Travel to Louisville - Any suggestions appreciated!

May have an opportunity for a trip that will include a brief one day stop in Louisville in January. Could possibly squeeze one distillery tour in for half a day. Anything recommended there or is it practical to try to get to Bardstown or Lawrenceburg and back in half a day and still see anything?

Also would love to know what the good places to do a little liquor shopping are from those in the know. Will be coming up from the south from the Atlanta area. Feel free to PM me if you want to keep your favorite fishing hole under wraps! I won't take back too much I promise!

Is it worth it to try to make the drive up to The Party Source up in Bellevue while in the area? Or can I find most things besides the private barrels in the Louisville area?

The drive from Louisville to south Cincinnati area isn't a bad one, but will roughly take you an hour and a half. Don't forget Cork n Bottle as well in the Covington, KY area, they typically have some nice barrel selections available.

Edit - Forgot to add, if you happen to come back I75 through Knoxville (obviously I wouldn't recommend that route unless you were coming back from the S. Cincinnati area), McScrooges is always a good place to stop and it's right off the interstate.

The Liquor Barn has a great selection of bourbon.

Bardstown is easy to do from Louisville and Liquor World/Toddys is always worth a visit. For bourbon I think they are better than Liquor Barn. Also near Bardstown is new store in newly wet Elizabethtown, Packages and More Liquors, that is making a big effort to be a top bourbon destination. If you are traveling I65 you go right through Elizabethtown, so it would be an easy visit.

Great suggestions everyone!

Thanks and I will work on a bourbon based itinerary.

For food and drinks don't forget Bourbon Bistro in Lville.

If i only had one day I'd go to Bardstown, visit the Getz and Heaven Hill, Toddy's and head back.

More great suggestions. Probably can't do it all on this very brief trip but I plan to do as much as I can so keep 'em coming!

Being from Atlanta you'll appreciate this. We were in Bardstown for a few days some years back and decided to drive down to Loreto to visit Maker's Mark. We were a bit pressed for time (last tour was at 3:00) and got to the visitor center with ten minutes to spare only to be told the last tour started about an hour earlier. Eastern time zone you see, so when touring in Central Kentucky be aware of where the time line is.

I would try to stop in the bourbon bar at the Seelbach Hilton and have a drink. You can generally find bourbon there that you will find few other places. Also a good hotel if you are looking for a place to stay. It is convenient to several good restaurants and the Makers Mark bar/restaurant.