For whiskey lovers, the Kentucky Bourbon Trail is a flavor-soaked joy ride, full of top-level distilleries, tours, and plenty of samples along the way.
Kentucky is the spiritual home of bourbon, an American whiskey made with at least 51 percent corn and aged in new, charred, white oak barrels. That said, many Kentucky distilleries also make other types of whiskey (like rye or American single malts) or other types of spirits. But if you’re headed to Kentucky, it’s a safe bet that you’ll find plenty of bourbon, first and foremost—including some pours you can’t find anywhere else. Here’s how to navigate the world of Kentucky bourbon.
What is the Kentucky Bourbon Trail?
The official Kentucky Bourbon Trail includes 57 distilleries and tasting rooms. This official trail doesn’t necessarily include every bourbon producer in the state, but it’s still a pretty comprehensive overview, and the KBT provides a useful way to organize a visit—including a website with plenty of maps and links. Kentucky’s bourbon distilleries are sprawled across the state, but most are within about 100 miles from Louisville, the logical starting point for this journey.
How long to spend
It’s possible to visit a number of the best-known distilleries within three or four days. Most visitors use Louisville as a home base, spending a day or two exploring the city’s “Whiskey Row” and other distilleries within city limits. From there, it makes sense to drive about an hour east toward Lexington, perhaps visiting Wild Turkey, Four Roses, and Woodford Reserve, before returning to Louisville. The following day, many head southbound toward Loretto, home of Maker’s Mark, stopping at Bardstown and its distilleries along the way.
Quite a few are located farther afield, in more rural areas, meaning more travel time is necessary to get there. (Green River, in Owensboro, is farthest removed; it’s even in a different time zone, though it’s only about 100 miles from Louisville.)
Expect to spend an hour or two at each distillery; visiting two or three distilleries per day, maximum, is a realistic pace.
The Kentucky Bourbon Trail comprises well-known distilleries such as Maker’s Mark and lesser-known spots equally worth a visit, such as Jeptha Creed.
Courtesy of Kentucky Tourism
Which distilleries are on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail?
There are 57 distilleries on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail—it’s essentially a who’s who of the bourbon names you’ll spot at a well-stocked bar or liquor store. The list includes:
- Angel’s Envy
- Bardstown Bourbon Co.
- Bulleit
- Evan Williams
- Four Roses Distillery; Four Roses Warehouse & Bottling (two different locations)
- Green River
- Heaven Hill
- James B. Beam
- Lux Row
- Maker’s Mark
- Michter’s
- Old Forester
- Rabbit Hole
- Stitzel-Weller
- Town Branch
- Wild Turkey
- Wilderness Trail
- Woodford Reserve
How to get around
Within Louisville, it’s easy to reach distilleries on foot or via taxis or rideshares. Beyond city limits, you need a car to get around; particularly in more rural areas, ridesharing isn’t always available. To delegate the transportation and/or planning, consider booking tours with a company like Mint Julep, Bourbon Excursions, or Pegasus. They’ll shuttle you or your group around. Many of the tours focus on specific interests, like culinary or horse farm tours, or offer VIP access to tastings or other experiences. However you’re getting around, don’t drink and drive.
How to plan a distillery visit
Planning ahead is strongly encouraged. Many distilleries are closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, and hours may vary, so check a distillery’s site before heading out. Note, too, that part of Kentucky is in the Central time zone, so you may need to factor that in when making reservations. For those traveling with kids: Some places welcome all ages, while others are limited to those 21 and over.
Do you need reservations for the Kentucky Bourbon Trail?
Not always, but it helps, particularly during the peak summer and fall tourist seasons and holiday weekends. That said, many tours are reservation-only and charge a fee. Most cost around $25 and tend to run about 60 to 90 minutes. If you prefer to keep your schedule flexible, some distilleries, such as Green River, have the option to come in for a casual tasting (around $15).
Visiting distilleries is well worth it for bourbon fans looking to learn about the U.S.'s native whiskey and snap up hard-to-find bottles to add to a collection. Rest assured that two or three distilleries in a day is plenty. Most tours cover the same “how-bourbon-is-made” info, and especially if you’re sampling, this will start to add up.
Angel’s Envy is one of the major stops on Louisville’s Whiskey Row.
Courtesy of Louisville Tourism
Start in Louisville
Louisville is ideal as a home base for a bourbon tour: In addition to having distillery experiences available within city limits, it’s also relatively central to Lexington, Clermont, and Bardstown and has plenty of appealing bars, restaurants, and cultural attractions.
