Help Planning Husbands Dream Trip

[BourbonWife]

Hello!  I am surprising my husband with his dream trip to the Bourbon trail this August. I have been researching for a couple of months but would live some feed back on our itinerary so far.  I have already booked several tours but I can still change.  

We are flying into Nashville because we can get direct flights and staying all 4 nights at The Trail Hotel in Bardstown.  

Day 1 (Wed) driving in from Nashville.  Should arrive by 5pm. Checking into the hotel and have a 7pm reservation at Oak and Ember at The Trail

 

Day 2 (Thurs) - Plan to be at Buffalo Trace at 9am. I managed to score a 10AM tour.  Stop at Castle and Key??  (nothing booked so not sure it’s worth it) 

Lunch

1:30- Woodford Path to flavor tour booked

Stop at Four Roses if we have time

Back to Bardstown for dinner

Day 3 (Fri) - 10:30 Jim Beam Reserve Tasting booked followed by lunch at Kitchen Table 

Planning for a little down time by the pool this afternoon.  Thinking of booking a late afternoon tasting at Preservation and hoping to hit up a bourbon bar or two in Bardstown after dinner. 

 

Day 4 (Sat) - Heaven Hill (nothing booked) 

11am Lunch reservation at The Bar at Willett

1:30 Bardstown Bourbon Co. Art of Blending class  

Explore downtown Bardstown 

Day 5 (Sun) We have to leave Bardstown by 11:30 to drive back to Nash.  
 

Some specific questions -

 

He likes Bulliet but it seems out of the way and I haven’t seen a lot of great things about the distillery. Would it be worth it to go out to the way for?  
 

Are there any smaller, lesser known distilleries that just shouldn’t be missed?  
 

I want to maximize our time but I also want it to be enjoyable and not rushed. 

 

 

 

[Richnimrod]

One recommendation I can offer is to try the restaurant at Bardstown Bourbon Company for either lunch or dinner (reservations recommended).   They serve fine fare, and offer 'flights' of their brands.   If you and he are both Bourbon lovers each could order a different flight and share 'em back & forth to taste more different offerings without getting blotto.

A caution: allow more time on the roads than you think will be required.   As you seem to be aware, being rushed spoils the quality of the whole experience.   ...And, the extra allotment of time will give you flexibility about how long or short visits are at the various gift shops.

I haven't been to the Bulleit gift shop in a long time; but, my experience there was unimpressive.   But, as I said it's been a long while, it may be way better now than it was when they were first open (when I went).

Lastly, a tour of the Willett Distillery (quite near B'town, as you probably know), if it can be squeezed, in beyond just lunch at their bar is a nice tour, although their gift shop isn't that special, IMO.

[markandrex]

You are a wonderful wife!  He is a lucky man.

My only comment/suggestion would be to try to fit a visit to Loretto/Makers Mark in.  It is an iconic facility and some  great choices in the gift shop.

 

[BourbonWife]

6 hours ago, Richnimrod said:

One recommendation I can offer is to try the restaurant at Bardstown Bourbon Company for either lunch or dinner (reservations recommended).   They serve fine fare, and offer 'flights' of their brands.   If you and he are both Bourbon lovers each could order a different flight and share 'em back & forth to taste more different offerings without getting blotto.

A caution: allow more time on the roads than you think will be required.   As you seem to be aware, being rushed spoils the quality of the whole experience.   ...And, the extra allotment of time will give you flexibility about how long or short visits are at the various gift shops.

I haven't been to the Bulleit gift shop in a long time; but, my experience there was unimpressive.   But, as I said it's been a long while, it may be way better now than it was when they were first open (when I went).

Lastly, a tour of the Willett Distillery (quite near B'town, as you probably know), if it can be squeezed, in beyond just lunch at their bar is a nice tour, although their gift shop isn't that special, IMO.

Is the restaurant at BBC open for dinner?  It looked to only be available for lunch.  I actually had a reservation there before the blending tour but switched it to Willett after he sent me a TikTok to “add to the list of we ever go”. 
 

I can definitely look at adding a tour at Willett.  Maybe do that one Friday afternoon and just pop over to Preservation for a tasting if time allows?  There are just so many options and I’m trying to keep it a total surprise.  So I’m trying to avoid bringing it up very often to him.  

[BourbonWife]

4 hours ago, markandrex said:

You are a wonderful wife!  He is a lucky man.

My only comment/suggestion would be to try to fit a visit to Loretto/Makers Mark in.  It is an iconic facility and some  great choices in the gift shop.

 

I keep seeing how beautiful MM is!  It looks like they have a 9:40 tour on Sundays but it would wrap up at 11 then we have a 3 hour drive to the airport.  We could make that work. I will just need to extend our rental car for an extra hour. We just have to be at the airport by 3pm. 

