In the most unstructured of ways, this is simply a fun way for my husband and I to document and rate our visits to the various bourbon, gin and brandy distilleries we’ve begun visiting around Kentucky along the famous bourbon trail. We moved to Louisville from San Francisco basically in the middle of what became a global pandemic and didn’t get out much at the time. Governor Andy Beshear was great at navigating Louisville through the restrictions and mandates. Now that we’re on the other side of the pandemic, we’re making more of an effort to explore our new surroundings and home in Kentucky.

Who we are – Meet local bourbon enthusiasts Glenn & Holly

We’re Glenn and Holly Miller Anderson. We met and got married in California and, as of 2020, are recent transplants to the Louisville area. Glenn is a chef by trade and I’m a marketer. We like to explore, share and taste our way around our new home in the Bluegrass State (Glenn looking over my shoulder says, “we sound like a fun couple!”).

We also love hosting our friends and family when they visit so documenting our experience on the various bourbon tours & tastings and rating them means the research is done for you by two locals. We feel time (and bourbon) is meant to be savored and enjoyed together.

Why our opinion matters

In reality, it doesn’t 😉 But, our hope is that our perspective as new-ish locals is authentic, helpful and provides a guide to you of what to expect at different distilleries as you research and plan your own visit to Kentucky to experience the bourbon trail. We also have this cool thing called the Kentucky Derby so you can come back for that bucket list item too.

Bourbon Trail & Tour Rating System – 1 out of 5 Ice Cubes

To keep things simple, each distillery gets our score of 1 to 5 ice cubes. 5 being the highest rating. Let’s be honest, this is a loosely structured system (and I like a few ice cubes in my bourbon). It’s just a fun way to assign a “star rating” of sorts to the distilleries we’ve been visiting and offer our perspective on each as locals. It’s based on our impression of an overall great user experience including key decision-making factors like:

• an engaging and knowledgeable tour guide
• food options on site
• gift shop experience has a variety of unique and/or quality merchandise
• overall bourbon tour and tasting experience
• ambiance of the distillery grounds
• the tour offers a fun/unique aspect like being able to personalize your own bottle of their product or does walking pour tours.

Bourbon Tour & Tasting	Ice Cube Rating 1-5	Rating Notes
Jim Beam	5	Great tour & overall experience. Part of the tour includes personalizing your own bottle pressing your fingerprint onto the top of the wax seal.
Willett Distillery	5	This is one of our favorite bourbon tasting & tour experiences. The product is fantastic, there is a restaurant and bar on site, and their gift shop has a lot of nice items. We also love that they pour bourbon throughout the tour, something we noticed other distilleries started adopting too (i.e Jim Beam).
Buffalo Trace	5	This is a fantastic tour, grounds, and extensive gift shop. All of their merchandise and product is very reasonably priced (and it’s dog friendly). There’s a small restaurant on site that has picnic style atmosphere. Fun fact, Buffalo Trace isn’t actually part of the bourbon trail b/c they’re such an established bourbon brand.
Wild Turkey	5	This distillery has it all: great product, on-site bar, bites, gift shop. There’s a lot to like about this distillery as one of your larger brand tours.
Woodford Reserve	4	This is one of the largest and historic distilleries in Versailles, KY. They need an on-site food option to make this a 5/5 but otherwise, it’s a must-see: beautiful grounds, fantastic gift shop and tour experience.
Evan Williams	4	One of the first distilleries to open in 1783 on the banks of the Ohio River. If you love history and great bourbon, stop in. No food option on site.
Bulleit Frontier Whiskey	4	One of our favorites; great cocktail bar, tour and gift shop. It’s just missing an on-site food option.
KY Artisan Distillery	4	It’s smaller but still a fantastic experience. They don’t have other amenities like the larger operations like food etc.
Copper & Kings	4	This is a very eclectic tour; they do brandy for bourbon drinkers. A very unique facility and product lineup await. There is a rooftop bar & restaurant, we haven’t been there yet.
Jeptha Creed	4	The property is great to stop in and visit, have a cocktail or get one to go, they make pizza at the cafe. There’s an expansive indoor/outdoor porch with rocking chairs.
Old Forester	4	In the city, great experience however no food or bar on site.
Michter’s Fort Nelson	3	Good tour but it’s confined to their single building on whiskey row. There’s an on-site bar and while there’s no food option, it’s within walking distance to other restaurants.
Heaven Hill	2	The tour option wasn’t available at the time of our visit. No food options available on site. Gift shop is great but they were out of tasting glasses we were looking to purchase.

