Top Distilleries to Explore Near the Kentucky Derby

Do you know how many people attend the Kentucky Derby? Upwards of 150,000. Many of which are in town for as little as two days to attend Oaks and Derby (Friday May 2nd and Saturday May 3rd). It got me thinking, if I were in town for this major, bucket-list event and could only get out to one local distillery, which one should I choose?

As a local, I’m here to guide you. Our pick would be Willett Distillery. Here’s why.

For starters, it’s geographically located about an hour south of the city of Louisville so you’ll get to see a bit of the state on the drive down, this distillery has a lot to offer if it’s your one and only visit. We’ve taken many of our friends here and really enjoy it.

While our data set is only comprised of the many bourbon distillery tours we’ve been on thus far and rated, it’s a good sample size.

Products: Willett has several different types of whiskey.

Tour: We’ve enjoyed touring the grounds and getting pours of their various products along the way.

Restaurant: The Bar at Willett is a great way to top off your visit (make sure to make a reservation) because you won’t want to miss the chance to try their famous egg salad sandwich. Yes, Virginia, it has it’s own Instagram page too! theeggsaladsandwichatwillett

Other bourbon & gin distilleries to consider

Given that you’re short on time and want to be somewhere within an hour’s drive of Louisville, and want to see an older, restored distillery with unique architecture, visit Castle & Key Distillery.

One that’s on the smaller production side but that has fantastic product, including brands like Jefferson’s Bourbon, is Kentucky Artisan Distillery (KAD).

Want to see something in the city that’s unique in terms of product and production? Visit Copper & Kings Distillery where they make brandy and age it using vibrations from music.

The city itself has some great historic distilleries like Evan Williams.

Just outside of Louisville is another unique bourbon brand with a great location to visit, relax and grab a bite: Jeptha Creed Distillery. Another of our favorites with a great gift shop and product, of course, is Bulleit Distilling.

For the truly big brand experience, I recommend visiting ones like James (Jim) Beam, Woodford Reserve, Heaven Hill, and Wild Turkey. Lest we forget, Buffalo Trace, is a crowd favorite. While it’s not officially part of the Bourbon Trail it’s a hard one to get into without enough lead time.

One of the distilleries that’s on our bucket list is Green River Distilling Co but it’s located about two hours east of the city. Check out more distilleries on KYbourbon.com.