Bourbon Trail Tour Plan

[spinningrecords]

I'm working on a trip for the Bourbon Trail with about 6-7 friends. A few of us have been there once before and it'll be the first trip for the rest. I've sketched out a tentative itinerary and I'd like to get feedback from anyone on how to make the trip even better. In some cases, I've assumed I can do something and the last day on the trip hasn't really gelled yet with a solid set of ideas. We are looking to go in the October-November time frame.

Travel Day

Arrivals

Dinner at The Brown Hotel

Day 1

Breakfast at Hotel

Drive to Lebanon at 8:00 (65 miles)

Tour Independent Staves at 9:30

Lunch at TBD in Bardstown at 11:30

Behind The Scenes Tour Heaven Hill at 1:00

Return to Hotel

Dinner at Bourbon's Bistro

Day 2

Breakfast at Hotel

Drive to Frankfort (55 miles)

Hard Hat Tour Buffalo Trace 9:00

Lunch at TBD in Lexington at 12:00

Tour Alltech Distillery at 1:00

Return to Louisville

Tour Louisville Distillery at 3:30

Happy Hour at Old Seelbach Bar

Dinner at Proof On Main

Day 3

Breakfast at Hotel

Drive to Lawrenceburg at 7:45 (60 miles)

Tour Wild Turkey at 9:00

Lunch at TBD in Lawrenceburg at 11:30

Tour Four Roses at 1:00

Return to Louisville

Dinner at Equus & Jack’s Lounge

Day 4

Breakfast at Hotel

Drive to Bardstown at 8:00 (40 miles)

Tour Four Roses Cox's Creek Warehouse at 9:00

Tour Kentucky Bourbon Distillers

Lunch at TBD in Bardstown at 12:00

Tour Barton's 1792

Oscar Getz Museum

Dinner at TBD in Bardstown

Return to Hotel

Day 5

Breakfast at Hotel

Tour Brown-Foreman?

Tour Bernheim?

Lunch at TBD in Louisville

Tour Bulleit Experience/Stitzel-Weller?

Tour Jim Beam?

Dinner at Buck's or Corbett's or Baxter's

Travel Day

Breakfast at Hotel

Departures

Here are a couple of additional notes.

-I'm considering a stay at either The Brown Hotel or The Seelbach Hotel.

-I'd like to find a great place for BBQ.

-I'm wondering if there would be enough to do by making a trip to Owensboro or try to visit LDI in Indiana.

-I'm wondering if there are any other good distillery remains to check out similar to Old Taylor.

-I'd like to do more touring of distilleries in Louisville but I'm having trouble finding useful information about any of them. I've figured it's preferred for tourists to see the countryside as the Louisville facilities are more down to business.

Once again, any suggestions or comments are welcome.

[c2walker]

Make sure to join the Four Roses Mellow Moments club and set up a VIP tour. It will be worth the effort!

[spinningrecords]

Make sure to join the Four Roses Mellow Moments club and set up a VIP tour. It will be worth the effort!

[barturtle]

Brown-Forman, Bernhiem and S-W don't offer regular (or any actually) tours.

Barton's and KBD require reservations.

Louisville Distillery? If you're referring to Angel's Envy, it's fictitious.

I have no idea if Alltech offers tours.

Beam's "American Outpost" isn't worth the visit, though I've heard they may be starting a real distillery tour at some point.

If you like BBQ, take a day and head to Owensboro. Visit some of the shuttered distilleries there (but I'd advise not entering the properties). Have the mutton.

I don't see Maker's Mark on there.

[Young Blacksmith]

If you can find Old Taylor's castle, you can drive a little farther and see Old Granddad and Old Crow, both with Jim Beam trucks on the lots.

Woodford Reserve/Labrot and Graham is just down the other way too, not a bad drive at all, and very scenic. Kind of a cheesy tour, but it'll get you the stamp in the passport. The folks who tour WR are definitely a different type than those that tour HH. I enjoyed the contrasts.

Make sure to go out Wild Turkey to the right, cross the bridge, and turn around.

A drive by of SW is probably the most you can hope for unless you get a hold of someone to authorize a tour. You can also drive by the big Old Forester bottle using the Dixie Highway, which runs right by SW, BF, and Bernheim. If you contact someone, you may be able to get a tour, but nothing regular is conducted like the further out distilleries on the trail.

To complete the passport I'd consider MM and JB, JB just to get the stamp.... A completed passport would not be hard in the 5 days, even with the other stops.

I'd do MM and Independent as they're fairly close to each other. I'd also pair JB and 4RCC as you drive by JB to get to 4RCC from Louisville.

