Bourbon tour through Kentucky

We went in the fall(Week of Halloween) a few years ago. Amazing trip. Just a group of 4 guys. We drove up from Bham on a Wednesday and hit the distilleries Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Saturday though we were a little burned out and only went to one or two, then just watched football the rest of the afternoon.

Definitely add Buffalo Trace to your itinerary. And I'd add Jim Beam of Wild Turkey if you can, just to get a feel for how the bigger outfits operate. Wild Turkey is fairly close to Woodford, Four Roses, and Buffalo Trace. We did all 4 of those in one day, but it makes for a long day.

And if you're in Bardstown, I'd skip the Heaven Hill one unless they've upgraded it. It really wasn't much of a tour and they charged like $15 for it.

Also, a tip if you end up going. Every distillery has a gift shop they sell their bourbons in, but their prices are a little higher than what you'll find at a local grocery store. We hit the liquor store at a Kroger in Bardstown for all our bring home bourbon. Most bottles there were a good $5-$10 cheaper than at the distilleries.

I did buy a bottle or two at Buffalo Trace because their tour was free.

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If you want to go to the races and not deal with the crowd, I would highly recommend keeneland outside of Lexington.

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Well the main reason we were thinking Derby is that I was born during the running of it, and next year it falls on my birthday. But we waited too late to start planning and all the travel packages are expensive. Plus Dad would want to be in a box or suite and not be in the grandstands. So we nixed the derby idea for just a bourbon tour. Thinking they would be busier during that week and weekend as well. April might be the perfect time to go. Thanks for the tip.

Louisville during derby week is crazy. Hell the oaks is hard to get into now as well. Keeneland is just a nice day at the races in a nice setting. Get a grandstand ticket and show up early in the day to get a favorable seat. The boxes just below the grandstand are all owned but if you have any connections you may be able to snag a couple. To be honest it's not much different from the grandstand though.

Second castle and key. It's a pretty area and there's a really nice seating area overlooking a lazy Creek. Grab a cocktail and sit back in an Adirondack chair.

Wild turkey has a nice view but don't waste your time or money on a tour or their bourbon.

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, I would highly recommend keeneland outside of Lexington.

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Seconded.

Got back 2 weeks ago. We did Buffalo Trace, Four Roses, and Woodford. Stopped at a restaurant about a mile down the road from Woodford called The Stave. Really good. They waiter recommended we stop at Castle and Key (another mile down the road).

Castle is making fun and vodka right now as their bourbon ages. They do a gin tasting there which was good, they guide will make you 2 cocktails. They give you a souvenir glass to take home.

Four Roses does just a tasting with a little history talk for like $7. We did that. They also give you a glass after the tasting.

Schedule a hard hat tour in advance for Buffalo Trace. They are doing expansion right now, so it altered the tour. Our guide brought us through Pompeii to make up for it, which is on the Col Taylor tour.

Woodford is fancy. Surroundings are beautiful. It’s in the middle of a big arse horse farm. If you get a drink from the bar before the tour, they give you a copper cup to take home.