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What Has Been Your Favorite Distillery Tour?


smokinjoe
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It is undeniably a bourbon film, because it's DEFINITELY more than 51% corn

:lol: Nominated for line of the year. :lol:

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  • 6 months later...

Went to KY a week ago yesterday mainly to visit family but took a day to visit Jim Beam and took their first tour of the morning.

As tours go it was pretty standard until we got to the bottling area and I got the chance to open a barrel of KCSB. Three hits and the bung popped about 8' in the air. I got to keep it of course. The. The guide had us roll the barrel and catch a glass full. Was disappointed when she poured it into the catch tub and said so. She handed it to me and I got to sip straight from the barrel. Very good juice!

The to the craft bottling line where we had the chance to wash out our own bottles with bourbon and then place them back in the line for filling and see them hand wax sealed.

Purchased that bottle of course.

Also stopped by 4R Cox's Creek to see the new facility and pick up a few bottles of varying recipes. Continued in to MM across country on roads that reminded me of my youth growing up in KY.

There I picked out and hand dipped a few bottles of MMCS.

Didn't didn't do the tour at either of these as time was short.

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  • 7 months later...

Taking a tour of BT with Freddie was a life changing experience. It is hard at this point to still learn new things in bourbon, and spending the morning with Freddie showed me so much more I had to learn. Although the plant was on summer shut down the tour was amazing. Poured a glass of EHTBP last night and the aroma really took me back to warehouse C.

Touring Four Roses with Al was also a great experience. 4R was in production that day, OBSV white dog off the try box is mighty tasty and it is a very beautiful place.

Jim Beam's VIP tour has some great hands on experiences, filling a barrel, drinking straight from a Knob single barrel with all the charry bits, but felt very orchestrated.

Those were the highlights from my last trip.

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I've only toured Buffalo Trace and Wild Turkey., so my experience is limited. Wild Turkey was a great experience. The tour guide was very knowledgeable, and kind of funny. The new visitors center is amazing. However, the Buffalo Trace Hard Hat Tour is awesome, and by far my favorite. The Trace Tour (I've done it 5 or 6 times) is great as well. Every tour guide is very knowledgeable, has a good sense of humor, and has a great personality. I'm partial to Buffalo Trace because I like the older feel of the campus.

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  • 5 weeks later...

(First time posting!)

I'm fresh off KY trip so I'll share my experience!

Makers Mark - This was our first stop. I'm an ambassador and felt like I was treated like a king! GREAT tour! We were afraid it was going to be the best tour. Thankfully it was not.

Willett - Laid back guide. "Relaxed" tasting experience (if you know what I mean)! This stop REALLY made me wish I could get Old Bardstown in GA! I'd drink it daily if I could!

Four Roses - Pretty campus. Employees seemed happy to be there. Guide was entertaining.

Beam - To be as big as it is, still a fun tour.

Buffalo Trace - We almost skipped BT but I'm glad we didn't. Took the History(?) tour with Freddie. Top 3 tours easily. Did I mention it was FREE! Bourbon Cream is my new weakness.

Wilderness Trail - Took them by surprise! Slow day I guess! No bourbon to try. Vodka was ok. Rum was enjoyable.

Woodford - Probably our favorite tour. Hands down, Double Double Oaked was the best bourbon I tried on the trip! Beautiful grounds. Polished staff. Classy.

Wild Turkey - I'll take the high road and just say there is much room for improvement.

Evan Williams Bourbon Experience - We didn't do the tour but seemed like something to do if on a tight schedule.

Heaven Hill - Didn't do the tour but now wish I had. Very nice visitors center.

I'm ready to go back!

Oh, and I'll happily rid you of any Old Bardstown expression!!!

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(First time posting!)

I'm fresh off KY trip so I'll share my experience!

Makers Mark - This was our first stop. I'm an ambassador and felt like I was treated like a king! GREAT tour! We were afraid it was going to be the best tour. Thankfully it was not.

Willett - Laid back guide. "Relaxed" tasting experience (if you know what I mean)! This stop REALLY made me wish I could get Old Bardstown in GA! I'd drink it daily if I could!

Four Roses - Pretty campus. Employees seemed happy to be there. Guide was entertaining.

Beam - To be as big as it is, still a fun tour.