[spinningrecords]

I left off both Woodford and Maker's for a coupe of reasons. The first is that I've seen them before. Second is that I find their presentation quite disingenuous. It is my understanding that those facilities produce only a tiny fraction of the whiskey from those brands and that the lion's share is made elsewhere. Their grounds are beautiful but really only serve to create an idyllic image of the brand that doesn't reflect the true distillery operations. Third is that I don't find their whiskey that desirable. I'm more interested in seeing great distilling than great marketing.

[wadewood]

I left off both Woodford and Maker's for a coupe of reasons. The first is that I've seen them before. Second is that I find their presentation quite disingenuous. It is my understanding that those facilities produce only a tiny fraction of the whiskey from those brands and that the lion's share is made elsewhere. Their grounds are beautiful but really only serve to create an idyllic image of the brand that doesn't reflect the true distillery operations. Third is that I don't find their whiskey that desirable. I'm more interested in seeing great distilling than great marketing.

Woodford Reserve has always been a blend of Pot Distilled bourbon made at Woodford and the Brown Forman Early Times/Old Forester distillery. They may gloss over that at Woodford, but still a good tour.

I know Makers shows you the the pretty picture with the wood fermenting tanks out front. My understanding was all the product was made at that site, but the bulk of it was just behind closed doors. Anybody know for sure?

Also, if you go in Sept. the KBF is 9-11 to 9-16 - http://www.kybourbonfestival.com/

[Josh]

I left off both Woodford and Maker's for a coupe of reasons. The first is that I've seen them before. Second is that I find their presentation quite disingenuous. It is my understanding that those facilities produce only a tiny fraction of the whiskey from those brands and that the lion's share is made elsewhere. Their grounds are beautiful but really only serve to create an idyllic image of the brand that doesn't reflect the true distillery operations. Third is that I don't find their whiskey that desirable. I'm more interested in seeing great distilling than great marketing.

It's true that not everything that goes into Woodford is made there, but all of what goes into Maker's Mark is made at Maker's.

I understand the deisre to not waste time going to distiileries that produce whiskey you don't like, but for me the beauty and historic nature of Woodford and Maker's Mark outweigh the touristy cheesy elements. Plus Woodford is fairly close to Old Taylor and Old Crow and if you're in the area, you might as well stop by.

I think Barton-1792 now has regular tours.

You mentioned that you were interested in checking out the old T.W. Samuels distillery in another thread, so here's some more information on that:

http://www.ellenjaye.com/ghosts-deatsville.htm

I keep looking for more presise info on what part of Deatsville Rd. T.W. Samuels is at, but I can't find it. Hopefully somebody smarter than I can fill in that info.

UPDATE: OK, found it finally. Your best bet is to set your GPS to the intersection of Deatsville Rd (State Hwy 523) and Cedar Grove Rd in Shepherdsville. You will see the big weird warehouses at that point and you can just explore from there. Still some good pictures to be gotten there.

[Josh]

Also for dining in Bardstown, I would reccomend Kurtz's (get the Kentucky Combination, Country Ham and Fried Chicken on the same plate!) and Kelso's for some great schnitzel. The Mexican place is fairly good too. Talbot Tavern is a nice old building but the food is bad and the service is even worse.

[Bourbon Boiler]

Barton does offer tours, and is more of an industrial tour than a tourist's tour.

Alltek offers tours on weekends only.

As of a year ago, LDI (now MGP) does not offer tours.

[clingman71]

Also for dining in Bardstown, I would reccomend Kurtz's (get the Kentucky Combination, Country Ham and Fried Chicken on the same plate!) and Kelso's for some great schnitzel. The Mexican place is fairly good too. Talbot Tavern is a nice old building but the food is bad and the service is even worse.

Kurtz's Fried chicken is Damn good!

[Josh]

Kurtz's Fried chicken is Damn good!

That it is! Pan fried too, not deep fried or "broasted" whatever the hell that means.

[smokinjoe]

I left off both Woodford and Maker's for a coupe of reasons. The first is that I've seen them before. Second is that I find their presentation quite disingenuous. It is my understanding that those facilities produce only a tiny fraction of the whiskey from those brands and that the lion's share is made elsewhere. Their grounds are beautiful but really only serve to create an idyllic image of the brand that doesn't reflect the true distillery operations. Third is that I don't find their whiskey that desirable. I'm more interested in seeing great distilling than great marketing.

Since you've already seen Maker's Mark's distilling process on a previous visit, and you're going to see some other distilleries on this trip, I am very interested to learn from you what in the distilling process makes these new ones so "great", as compared to MM.

