monday – Saturday | 9:30am – 3:30pm
Sundays | 11:30am – 3:30pm
Reservations are not required but can be made on the website. Reservations via the website do not allow for time slot choice.
Four Roses
Tour Price: $5.00
Monday – Saturday | 9am – 4pm
Sunday | 12pm – 4pm
Tours leave on the hour with the last tour beginning at 3:00. No reservations required.
Wild Turkey
Tour Price: $10.00, free with military ID
Monday – Saturday | 9am – 5pm
Sunday | 11am – 4pm
Tours leave on the hour from with the last tour starting an hour before closing. Reservations are not required.
Woodford Reserve
Tour Prices: $14.00
Monday – Saturday | 9am – 5pm
Sunday | 12pm – 4:30pm
Tours leave every half hour and stop at 3:00. Reservations can be made online but are not required.
Town Branch
Tour Prices: $11.00
Monday–Saturday | 9:30am – 5:30pm
Sunday | 11:30 am – 5pm
Tours start every hour on the hour, with the last tour at 4:00. Reservations can be made on the website but they are not required.
Perfect 3 Day Itinerary starting in Louisville:
Arrive early Friday morning-the earlier the better. I would suggest staying in the downtown area of Louisville Friday night. Louisville is an awesome city with a lot to see, so take the time to not only taste some bourbon but to explore all it has to offer!
Bulleit should be your first stop since it is the only one away from downtown in the Louisville area. The others around Louisville are all downtown
and within walking distance of each other. It is about a fifteen minute drive from Bulleit to downtown Louisville. Park either in public parking or at the hotel you have booked for the night and enjoy walking around Louisville! Evan Williams and Angel’s Envy are less than a mile apart. Jim Beam’s Urban Stillhouse is a mile from Angel’s Envy and a quarter mile from Evan Williams. I would suggest making Angel’s Envy first on your downtown route since it is the furthest away from the other 
two and it closes first. Second, visit Evan Williams. After take some time to explore the rest of downtown. The Louisville Slugger Museum/Factory and the Muhammad Ali Center are both within walking distance of the distilleries. Churchill downs and the Kentucky Derby Museum are close but not within walking distance. I suggest If that is on your list of to-do’s to go by on your way downtown when you leave Bulleit. Jim Beam’s Urban Stillhouse is in an area of downtown called 
4th Street Live. A fun entertainment, dining, and nightlife complex in the heart of downtown, often having free concerts and events. It’s a great place to spend the evening! I would not do a tour at the Urban Stillhouse (save your tour for the actual distillery). But definitely stop in to see it if you have time and do the cocktail experience to improve your at home bartending skills. Even if you do not have time to visit the Urban Stillhouse definitely take the time to go to 4th Street Live!
The next morning you will have about a 30 minute drive from Louisville to the Jim Beam Distillery. They open at 9:00 and I would suggest getting there as close to then as possible 
to maximize your day (it’s never too early for bourbon). Jim Beam was one of my favorite tours (listed above as one of the three have to’s). You get to try unfiltered whisky straight from the barrel as well as have the opportunity to fill your own bottle of Knob Creek and put your very own thumb print on the top. From there head to Bardstown; a 25 minute drive from the Jim Beam Distillery. 
There you will visit Heaven Hill-the Bourbon Heritage Center. Bardstown is a lovely little historic town dubbed “The Most Beautiful Small Town in America” and “The Bourbon Capital of the World.” Take some time to explore before going to your next destination. Just make sure to allow yourself enough time to get there before the last tour (which is 3:30). Next on the list is Makers Mark, which is a 20-30 minute drive from Bardstown. Makers, in my opinion, offers the best tour. And dipping your own bottle in the hot red wax is a must. As far as Loretto, the town the distillery is in, it is not as 
charming and fun to explore as Bardstown, Lawrenceburg, or Versailles (pronounced “ver-say-elles” not “ver-sigh”). Because of that, I would suggest driving to Lawrenceburg upon leaving Makers. Although it is a 45-50 minute drive, it is well worth it to get to spend the extra time there exploring. Also, it saves the drive time in the morning which maximizes your time for the shortened Sunday hours of the distilleries. I would even suggest driving to Versailles solely to stay at The Kentucky Castle.
Whether you choose to stay in the Loretto area for the evening or go to Lawrenceburg, Wild Turkey will be first on the list for Sunday. It opens an hour earlier than the others 
which is another way to maximize your time. Sunday is the day in which you have to be most choosy about which ones your tour and which ones you do not because of time constraints. Make sure while at Wild Turkey to check out the view from the tasting room, it’s beautiful! Four Roses is next on the list and only about a fifteen minute drive from Wild Turkey. Side Note: if you feel as though this route makes Sunday too packed and 
Four Roses isn’t one of your personal musts, I would stop by their Warehousing and Bottling Center on Saturday. It is under ten minutes away from the Jim Beam distillery and is on the way to Makers Mark from there. From Four Roses you will have a 25 minute drive through beautiful horse farms to get to Woodford Reserve so make sure you soak in the scenery. The drive into Woodford Reserve is like none other 
and the stone buildings make you feel like you stepped back in time. The next, and final stop will be Town Branch in Lexington. From Woodford Reserve it is about a thirty minute drive. The last tour is at 4:00 but they do not close until 5:00 so plan your day according to what you want to do here. While at Town Branch make sure you do not only check out their bourbon but their beer as well. They make Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale which is beer aged in bourbon barrels. It is definitely 
a must try! And I cannot recommend the Pumpkin Barrel Ale enough either. If you happen to be there when they are making it you will know-the whole place smells like the perfect Autumn day. After that you are DONE! Take the rest of the evening to explore Lexington. I suggest looking into the events at Keeneland, visiting Thoroughbred Park, or just strolling around the Square.
Vagary Travel is happy to help design and book your Kentucky Bourbon Trail adventure and I am happy to answer any questions you have about any destination.
Contact me anytime!
Vagary Travel 
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