Buffalo Trace - We almost skipped BT but I'm glad we didn't. Took the History(?) tour with Freddie. Top 3 tours easily. Did I mention it was FREE! Bourbon Cream is my new weakness.

Wilderness Trail - Took them by surprise! Slow day I guess! No bourbon to try. Vodka was ok. Rum was enjoyable.

Woodford - Probably our favorite tour. Hands down, Double Double Oaked was the best bourbon I tried on the trip! Beautiful grounds. Polished staff. Classy.

Wild Turkey - I'll take the high road and just say there is much room for improvement.

Evan Williams Bourbon Experience - We didn't do the tour but seemed like something to do if on a tight schedule.

Heaven Hill - Didn't do the tour but now wish I had. Very nice visitors center.

I'm ready to go back!

Oh, and I'll happily rid you of any Old Bardstown expression!!!

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Great notes Ikee. Thanks. I will definitely review them when before I finally make my trip.

Do others feel the same way about the Wild Turkey tour?

Yep. The Wild Turkey tour pales in comparison to the others I've been on. The distillery itself is "new" industrial and doesn't have the character and charm of BT, 4R, or Willett. They also glass you off from the still and keep you away from anything interesting. The rackhouse is cool, but so are BT's, etc.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I feel guilty for saying this because Four Roses is my true love. But, my favorite tour was Old Pogue. Sure, it is a small, single building operation. But, I was the only one on the tour and I asked a million questions, the distillery had tons of history, the distiller was nice and I could tell he really loved his job.

Best part of all, the drive from Lexington to Maysvilles may have been the most beautiful side of Kentucky I have ever seen.

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  • 1 month later...

Just got back this past weekend and have to give a thumbs up for the Evan Williams Bourbon Experience Tour in Louisville - the combination of history and technology was outstanding - in the history portions you felt like you were there the videos were so well done and the other parts were amazing as well - the tastings are done in an actual bar (two different ones on the tour) and it ends in the gift shop (ala Walt Disney). I highly recommend this one to anyone who has the time.

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  • 5 months later...

I've only done Four Roses, Beam and Makers in Kentucky. Jack Daniels in Tennessee and Glenlivet in Scotland. 

Beam was the most impressive. Glenlivet the most nostalgic. 

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  • 2 months later...

While not the best tour, Journeyman in SW Michigan was fun.  It's a small operation, but they're installing 2 new column stills which should make it more interesting.  The cool part was being able to taste the new-make as it was coming off the still (this could be bourbon, gin, vodka etc depending on the day).  Honestly, the gin, and especially the barrel aged gin, were the best things going there.  The bourbon had that typical super young spicy craft taste that I personally do not care for.  As with most craft bourbons, the price does not justify what's in the bottle.  Journeyman also has a huge bar and restaurant in the actually distillery, which was very cool and I'd recommend eating/drinking there after the tour.  The gift shop area was well stocked and had several distillery-only selections.  We left with a gin, barrel aged gin, and apple cider liqueur.  It is a nice destination venue where you could spend several hours.

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  • 1 month later...

Hey everyone. My wife and I are going to be driving from St. Louis to Asheville, NC in about a month, and we thought a distillery tour would be a good midpoint rest stop. So I’m looking for one that’s

A) Close to I-64

2) Short (1 hr)

D) Awesome

From what I’ve read in this thread, I’m considering either BT Hard Hat or the Woodford tour. Thoughts, preferences, other recommendations outside of those 2?

Edited by pinkfloyd4ever
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We just made that exact same trip. Went through Louisville and stopped in at the Hampton Inn in Frankfort, ky. The problem was we drove there on Saturday, and had to leave on Sunday. We took longer to get there on Saturday, and because we lost an hour, we missed the last tour at BT (4PM). None of The distillery tours started until noon, which was an oversight on my part. I wound up skipping the tour so we could get to Gatlinburg at a decent time for the kids to get to bed.

We did grab some dinner from the Kroger, and have a picnic lunch at capital view park which was nice.

Everything it harder with the young kids in tow, so it is probably fine for you if you don't have kids with.

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk

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OHHHhhh yeah the time change! Thanks for reminding me. I'm not sure we'd make the 1:30 BT Hard Hat now that I realize it's 12:30 St. Louis time. No kids for us (yet) but we're still not exactly morning people, particularly on vacation. We're also trying to make it all the way from St. Louis to Asheville in time for dinner, so I may have to reconsider and look at maybe doing this tour on the way back home. But I'm still open to opinions of the best one tour.

