What Has Been Your Favorite Distillery Tour?

[mbroo5880i]

JIB - Thanks for sharing. You got a much more thorough experience at the distilleries than I did this week.

We visited BT on Friday. Not the hard hat tour just the standard walk through. My wife and my son's girlfriend went and there is no way they would have wanted to dig deeper. We did have Freddie as our tour guide. He is a third generation employee at the facility and very knowledgeable. The tasting was interesting in that he provided the normal options...Eagle Rare, BT, their vodka and White Dog. However, he provided the Eagle Rare both at room temperature and chilled so you could observe the difference in flavor release as it warmed on your tongue. That was my choice for my two samples. We also got to try the BT Bourbon Cream. Kind of like an Irish Cream but better.

Our tour included some old buildings, a barrel warehouse and the Blanton's/Weller hand bottling station and a video about the history of the area and the distillery. I would think that most on this site would get more out of the Hard Hat tour.

[TunnelTiger]

Only been to JD and GD but GD at Cascade Hollow was the best.

[bllygthrd]

Jack ... Thanks for the report and glad you had a good time. My wife loves Freddie at BT ... he really does have a good schpiel (little Yitish there). Next time your're in Bardstown ... try to hit Barton's (1792) and Willett. I hear Willett gives you a Glencairn Whiskey Glass after the $7 tour.

[BrooklynBorbone]

Family just got back from Kentucky...we hit Willet (our favorite as it was basically a one on one tour and a Glencairn glass), HH (paid 6 bucks to taste EW and have a lady read off of the cards in their "museum"), and then did the ghost tour in BT which was AWESOME. The kids loved that one. We had Beth, who was just an awesome guide. Was cool to get inside Warehouse C where my fave Tornado was stored. We also hit the Bowman Distillery in Va which was another great one because it was a one on one tour. Our favorite brand is Four Roses and they had a very nice tour as well, the guide was a little bland, but seeing all of the distillery and having it explained thoroughly was nice. The guide was able to answer lots of questions. Next time we go without the kids (5 and 3) we'll do the HH hardhat tour and hopefully get a different perspective there. Also would love to check out the new EW in Louisville.

[cowdery]

Does the $6 tour at Heaven Hill not at least include a walk across the street to see the inside of a warehouse? Admission to the museum itself is still free, isn't it? Six dollars per person just for the tasting doesn't seem right. (I don't mean you're wrong, I mean they're wrong if that's what they're doing.)

[p_elliott]

Does the $6 tour at Heaven Hill not at least include a walk across the street to see the inside of a warehouse? Admission to the museum itself is still free, isn't it? Six dollars per person just for the tasting doesn't seem right. (I don't mean you're wrong, I mean they're wrong if that's what they're doing.)

You can't do the tasting unless you do the tour

[Vosgar]

You can't do the tasting unless you do the tour

Unless you happen to be in the right place, at the right time, and a really nice tour guide asks if you want to join them. (like what you, Joe and I had last year. or was it the year before?)

[Old Dusty]

Would recommend Willett. Short-45 min, informative with an interesting back story on the refurbishing of a shuttered distillery and the tasting is done right. Pot Still for the first then your choice of any one of their entire line for the second. Served neat in Glencairn glasses that you get to keep (for $10)

[bjhowell]

I'm heading up to KY in October. Plant to go to Buffalo Trace (hard hat tour already reserved), Four roses, Barton and Willett. Any good stores I should try while I'm there? Been to Liquor World in bardstown and to the liquor barn in Louisville by the airport. Any others you guys could recommend in Frankfort or Bardstown areas? Also, any bourbons I should be looking for that are only available in KY?

[Old Dusty]

I'm heading up to KY in October. Plant to go to Buffalo Trace (hard hat tour already reserved), Four roses, Barton and Willett. Any good stores I should try while I'm there? Been to Liquor World in bardstown and to the liquor barn in Louisville by the airport. Any others you guys could recommend in Frankfort or Bardstown areas? Also, any bourbons I should be looking for that are only available in KY?

Toddy's in Bardstown for a store recommendation. Check your BIB options they have them all. Also Larceny and Ancient Ancient Age 10 yr ( not 10 Star).

[squire]

Yes, Toddy's, I would've recommended them but didn't know if they were still in business.

[callmeox]

In Bardstown you should check out Liquor World as well. Same or better selection as Toddy's but the prices are normally a tick or two lower.

[smokinjoe]

In Bardstown you should check out Liquor World as well. Same or better selection as Toddy's but the prices are normally a tick or two lower.

But, sometimes listening to Guthrie's folksterisms is worth the extra coin.

[Kyjd75]

There is some common ownership between Toddy's and Liquor World. I generally visit one or both whenever in Bardstown. Generally LW has better selection and prices. Toddy's has Guthrie . . .

[cowdery]

Toddy's also has all the history, if that matters to you. Stop in and buy something just to add it to your list of sights seen

[bjhowell]

Any good stores over by Buffalo Trace or four roses?