[steeltownbbq]

Just back from KY a few weeks ago... my thoughts

Four Roses warehouse operation in Cox Creek is a must see. Very informal and informative. Just 10 minutes from Beam, which is not really worth the effort. Unique warehouses and interesting look at the barreling and bottling operations. (Ask about the barrels marked BB)

Independent Stave is also well done and worth the trip. (but no cameras allowed).

Barton does not have a lot to see on the distilling side - they are not producing now, but a very interesting look at a large bottling operation (not bourbon specific)... now I know where the well and bottom shelf stuff comes from. Very friendly staff and the best bourbon balls of all the distillery gift shops.

Buffalo Trace historic tour was interesting in that you get a look at places most industrial plants would not take visitors. You have to wonder if their insurance company knows they are taking the public into areas under the boilers and in old buildings with rotting floors. Try to get on Freddie's tour... he is awesome.

[spinningrecords]

Since you've already seen Maker's Mark's distilling process on a previous visit, and you're going to see some other distilleries on this trip, I am very interested to learn from you what in the distilling process makes these new ones so "great", as compared to MM.

When I toured MM the group was enormous. I missed a lot of what the guide said because there were too many peope and what I did hear was pretty rudimentary. The grounds are very scenic but I didn't find the tour itself that informative. The tour was reminiscent of being at Disneyland. It was a sharp contrast to the excellent tour at Four Roses where we were right in the thick of the distilling operation. We had a small group and we really learned a lot about what was happening with all the equipment and the process. Our guide that day was part of the operations and fielded our questions knowingly. These tours were night and day. Four Roses is at the top of my list when I return.

[spinningrecords]

Buffalo Trace historic tour was interesting in that you get a look at places most industrial plants would not take visitors. You have to wonder if their insurance company knows they are taking the public into areas under the boilers and in old buildings with rotting floors. Try to get on Freddie's tour... he is awesome.

I liked the BT hard hat tour. I will call ahead and see if we can get Freddie as a guide. He's legendary on this board.

[Young Blacksmith]

Ask about the barrels marked BB

Bulleit? Aged at 4R or shipped off site to SW?

[ThirstyinOhio]

You are going to go all the way to Kentucky and not stop at a Kentucky Friend Chicken? Just don't do it on a Sunday, for the first time in my life I felt under dressed there. Apparently the one that I stopped at was a big hang out for the church crown.

[ThirstyinOhio]

I should also mention that my wife and I did the ghost tour at Buffalo Trace and it was fun. It is not a replacement for the regular tour, but it was still interesting and well worth the double visit on the same trip.

[spinningrecords]

My trip is now booked for 11/4-10. Time to move from a tentative plan to a confirmed plan which will require working the phones for a while to put all the pieces together and make them fit logistically. The biggest change I've seen recently is the Bourbon Trail Craft Tours which I will incorporate into the agenda.

[fishnbowljoe]

While we were down at the KBF, we were surprised when we found out that HH and KBD charge for their tours. Used to be only WR charged for their tour. I also believe that you may have to pay for the new tour at JB. Not sure about that one.

[MyOldKyDram]

5 bucks at Alltech, too. Looks like charging may be the new norm.

[fishnbowljoe]

Just be sure to allow extra time for your stops. Or, have alternative plans. You'd be surprised just how fast time goes by when you stop at a distillery and try and take everything in.

[cazolman]

5 of the 7 distilleries on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail charge. Four Roses and Wild Turkey do not. Wild Turkey is building a new visitor center. I would not be surprised if they start charging once complete. Barton and Buffalo Trace do not charge either.

You can visit 3 distilleries per day if you keep moving and grab lunch on the road. 2 per day would be much more relaxing if you have the time. Most tours are only available from 10:00am to 3:30 pm. Those 5+ hours disappear really fast when wandering around, taking photos, asking questions, sampling and checking out the gift shop.

I would also recommend visiting during the week. Weekends are very busy with visitors and several do not distill or bottle on the weekend.

[cowdery]

What's behind the charges is too much success. The popularity of the Bourbon Trail has been growing by leaps and bounds. No one can keep up. Demand exceeds capacity everywhere. What they are trying to do with the modest charges is first weed out the organized tour groups who aren't even interested, but the organizer decided to take advantage of a no-cost attraction. Being in the middle of all the horse farms, Woodford has this the worst so they were first to charge. Secondarily, the charges weed out the very casual, not very interested visitors. If it means fewer families with children, that's not all bad either. They're trying to make sure the people who really are interested, for whom visiting the distilleries is the primary purpose of their trip, have a good experience.