Bourbon Chronicles: Willet, Woodford Reserve, Jim Beam, Evan Williams, Coper & Kings

When you’re hosting your also married friends (who have two young kiddos) + a 40th-birthday is in the mix, for a two day-buck-list-bourbon-trail adventure in Kentucky, you make the most of it! These are the adult diaries of 40+ year olds.

At first, we thought we’d book one of the local private tours but it ended up working out that we booked everything on our own because, as we started researching available tours and times based on our friend’s dates, we had limited flexibility. If you’re planning and scheduling your own bourbon trail experience, take it from a local, there are a few things to consider. The first off which is geographical logistics: here ye, here ye, the “bourbon trail” is not an actual trail. It’s a figure of (marketing) speech (?) because, on the map, it’s a bunch of participating distilleries all across the state of Kentucky.

For example, this map from kybourbontrail.com is just a small portion of distilleries, located in the downtown Louisville area, that are part of the bourbon trail.

But there are sooo many more! Look, other cities and states (Nashville and Cincinnati!) As a Southern California native, I’m not used to seeing other major cities, let alone states, close by…except Tahoe and Vegas, NV.

So! That’s why it’s really important to plan ahead because there is a lot of driving and (responsible) tasting to do. Sometimes travel time between locations can take 45 minutes or more. Each tour/tasting can last about an hour. And, you also want to leave time to visit the gift shop.

Bourbon tour & tasting playbook

Our friends were in for two full weekdays so here’s how we maximized our bourbon trail itinerary. If you’re planning your own visit to Louisville to explore Kentucky’s bourbon distilleries and designated-driving to each, below is our playbook.

Bourbon Trail Day 1:

• Willet
• Woodford Reserve
• Buffalo Trace

Bourbon Trail Day 2:

• Jim Beam
• Evan Williams
• Coper & Kings

Bourbon Trail Day 3:

• KAD Kentucky Artisan Distillery

The timeline of when we booked each tour & tasting time plus factoring in things like browsing the gift shop and travel time to the next distillery is below:

Day 1 Tues	Day 2 Wed	Day 3 (travel out) Thurs
Noon: Willet tour & tasting (Pro tip: pack along lunch & snacks to consume during the travel time to the next distillery) 3PM Woodford Reserve tour & tasting Stop in at Buffalo Trace (closes 5PM) Dinner back at home in Louisville at Alchemy Restaurant or Watch Hill Proper	10:20AM Jim Beam tour & tasting Leave time to pop into the on-site restaurant for a bite/lunch: The Kitchen Table Restaurant 2PM Evan Williams 4PM Copper & Kings tasting Order Pig Beach BBQ (for pick up)	Our friends flew out at 1PM so we suggested they squeeze in KAD: Kentucky Artisan Distillery (open Tues-Sat starting at 10AM) b/c they offer a 30 min (mini tasting!) option. And then we will quickly whisk them off to the airport. Promise.

As you can see from the map, Willet distillery and Woodford Reserve are located a good hour south of Louisville. Getting over to Woodford Reserve is going to be another hour. At that point, we might as well pop into Buffalo Trace! And getting back to Louisville to our prospective dinner spot, Watch Hill Proper, is roughly another hour. That’s a good full, first day.

Here’s day 2: (wee! don’t forget to hydrate.) We’re basically going back down south to the Jim Beam distillery (b/c what is a visit to Bourbon Town without a visit to Jim Beam). Afterwards, we’ll come back up to the city and hit up the Evan Williams experience followed by a visit to Copper & Kings distillery (they have a rooftop bar we want to eventually check out but it’s only open certain week nights).

The clutch move of the evening: we call in and pick up our dinner order at Pig Beach BBQ before heading back home. Day 2 inspo for your own trip: You’re welcome.

One of the distilleries we did not get to take our friends to (this time) that’s a favorite is Castle and Key. Currently, they’re open Thursday-Sunday. We personally have visited before. They have beautiful gardens and a river and an outdoor bar to partake off if you can’t get in for a proper tour & tasting. I highly recommended it. Especially if you like really good craft gin.

We also didn’t get a reservation at the Bar at Willet, the on-site restaurant at the Willet distillery. We’ve also been here before and highly recommend coordinating this if you can with your distillery tour and tasting visit. It caps off a great visit to their property when you do.

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What’s cool about the local transportation companies and tour operators in Kentucky is that they group your distillery visits based on region. For example, the below is from the Bourbon Boys Tours. See the regional groupings? That helps ensure you get to visit at least three distilleries per day. Maximizing your time and location of what’s also in the region.

Because Woodford Reserve is going to be a new tour & tasting experience for my husband and I, we’re excited to check it out. It’s located east in relation to the city of Louisville and the Ohio River.

Bourbon Tour & Tasting Experience – Woodford Reserve

Woodford is one of only three national historic landmark distilleries in Kentucky. It’s warehouses were built in 1892 and it has one of the oldest limestone maturation houses. It’s the oldest, active distillery having started in 1812. And they’re one of the distilleries that distills the longest: 7 days.

It’s also the bourbon brand that sponsors the Kentucky Derby bottle. Here’s the one for this year’s 150th Derby that will be on May 4, 2024.