Bourbon Trail Distilleries – Ranked

Again, this is in no way a formal process. This is based off of the bourbon tours and tastings we’ve been able to visit thus far. If you’re not on this list, do not despair, I’m sure we will visit your establishment soon. Personally, if you reach out to me, I’ll make sure we come to your business.

Why ice cubes?

It’s fun and pairs with bourbon. Personally, I like my bourbon with a bit of water mixed in because it opens it up. I realize to the bourbon aficionado that’s essentially watering down an otherwise beautiful, pure product but, you know what? That’s how I like my “Kentucky hug” from my bourbon.

And, any time we open the freezer our golden retriever, Rizzo, comes running for his own, coveted ice cube treat.

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KY Bourbon Trail distilleries by region

What is considered the Bourbon Trail?

There are certain distilleries that have chosen to become part of what’s considered the bourbon trail. But not every distillery in Kentucky is part of this group. For instance, Buffalo Trace, is not part of the trail because it has enough notoriety and attracts many visitors on its own. The bourbon trail is less of an actual trail and more of an experience created by the KY Distillers Association that maps out the locations of various distilleries in the state for visitors to tour.

Visitors can tour each location individually based on their interests or visit distilleries that are part of the Bourbon Trail tour or the Craft Tour.

What distilleries make up the Bourbon Trail?

• Angel’s Envy Distillery
• Bardstown Bourbon Co.
• Bulleit Distilling Co.
• Evan Williams Distilling experience
• Four Roses Distillery
• Green River Distilling Co.
• Heaven Hill Distillery
• James (Jim) Beam Distillery
• Lux Row Distillery
• Makers Mark Distillery
• Michters Distillery
• Old Forester Distilling Co.
• Rabbit Hole Distillery
• Stitzel-Weller Distillery
• Town Branch Distillery
• Wild Turkey Distillery
• Wilderness Trail Distillery
• Woodford Reserve

Is the Bourbon Trail worth it?

I think it is. You don’t have to stick to the list of distilleries that are part of the trail. In fact, it’s worth doing a bit of research to figure out which distilleries you actually want to visit and book a tour/tasting ahead of time. Day-of availability for a tour is hit and miss. Some locations are better than others to visit if you’re a walk-in and only have time for a tasting. Each distillery is unique and usually has a gift shop with bottles or branded items for purchase.

Generally speaking, the tasting portion is small enough to help you figure out which product(s) you like. It is bourbon so it’s strong (what you’ll come to learn is called the “Kentucky hug”) but the quantity itself is not really enough to get you tipsy.

If you’re a local it’s much easier to visit any of the distilleries whenever it suits your schedule. We’ve found tours are often booked out weeks in advance. It’s also important to factor in two things when planning your visits:

1. The driving time in between the distilleries you’re visiting and…

2. The location.

There are two different time zones in the state so travel time and location can impact your plans for when you need to be at the distillery in order to be on time for your tour.

What do you wear to a bourbon trail tour?

Most distilleries ask that you wear close-toed shoes for your safety. I recommend a good pair of riding boots or ankle high boots if it’s during the summer. Tennis shoes are also a great option because you’ll be doing a lot of walking. I often pair that with a flowing dress or skirt. Bring a hat and sunglasses. Pack along a light rain jacket and travel umbrella if it looks like rain.

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KY Bourbon Distilleries by…

Operation size:

The following distilleries are loosely grouped by their operation size.

Small

• KY Artisan Distillery
• Jeptha Creed
• Copper & Kings

Medium

• Wild Turkey
• Bulleit
• Woodford Reserve
• Evan Williams

Large

• Jim Beam
• Buffalo Trace
• Heaven Hill

Dog friendly:

• Buffalo Trace
  

Good for walk-in visits

Of the distilleries we’ve visited, these are the best ones that offer a nice on-site experience if you happen to be passing through and don’t have a tour booked. On-site amenities include things like a nice ambiance, restaurant, bar, gift shop etc. that’s open to the public.

• Heaven Hill
• Bulleit
• Willett Distillery
• Jim Beam
• Buffalo Trace
• Wild Turkey
• Jeptha Creed
• Evan Williams
• Copper & Kings
• Michter’s Fort Nelson

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This article represents my personal opinion and experience and not those of my employer.