 

Also, it now sounds like there's a chance we may stop for the night in Louisville on the return trip. I know of that Evan Williams bourbon experience thing. It sounds overly touristy for my tastes. Any restaurants with good bourbon selections I should look for in Louisville?

Edited by pinkfloyd4ever
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19 hours ago, pinkfloyd4ever said:

 

Also, it now sounds like there's a chance we may stop for the night in Louisville on the return trip. I know of that Evan Williams bourbon experience thing. It sounds overly touristy for my tastes. Any restaurants with good bourbon selections I should look for in Louisville?

 

I've taken all the tours and will say the Evan Williams in Louisville is a great tour - lots of technology behind the scenes which is cool and lot's of history just in a different way than the others. 

 

You also can hit the Beam Experience just a few blocks away

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On 7/19/2016 at 0:09 PM, b1gcountry said:

We just made that exact same trip. Went through Louisville and stopped in at the Hampton Inn in Frankfort, ky.

 

Ah, stayed at the Hampton Inn in Frankfort.  I trust you had The Madhatter Suite?   AKA, The Watertower View Suite.

 

[Just a little humor]

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On ‎7‎/‎19‎/‎2016 at 1:27 PM, pinkfloyd4ever said:

 Any restaurants with good bourbon selections I should look for in Louisville?

I highly recommend Doc Crows on Whiskey Row/Main St.  Excellent eclectic food menu plus a very nice bourbon selection including the good stuff.

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Hands down my favorite tour was the "VIP" Wild Turkey distillery tour because Eddie Russell was our personal tour guide the whole way.  There's just something special about being shown around the place by the guy who is in charge and who's reputation is on the line -- instead of some paid tour guide who just hired on 6 months ago. The really cool parts of such a tour are the quiet times while you are walking from one station to the next when you can talk to the master distiller one on one, and ask him literally anything. Eddie is a regular guy and remarkably open and transparent about the whiskey business.

 

Besides the "VIP factor"  I respect Wild Turkey's tour (Buffalo Trace as well) because it is real and doesn't have that overly touristy feel that Woodford, Maker's, and Jack Daniels has. Those places are beautiful and a "can't miss" experience in their own right, but sometimes you feel like you're in the middle of a production. Especially Woodford.

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Ah, stayed at the Hampton Inn in Frankfort.  I trust you had The Madhatter Suite?   AKA, The Watertower View Suite.

 

[Just a little humor]

I'm not entirely sure I ever looked out the window. I was pretty much preoccupied with the three kids. We did go to the pool. We did see a gazebo.

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 7/22/2016 at 10:19 PM, Kepler said:

Hands down my favorite tour was the "VIP" Wild Turkey distillery tour because Eddie Russell was our personal tour guide the whole way.  There's just something special about being shown around the place by the guy who is in charge and who's reputation is on the line -- instead of some paid tour guide who just hired on 6 months ago. The really cool parts of such a tour are the quiet times while you are walking from one station to the next when you can talk to the master distiller one on one, and ask him literally anything. Eddie is a regular guy and remarkably open and transparent about the whiskey business.

 

Besides the "VIP factor"  I respect Wild Turkey's tour (Buffalo Trace as well) because it is real and doesn't have that overly touristy feel that Woodford, Maker's, and Jack Daniels has. Those places are beautiful and a "can't miss" experience in their own right, but sometimes you feel like you're in the middle of a production. Especially Woodford.

The regular tour at WT was a bit underwhelming to me when compared to Four Roses and Buffalo Trace in particular. When I went back there as part of the Bourbon Affair and essentially got the same tour with Eddie as the guide, it was so, so much better. (We also got to go into the computer room that controls the cookers, stills, etc. so that was a bit of an extra). It was better with Eddie because we got to get closer to things and see a bit more. Of course, him telling the stories is way better than what a guide can provide. Nothing against the guides - they do a great job - it's just better with the Master Distiller.

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Yes indeed.

 

My favorite standard public  tours were the Buffalo Trace hardhat and Maker's.  Also, believe it or not, my Most Underrated award goes to the full length Jim Beam tour (the 2 hour full tour, not the gift store/tasting joke of a tour).

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