[theglobalguy]

Any good stores over by Buffalo Trace or four roses?

[bjhowell]

I thought I rememberd someone talking about a store called red spot or something between BT and 4 roses. Anyone been there?

[Kyjd75]

Red Dot. I've been there. Main location is off 127 as you approach Frankfort proper. Located in back of an old strip center that has seen better days. Nonetheless, not a bad store. Good size and selection with competitive prices. Nothing "special" there the day Eric and I dropped by.

[bjhowell]

Thanks for all the tips guys. Also going to try to stop by Erics store P&M Liquors.

[Westernboys]

My favorite has been BT. I haven't had the opportunity to take the hard hat tour because I have only visited in the summer. 4R is nice and HH is good. Jim Beam was so so. Don't know if that will change with there new visitors center. I hope to visit all next year.

[wildrnesxperienc]

My favorite has been Willet. Very hands on and personable. And very small groups. With Four Roses a close second.

[bjhowell]

Buffalo Trace Hard Hat Tour is excellent. you really get into the guts of the operation.

[mhatzung]

We (my wife and 2 adult kids) did the Trail, plus Willet, Limestone Branch and Kentucky Cooperage in 3 days. We had a great time and by carefully arranging the tours we were able to do them all. I don't think the kids will do another for a while though. Wimps.

Anyway, all the tours have something about them to make them special. I thought Maker's tour was okay, but their tasting was great. Found I enjoyed the "over-aged" Makers better than the regular Makers or the 46. Four Roses tour guide (Heather) made a good tour great and the tasting was very well done. I enjoyed Heaven Hill more than I thought I would being the distillery is not on location and the tasting I thought was the best even though we only tasted 2 bourbons. Beam was the most comprehensive tour but the tasting being conducted with the dispensing machines was impersonal although unique.

Being an industrial machine kind of guy I loved the Kentucky Cooperage tour even though the firing line was down for a bearing replacement. Marcia did everything she could to make sure we got the idea anyway and being a free tour and $10 for nice hats and tee shirts, it was great. Since they can't gain loyal customers for their cooperage, the only thing I can think of is they just want to promote Kentucky tourism and bourbon for their clients. Hats off to them for their efforts.

I always enjoy the personal nature of tours through the little guys. We plan to finish the Craft Tour next spring or fall.

Now back to the thread - I would say Woodford, 4 Roses, Heaven Hill and Beam are at my top for different reasons, but I would not recommend skipping any of the others.

Edited November 3, 2013 by mhatzung

[The Black Tot]

Best so far has been Heaven Hill. I didn't get the gentleman's name who gave us the tour, but he was very funny and a great teacher.

The best part of the Heaven Hill tour experience was the tasting lesson. Not a big deal for many of you veterans on here, but HH really takes the time to explain the basics of how to nose and how and when to add water, etc without making you feel guilty about not having the knowledge already. The other tours didn't do this much, or as well. My girlfriend and I are grateful to HH for that. HH loses points for the gift shop mark-ups for their special bottlings. EC21 was 300 at the gift shop, I found it elsewhere for 170. Not cool.

Confirm that Woodford's grounds are gorgeous. I really like their bourbon, too. Certainly the most attractive of all the distilleries we've yet been to (keen to check out Maker's in May). Our tour guide was a trainee but it was fine. The drive from there to Buffalo Trace past the Old Taylor Distillery was pretty startlingly eerie and wonderful. Marks lost for not being allowed to walk up the beautiful stone stairs to the clubhouse (we asked) - you have to ride the diesel bus for the 200ft down, and back up. Probably not their fault from some goofy liability standpoint, but...made what was supposed to be a romantic/craft concept feel a little litigious/dysfunctional.

Willett is a nice tour. It feels informal and I felt free to ask lots of questions. Seems like it would be a fun, closely-knit place to work. Their gift shop, however, is out of control with the pricing of their top offerings. I suppose the market is paying, so... Top marks for no corporate video...no corporate-feeling anything.

Jim Beam felt like one big extended commercial. But that seems to be their market - nobody in the audience seemed to know thing one about bourbon (and that was even obvious to a guy who only knows a little bit). I was mortified at one point in the tour, but it's not an appropriate discussion for this board. Jim Beam gets good marks for their tasting session - one of the few distilleries that lets you choose pretty much anything from their line - the smart card self-service stations are truly excellent (even though my girlfriend and I agreed that we just don't like the JB taste profile). We're just glad they didn't make us watch the Mila Kunis video.

Buffalo Trace had a very knowledgeable guide, although the tour is pretty fast. Hey, it's free, and I have to give them credit for that. They do have the worst video of the lot. It is undeniably a bourbon film, because it's DEFINITELY more than 51% corn (note, HH only did marginally better in the corporate video area). We will have to go back and take this hard hat tour that I didn't know about until now.

tbt