Start with Whiskey Row, which is home to Michter’s Fort Nelson Distillery (and its top-notch bar), Old Forester Distilling (keep an eye out for special whiskey drops here), and Angel’s Envy. From there, the NuLu district offers the modern design of Rabbit Hole Distillery and its second-floor Overlook bar, with drinks by the Death & Co. team. Grab a rideshare for the five-mile drive to West Louisville to tour the historic Stitzel-Weller Distillery, which opened in 1935 but had been closed to the public for many years. (Attention horse fans: The Kentucky Derby Museum is nearby.)
Among the smaller distilleries in downtown Louisville are Kentucky Peerless Distilling Co. and Copper & Kings, an industrial-chic space that started as a brandy facility and has only recently begun producing bourbon. Look for the monarch butterfly garden out front and the rooftop restaurant/bar with sweeping city views.
When the distilleries close, continue bourbon tasting at Louisville bars like the Silver Dollar, a honky-tonk owned by whiskey expert Larry Rice, or the 1920s-inspired Neat Bourbon Bar & Bottle Shop.
Where to stay in Louisville
Consider a stay at Hotel Distil, a bourbon-themed hotel located in a historic building on Louisville’s “Whiskey Row.” Or the boutique-y 21c Museum Hotel is also home to stellar restaurant Proof on Main.
You could also try Galt House Hotel, a much larger venue with views of the Ohio River, or the genteel Brown Hotel, which dates back to 1923 and offers skyline views from the restored rooftop garden.
Day trip options from Louisville
Visit a couple of distilleries during each of these day trips with Louisville as a convenient home base, or combine them for a longer road trip. Here are a few potential options to build an itinerary.
1. Clermont
From Louisville, it’s about a 30-minute drive south to Clermont to reach James B. Beam Distilling—known for making Jim Beam, Knob Creek, and Basil Hayden, among others. Its enormous space for visitors includes the Kitchen Table, a 5,000-square-foot restaurant and bar, and the Fred B. Noe Craft Distillery, a facility to explore new fermentation and distillation techniques.
2. Bardstown
Either starting out from Louisville or continuing on from Beam, head to Heaven Hill; the family-owned distillery makes such legendary brands as Elijah Craig, Old Fitzgerald, and Henry McKenna, among many others. While the company’s new $200 million distillery is underway, this remains a fine place to learn about bourbon production and snap up exclusive bottles.
Leave time for contemporary distilleries Lux Row Distillers and Bardstown Bourbon Company (the latter focuses on elaborate bourbon blends).
Beyond tastings and cocktail classes, leave time to stroll the grounds of the Maker’s Mark Distillery, which has been designated a National Historic Landmark.
Courtesy of Kentucky Tourism
3. Lebanon/Loretto
Maker’s Mark is on many a bourbon lover’s must-see list. Visit the distillery and tour the grounds, but don’t leave without dipping your own bottle in the iconic red wax.
This might be the endpoint of a route heading south through Clermont and/or Bardstown. Since the distillery is fairly remote from Louisville, plan to stay overnight—if possible, at the Samuels House, a 200-year-old Federal-style home owned by the family behind Maker’s Mark and stocked with a collection of whiskey memorabilia.
Add on a tour of the Kentucky Cooperage Visitor Center to learn how barrels are made and see firsthand how they’re charred with a burst of flame—a key part of the bourbon-making process.
4. Frankfort/Lexington
From Louisville, it’s also about an hour east to Frankfort, home of Buffalo Trace, which isn’t technically on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. Choose from several different themed tours of the sprawling facility, such as one through the property’s arboretum and botanical gardens. There’s also the “Old Taylor Tour,” which focuses on the legacy of E.H. Taylor, who revolutionized the bourbon industry.
Continue on to Four Roses in Lawrenceburg, housed in a 1910 mission-style building, or Woodford Reserve in Versailles (pronounced “ver-sales”). Lexington, the so-called “Horse Capital of the World,” is home to multitudes of thoroughbreds, so consider adding a horse farm tour to your itinerary.
5. Danville
About an hour south of Lexington, the picturesque Wilderness Trail Distillery is in the heart of the Bluegrass region. The distillery is a relative newcomer, having launched in 2012 and released its first bourbon in 2018. (For comparison, Woodford Reserve launched in 1812.) In the last 13 years, Wilderness Trail has garnered plenty of attention and now runs six tours daily. Theirs are among the most reasonably priced, starting at just $15 for a 60-minute experience.
This article was originally published in 2022 and most recently updated on April 19, 2025, with current information.