Our friends really enjoyed Woodford Reserve. Their main feedback was how picturesque it is; the distillery is surrounded by rolling green hills and horse farms. WR grounds feel both old and new. We all really enjoyed seeing the live production aspect of bourbon barrels rolling down the track. A new aspect of the tour was that we got to get the bung (the wooden plug that goes in the bourbon barrel to seal up the liquid) stamped.

The gift shop at WR was quite expansive and had some very nice items. We picked out branded rocks glasses. I think the only thing holding back this distillery from getting our 5/5 Ice Cube rating is the lack of an on-site food option. Otherwise, it’s a fabulous experience across its tour, grounds, and products.

Name	Location	Tour Time	Tour Name	Tour Price	Address	Food Options
Woodford Reserve	Versailles, KY	70 min	Path to Flavor Tour	$35	7785 McCracken Pike Versailles, KY 40383	None

Bourbon Tour & Tasting experience – Willett Distillery

I realized I hadn’t updated our ranking of distilleries we’ve visited since we first went to Willett in October 2022 but I think it’s quickly become one of our favorite distilleries to take friends to.

It rises to the top of the list for a few reasons: first, their tour guides give a genuinely enjoyable tour and presentation, the tour is a full walking tour of a working distillery, there are cats walking the grounds (obviously, keeping everyone in line). And, our favorite part is that they “pour along the tour.” So every stopping station has a few of their bottles and you get to sip and stroll your way around the property with the tour group. Let’s be real, it’s just way more fun to taste bourbon along the way and savor the environment and the history instead of waiting until the end to get a tiny pour in a tasting room.

What’s funny is that the pour and tour was part of the Willett experience when we went there in 2022 and it’s part of what made us come back. When we visited the James Beam distillery, they were also now pouring and touring. How convenient 😀

I always enjoy seeing the “devil’s cut” of where the bourbon seeps into the barrel. The “angel’s share” is 10% that evaporates.

In the next 5 years, Willett will be opening another rickhouse in Springfield, expanding their operations.

Bourbon Tour & Tasting experience – James B. Beam Distilling

Jim Beam is really the big operating distillery experience. The grounds and shear size of their product output is massive. A new aspect of the tour was the pour and tour had caught on here too. They have great products so it’s really fun to sip and listen to the tour guide and take it all in.

After our tour we sat down to try the food at The Kitchen; the pizza is delicious! The crust is made from the yeast at the distillery.

Here’s what bourbon has to have to be bourbon.

Bourbon Tour & Tasting experience – Evan Williams Distillery

This distillery’s claim to fame is in addition to Evan Williams being the first licensed distiller in Kentucky, the Evan Williams Bourbon Experience is the first distillery back on Whiskey Row in Louisville since before Prohibition.

Name	Location	Tour Time	Tour Name	Tour Price	Address	Food Options
Evan Williams	Downtown Louisville, KY	60 min	Traditional Tour & Tasting	$18	528 West Main Street Louisville, KY	None

The distillery is literally located across the street from its original location, Square 6. This tour by far has the most interesting history of Louisville and bourbon culture because it was part of the catalyst. I really enjoyed the imersive experience their distillery tour offered. The tour moved us through various theatre rooms to theatre-in-the-round where AV and set design made you feel like you stepped back in time. Truly unique.

The tasting room bars were so much fun to be in too, themed like a speakeasy.

Brandy + Bourbon Tour & Tasting experience – Copper & Kings Distillery

Wow. Talk about a great way to top off a bourbon tasting experience; Copper & Kings makes brandy for bourbon drinkers. All of their equipment and bottle naming ties into music in some form. In fact the “Kings” in the name is in reference to the band the Kings of Leon.

They have an incredible variety in their extensive product lineup. The highlight of the tour was going downstairs into their version a rick house where they stored the brandy but blasted music all over the concrete basement to vibrate the liquid. Pretty cool.

Name	Location	Tour Time	Tour Name	Tour Price	Address	Food Options
Copper & Kings	Downtown Louisville, KY	60 min	The Copper Kings Experience	$25	1121 E Washington Street, 2nd & 3rd FL Louisville, KY	Rooftop Bar & Restaurant

Louisville Bourbon Trail review

I was so pleased to hear our friends say they felt there was plenty of variety in the schedule of tours and tastings we’d put together. No one felt rushed. We were all fed and hydrated throughout and thoroughly enjoyed our time together.

This time around I really feel like I’ve learned how to drink bourbon better. I realize we’ve been on a few of these distillery tours now bit it really sank in. The key is to make the first sip small and to blow out your breadth, exhaling the alcohol on the initial burn. Then, take another sip. The firs one wakes up the pallet. The ones thereafter are where you can actually taste and enjoy your bourbon.

For this experience, our Ice Cube rating is:

Ice Cube Rating 1-5	Distillery
5/5	Willett
5/5	Jim Beam
4/5	Woodford Reserve
4/5	Evan Williams
4/5	Copper & Kings

Instagram Story Highlights…when internet connection would allow

Bourbon Tasting

Woodford Reserve

Solar Eclipse

Lastly, in the same week, we had the fortunate experience to be able to witness the Solar Eclipse with our friends and my parents whose visits overlapped (even eclipsed? :P)

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These are my personal views and experience and not those of my employer.