KY Distillery Tour: Bulleit & Wild Turkey

Bourbon Chronicles: Bulleit and Wild Turkey

Distillery tours: Bulleit Frontier Whiskey and Wild Turkey

We visited these distilleries back in 2011 when mask mandates were still in place and tour sizes were drastically reduced which meant, when we visited Wild Turkey, we only walked the grounds and have yet to experience their tour.

Location: both distilleries are located between Kentucky’s major cities of Louisville and Lexington in a nearby a town called Frankfurt (the capital). From Louisville, Bulleit distillery is about 38 minutes (32 miles east). One could make a day of it visiting both locations, if tours are booked in advance. But both have equally delightful properties to visit if you happen to be a walk-in.

Bulleit Frontier Whiskey visit

The visiting experience is great. I highly recommend a visit to their gift shop. Bulleit has a bar (around the corner from the gift shop) that each tour empties out into. There are also least two large sitting rooms where you can take your cocktail to sip and savor their product. The amenities at this distillery, we feel, make it worth a visit as a walk-in (without a tour).

Our distillery tour was equally impressive. It’s interesting to be able to see a more updated, digital side of the distilling process. We had an engaging and knowledgeable guide and the tasting experience finished off by including a sensory experience. This being one of the early distilleries we visited as new residents, was where I discovered I prefer rye whiskeys.

Bulleit distillery gift shop

I really enjoyed browsing the items in their gift shop. It was filled with fun and quality items. There’s a station where you can personalize a bottle. That’s a lot of fun to figure out what you wand displayed on your own label. It makes a great gift or way to commemorate your trip.

I think the one drawback to this distillery is that it doesn’t have a food option. Operating an on-site restaurant is no small feat, but I feel the business would benefit from some type of on-site food option, even a food truck.

Name	Location	Tour Time	Tour name	Cost /person	Address	Food on site
Bulleit	Shellbyville	1 hour	distillery tour & tasting	$22	3464 Benson Pike Shelbyville, KY 40065	None
Wild Turkey	Lawrenceburg		TBD		1417 Versaille Rd Lawrenceburg, KY 40342	None

My quick reference guide. Always check brand website for updated pricing, times and tours.

Wild Turkey distillery visit

This location is on our list of distilleries to return to and take the tour. At the time, we were able to walk the grounds and peruse the gift shop and read through the walls of the brand’s history.

There is no food options on site so plan accordingly.

Fun fact: I hadn’t realized Matthew McConaughey is the brand’s creative director. I hope to learn more when we get to go on the tour someday.