[markandrex]

13 minutes ago, BourbonWife said:

I keep seeing how beautiful MM is!  It looks like they have a 9:40 tour on Sundays but it would wrap up at 11 then we have a 3 hour drive to the airport.  We could make that work. I will just need to extend our rental car for an extra hour. We just have to be at the airport by 3pm. 

Entrance to gift shop.

[BourbonWife]

Yes!  And I’m a big Chihuly fan!  I’ll try to figure out how to get it in the schedule. 

[markandrex]

8 minutes ago, BourbonWife said:

Yes!  And I’m a big Chihuly fan!  I’ll try to figure out how to get it in the schedule. 

Who isn’t!  Liquid beauty.

[flahute]

If you can fit it in, Castle and Key has incredibly beautiful grounds so even if you don't have time for a tour it's worth seeing. An added bonus is that just a short drive down the road is a great restaurant called The Stave that you can hit for lunch. 

https://kentuckyprojects.wixsite.com/thestaveky/about

Woodford Reserve is only 5 minutes away from there.

 

[Richnimrod]

4 hours ago, BourbonWife said:

Is the restaurant at BBC open for dinner?  It looked to only be available for lunch.  I actually had a reservation there before the blending tour but switched it to Willett after he sent me a TikTok to “add to the list of we ever go”. 
 

I can definitely look at adding a tour at Willett.  Maybe do that one Friday afternoon and just pop over to Preservation for a tasting if time allows?  There are just so many options and I’m trying to keep it a total surprise.  So I’m trying to avoid bringing it up very often to him.  

Hmmm. I actually do not know if the BBC restaurant is open for dinner.   Now that I think about it, I've only ever had lunches there, so maybe not.   Easy to find out, I imagine.   Good Luck.

flahute mentioned the beauty of the Castle and Key grounds.   The building's facade is something special, as well.   If you're pressed for time, just a quick "park and wander for 5-minutes" will be worth it, IMHO.   ....More, if it can be worked in.

[BourbonWife]

2 hours ago, flahute said:

If you can fit it in, Castle and Key has incredibly beautiful grounds so even if you don't have time for a tour it's worth seeing. An added bonus is that just a short drive down the road is a great restaurant called The Stave that you can hit for lunch. 

https://kentuckyprojects.wixsite.com/thestaveky/about

Woodford Reserve is only 5 minutes away from there.

 

That’s exactly what I’m hoping for between our Buffalo Trace and Woodford tours.  

[rzelinka]

On 6/12/2025 at 2:34 PM, flahute said:

If you can fit it in, Castle and Key has incredibly beautiful grounds so even if you don't have time for a tour it's worth seeing. An added bonus is that just a short drive down the road is a great restaurant called The Stave that you can hit for lunch. 

https://kentuckyprojects.wixsite.com/thestaveky/about

Woodford Reserve is only 5 minutes away from there.

 

I've heard the same about Castle and Key!

[Skinsfan1311]

3 hours ago, rzelinka said:

I've heard the same about Castle and Key!

It's true.

The building and grounds are beautiful.

[BourbonWife]

 

Thank you all for the suggestions so far!  Please keep them coming.   I have adjusted our schedule slightly.  
 

I read that if you have a tour booked at BT they will let you skip the line at the gift shop up to a full hour before. If this is true, we can get in at 9, do our shopping then be on the road after the 10am tour.  That should allow us time to fit in a quick lunch then a walk around the grounds and maybe a cocktail and Castle and Key before the Woodford Tour at 1:40.  
 

Friday afternoon we are going to try for a late tour at MM.  That evening BBC has an event with food and live music.

 

One thing I’m regretting not scheduling is the You Do Bourbon at HH.   That looks really cool but there really aren’t any available times that work for us.  I was hoping that could be the last thing we do before leaving town on Sunday morning but the first one is at 1:30.  I could do one for Saturday afternoon after his BBC blending class but I also want to make sure he has some down time to relax and hit for some bottles around town. 

[Kepler]

For anyone who has never been to bourbon country before, in my opinion  a Maker's Mark tour is priority number one, a definite must see.  I would skip the Buffalo Trace bottle chasing event for Maker's Mark.  You can purchase bottles back home.  

[MSB]

On 6/12/2025 at 1:34 PM, flahute said:

If you can fit it in, Castle and Key has incredibly beautiful grounds so even if you don't have time for a tour it's worth seeing. An added bonus is that just a short drive down the road is a great restaurant called The Stave that you can hit for lunch. 

https://kentuckyprojects.wixsite.com/thestaveky/about

Woodford Reserve is only 5 minutes away from there.

 

I agree!

 

I think Castle and Key is in one of the most scenic hollows of the Bourbon Trail.  I saw it in the late winter/ early spring when nothing was green but could see the beauty that it holds. 

 

Worth a quick drive thru and or short visit.