Kentucky is best known for making bourbon and hosting the Kentucky Derby. Any bourbon lover will enjoy a trip to Kentucky due to the massive amounts of distilleries spread across central Kentucky. Some of the best distilleries on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail lie near Louisville. You can spend a couple of days to over a week exploring the 38 distilleries that are a part of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. Visiting some of the distilleries makes for great day trips from Louisville.
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Where to Stay in Louisville
TripAdvisor is a great place to start your hotel search. Search for the best Louisville hotels here!
I recommend staying in Downtown Louisville, so you have the option to walk to all of the sites. We stayed at the Courtyard Marriott Downtown which was a couple of blocks off the main street. Another good option is the Hampton Inn Downtown.
What is the Kentucky Bourbon Trail?
The Kentucky Bourbon Trail is a series of distilleries that are part of the Kentucky Distillers’ Association (KDA). Kentucky is responsible for producing 95% of the world’s bourbon. The Kentucky Bourbon Trail began in 1999 with 7 distilleries. In 2008, more distilleries began to join to make up the 38 that are a part of the official trail today. You can visit the KDA welcome center at the Frazier History Museum in Downtown Louisville.
How to Get to the Kentucky Bourbon Trail
To get to the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, you will want to fly to Louisville Airport. It has many flights from across the United States but no international flights. If coming from out of the country, you will need to connect from another airport.
From there, you can base yourself in Louisville to hit up all the distilleries in the area.
Transportation Around the Kentucky Bourbon Trail
If you only want to visit hotels in Downtown Louisville, you can easily walk between many of them. This is a nice option so you do not have to worry about having a driver.
To get to some of the best distilleries on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, you will need a car. I like to rent my cars through Autoslash, as I usually find the best deals there. Make sure if you have a rental car, you have a designated driver. You could also hire a driver for the day.
Another option is to take a Bourbon Trail Tour. Both Viator and Get Your Guide have a few options for tours. However, these can be quite pricey and add up if you want to visit some of the best distilleries on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail.
Best Place to Stay for the Kentucky Bourbon Trail
The best place to base yourself for a visit to the Kentucky Bourbon Trail is in Louisville. I recommend staying Downtown so you can walk to some of the distilleries. We stayed at the Courtyard Marriott Downtown. Another good option is the Hampton Inn Downtown. Both of these are great locations and come with breakfast.
Tips for Visiting the Kentucky Bourbon Trail
- Plan which distilleries you want to visit the most and make sure to pay attention to operating days and hours.
- Make reservations in advance as many fill up quickly.
- Bring lots of water with you.
- Have a designated driver, hire a driver, or only visit one distillery a day.
- Stop at Costco when you first get in to check out the Bourbon selection there. Many of the bottles sell for cheaper than at the distilleries.
- Check each distillery for special releases. There are some bottles you can only get at the distillery.
The Best Distilleries on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail
Angel’s Envy
Location: Downtown Louisville
Cost: $20+
Hours: Mon-Wed: 3pm-8pm, Thurs-Fri: 3pm-9pm, Sat: 10am-8pm, Sun: 1pm-7pm
Favorite Bourbon: Rye Finished
Angel’s Envy offers three different types of experiences: a Welcome Tour, a Signature Tour, and a Bottle Your Own Experience.
The Welcome Tour is offered Monday-Friday for $20. This 45-minute tour takes you through the top level of the distillery and explains the history of Angel’s Envy. The Signature Tour is $25 and is available on the weekends. This tour is an hour long and also takes you around the distillery. Both tours come with a tasting of two bourbons at the end paired with two chocolates.
In the Bottle Your Own Experience, you get to bottle your own bottle of the regular Angel’s Envy Bourbon. This comes in a commemorative box but does not include a tour or tasting. It costs $99.
Copper and Kings
Location: Downtown Louisville
Cost: $25
Hours: Sun-Wed: 10am-6pm, Thus-Sat: 10am-10pm
Favorite(s): Rose Gin and Westward Whiskey
Copper and Kings makes brandy, gin, absinthe, and other liquors. Visitors can opt to go on a tour or you can visit their rooftop bar. We felt like a more chill atmosphere so opted for the rooftop bar. Here you can get flights, samples, or cocktails. I opted for a gin flight while Casey opted for a brandy flight.
You can also buy bottles at their gift shop. For certain bottles, you can even opt to fill it yourself straight from the barrel. Copper and Kings was a great place to relax for a little bit, thus making it one of the best distilleries on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail.
Evan Williams
Location: Downtown Louisville
Cost: $18+
Hours: Wed-Thurs: 11am-5pm, Fri-Sat: 10am-5pm, Sun: 1pm-5pm
Evan Williams’ claim to fame is that they are the first distillery on whiskey row. Visitors to Evan Williams can opt for a tour and tasting for $18. This includes a tour of the facility and 4 tastings. On the weekends, the speakeasy experience is also available for $25. Visitors will have to give a password to access the speakeasy and then get to taste 5 different products.
