What Distillery Tours Should I Go On

[Solon]

We are visiting friends in Louisville over Columbus Day Weekend. Naturally, I want to go see some distilleries. I signed up as a MM ambassador a few years ago and I want to see that and a friend in the business will set an appointment at Four Roses.

Appreciate any suggestions.

[squire]

Good morning Solon, welcome aboard. I believe distillery tours are a great way to explore our common subject. MY only caution is there is some distance involved so I wouldn't book more than two a day. I've toured them all over the last 40 years or so and have learned not to attempt to compress time.

[P&MLiquorsEric]

IMO, Buffalo trace, beam, heaven hill and four roses are some of the best.'

Seeing the differences in scale between beam and buffalo trace is eye opening. Beam is a modern day bourbon super factory while BT is much smaller with more of a nostalgic feel.

[mhatzung]

My wife and I just did Wild Turkey, Four Roses and Woodford Reserve. If I had to pick one to tour, it would be Woodford. The three pot stills (as opposed to continuous stills), the cypress mash tanks and the turn of the century buildings were great to see and the tour was well done and informative.

[squire]

Have to admit, Woodford has an undeniable charm. But then touring isn't really about education, for us anyway.

[theglobalguy]

If you're a Maker's fan, the campus is really cool...but man it's in the middle of nowhere. So if time is short, the suggestions above are great ones.

Four Roses recently upgraded the buildings and gift shop. Snazzy set up now and plenty of photo ops. Woodford is both a scenic drive in as well as a top notch campus.

[Bourbon Boiler]

Don't hit them all for the sake of hitting them all. Too much information runs together anyway.

Beam, Barton, HH (not the actual distillery), and Makers can be done in a day from Louisville, but it's a bit rushed.

Beam - not been on the new one

HH - the best tasting, particularly for an inexperienced bourbon drinker

Barton - not special, but very convenient if you're already at Heaven Hill

Makers - maybe hte best

Buffalo Trace (regular) - good for the history,

Wild Turkey - beautiful area, good tour, close to 4R

4R - I've only been on the tour twice, and both were over production shutdowns

WR - Scenic, a bit out of the way

Independent Stave and the Getz museum are possible stops as well.

[HighInTheMtns]

Have to admit, Woodford has an undeniable charm. But then touring isn't really about education, for us anyway.

I would argue that WR is the least educational with regards to bourbon. Pot stills are not typical of bourbon production.

[p_elliott]

If I had to pick only two to do I would do BT and WT. BT is a very old distillery while WT is a just built distillery a very deep contrast.

[cowdery]

IMO, Buffalo trace, beam, heaven hill and four roses are some of the best.'

Seeing the differences in scale between beam and buffalo trace is eye opening. Beam is a modern day bourbon super factory while BT is much smaller with more of a nostalgic feel.

Very interesting that you have that impression. BT is, in fact, quick large and its capacity is comparable to Beam Clermont, but it probably seems smaller because it's older. And I agree about the more nostalgic feel. BT was the largest distillery in Kentucky and still may be, despite expansion at Beam Clermont and Heaven Hill.

[P&MLiquorsEric]

Very interesting that you have that impression. BT is, in fact, quick large and its capacity is comparable to Beam Clermont, but it probably seems smaller because it's older. And I agree about the more nostalgic feel. BT was the largest distillery in Kentucky and still may be, despite expansion at Beam Clermont and Heaven Hill.

Bt makes lots of taaka vodka and other products in Frankfort so I don't doubt that.

When you see the bottling lines, the sheer speed of the new bottling line at beam is impressive. 2 people run it where the BT line has 7 or 8 people for each line (I believe they have 3).

[joboyd]

Highly recommend doing the hard hat tour at Buffalo Trace. Make reservations in advance online. To me it was the best all-around experience. Bonus: If you start in Louisville, head to BT by lunch, you'd have enough time to hit Four Roses and then head back to Louisville. That would be a solid trip.

You'll have fun no matter where you go, but I thought BT was the best experience.

I'd put Maker's Mark at a close second, but I was there with a future NFL Hall of Famer so our treatment may have been biased somewhat.

[mbroo5880i]

Highly recommend doing the hard hat tour at Buffalo Trace. Make reservations in advance online. To me it was the best all-around experience. Bonus: If you start in Louisville, head to BT by lunch, you'd have enough time to hit Four Roses and then head back to Louisville. That would be a solid trip.

You'll have fun no matter where you go, but I thought BT was the best experience.

I'd put Maker's Mark at a close second, but I was there with a future NFL Hall of Famer so our treatment may have been biased somewhat.

I agree that BT is a nice tour. I only did the regular tour because those with me were not bourbon enthusiasts. However, I think the hard hat tour would be great! Now, tell us who the NFL HOF was?

[joboyd]

He is the kicker for your city's franchise! An old friend.

[393foureyedfox]

anyone done the willet tour? ive done HH, Beam, and BT. since some friends and i are going to the bourbon fest in a few weeks, i thought it'd be interesting to try that one next, then maybe go just down the street for another HH tour, as some of the friends havent done that one yet, and HH is worth touring just to smell the rickhouse

[theglobalguy]

anyone done the willet tour? ive done HH, Beam, and BT. since some friends and i are going to the bourbon fest in a few weeks, i thought it'd be interesting to try that one next, then maybe go just down the street for another HH tour, as some of the friends havent done that one yet, and HH is worth touring just to smell the rickhouse

Yep;

http://www.straightbourbon.com/forums/showthread.php?20121-Willet-2013&highlight=willet+tour

If you're already at HH, no excuse not to swing 2 min up the road. Cool campus, nice variety in the tasting area (they went with Willet Pot Still +1 of their other brands the day i was there). Gift shop prices on the regular pours and swag is reasonable...the 20+ yr product...no, silly overpriced.