Four Roses
Location: Lawrenceburg
Cost: $16+
Hours: Wed-Sun: 9am-4pm
Favorite Bourbon: Four Roses Single Barrel
Four Roses has a gorgeous campus located about an hour outside of Louisville. Visitors have three different options for experiences: a guided tasting, a tour, and tasting, or a single barrel tasting.
The guided tasting is $16 and you get to sample the four types of Four Roses Bourbon. The tour and tasting is the guided tasting plus a 45-minute tour of the facility. This costs $22. For $45 visitors can do a single barrel flight with more of the reserve bourbons. After your experience, you can also opt to grab a drink at the bar. They serve all types of Four Roses including specialty barrels as well as a couple of rotating cocktails.
We opted for the tour and tasting, which was very worth it. You really get to get up close and personal with the distilling process and see some bourbon being made. I thought it was worth $22.
Makers Mark
Location: Lebanon
Cost: $20
Hours: Everyday 10:15am-3:30pm
Favorite Bourbon: Cask Strength
Makers Mark might have been my favorite tour out of all the distilleries on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. The campus was absolutely gorgeous. For $20 you get a 1-hour tour with a tasting at the end. The tour takes visitors through the bourbon making process and you get to walk through several of their buildings to see the process. During the tasting, you get to try 5 of their basic bourbons.
On site, there is also a cafe where you can grab some light bites to eat and taste some of the more premium bourbons. I recommend heading here before buying anything at the gift shop as you can try it before you buy.
Michter’s
Location: Downtown Louisville
Cost: $20+
Hours: Wed-Thurs: 10am-8pm, Fri-Sat: 10am-11pm, Sun: 12:30pm-6pm
Favorite Bourbon: Bomberger’s Declaration
Michter’s has three different locations on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. I recommend hitting up the Fort Nelson’s Distillery which is conveniently located in Downtown Louisville. You can opt to go on a tour or head up to the bar. There is a one-hour tour or a two-hour legacy tour. Both tours come with flights of various bourbons.
I recommend skipping the tour and enjoying a cocktail or flight in the bar. There are a ton of options for flights at the bar and they have an extensive cocktail menu. It was the perfect place to unwind after a day.
Peerless
Location: Downtown Louisville
Cost: $12
Hours: Mon-Sat: 10am-5pm
Favorite Bourbon: Rye Single Barrel
Peerless is a good introduction to bourbon and a convenient stop. Located in Downtown Louisville this distillery is easy to walk to. At Peerless, visitors get to try 4 different whiskeys: 2 rye and 2 bourbons. This is strictly a tasting with no tour, but the guide does give you a little bit of the history of Peerless. Peerless is a good stop if you want to be able to walk to a distillery thus making it one of the best distilleries on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail.
Rabbit Hole
Location: Downtown Louisville
Cost: $25
Hours: Tues-Sat: 10am-5pm
Favorite Bourbon: Deringer
Rabbit Hole is a fun distillery located at the edge of Downtown Louisville. They produce 4 different bourbons. The tour experience for $25 includes a tour of the distillery and a tasting of their 4 bourbons. The tasting is done in their bar that overlooks Downtown Louisville.
If you do not want to take a tour, you can try just to go to the bar for drinks, but it can be quite busy. In the gift shop, they do offer one complimentary tasting of any of their 4 bourbons. It is a small pour but worth it if you just want to try a small amount.
Other fun distilleries on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail include Buffalo Trace, Heaven Hill, Old Forester, Woodford Reserve, Bulleit, Jim Beam, and Wild Turkey.
Visiting some of the best distilleries on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail made for a great getaway and a fun part of a Kentucky and Tennessee road trip. If you have more time, head to Mammoth Cave National Park or to Nashville for a fun time.
4 thoughts on “8+ of the Best Distilleries on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail”
That’s amazing that Kentucky produces 95% of the world’s bourbon. This is a fabulous guide to the best distilleries on Kentucky’s Bourbon Trail.
The Bourbon Trail looks like the best way to exlore Kentucky! I’d love to visit the distillaries, take a tour and sample the bourbon! I’m sure we’d leave with a bottle or two as a souvenir too! Thanks for the great guide!
This is such a helpful post! My husband loves bourbon and it’s always fun to find places like this where we can go to sample lots of different types! Thanks for sharing.
Well, this just looks like my ultimate dream trip! I love bourbon. Since I live in Germany I always make sure I get some to help me celebrate the 4th of July. This bourbon trail looks like such a great time. I would enjoy a few days or more – it is nice you can walk between them, but you can get I would be hiring a driver to see some of these best distilleries on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail.