I need help to plan a Kentucky tour.

[nor02lei]

Since I plan to do my dream journey next year to Kentucky to calibrate my 50-years birthday I want to take the opportunity to ask a few questions here on the forum.

Time: When is the best time to go? I count on staying for at least 4 weeks. I want pleasant weather, the distilleries in full operation and of cause not miss the festival.

Car: Is it possible to rent a car at the airport and how much is the rent for a small car? Than the question that can risk the whole project. What is the level of alcohol that you are allowed to have in your blood when driving in Kentucky?

Headquarter: I plan to stay in one place and do day journeys from there. Exceptions from that will probably be JD and Dickel witch I consider will take 2 days. The places that I think about are Bardstown and Louisville. Thankful for advise.

Air: Do anyone have any tip on the best way to get air tickets from Arlanda Sweden to Louisville or Lexington to a god price?

Contacts: I would need tips on contact people on the different distilleries. I plan to visit all operating ones plus Medley and Stitzer Weller.If time permits I hope to visit some independent bottlers and some micro brewers to. Since I put in so much time and money in this project I want to have a little more out of the distillery visits than an ordinary tourist tour.

Rent: Do anyone have some tip of any agency that rent out private rooms? Motel or Bed and breakfast will be too expansive for me. Besides I want to prepare my one breakfast witch Swedish coffee and rye breed. I have bin to USA ones before. As a coach in Atlanta-96. And the food was indeed not in the same class as the whiskey.

Remaining: I appreciate any tip that can be to help in the planning or at the journey. It don’t necessary have to have anything to do with whiskey.

Leif

[BSS]

The one I can answer:.08 BAL is the legal limit for driving. And it doesn't take too much to reach that .08. I can probably be in the low .10s and feel perfectly alright to drive...but it doesn't matter how you feel, its what you blow.

[nor02lei]

Thanks for your information. 0.8 BAL is that the same as 0.08 % alcohol in your blood?

[BourbonJoe]

Yes

Joe

[Ken Weber]

Leif,

When you finalize your plans, please send me an e-mail at kweber@buffalotrace.com. I will gladly show you around the Buffalo Trace Distillery and we can go behind the scenes and through several warehouses. Heck, we will even have lunch in the only white tablecloth restaurant in Frankfort.

Ken

[nor02lei]

Very generous offer ken. I really am locking forward to this visit.

Leif

[pepcycle]

Just a note.

Most (Some) distilleries are not operational during the festival in September.

They shut down for maintenance and traditional late summer hiatus.

The best time to visit, IMHO, is spring. Mid-May, if you don't want to be involved in KY Derby activities. (no hotels, no rental cars etc)

I would definitely try and use Bardstown as a home base.

There are a couple of B&B's that are OK in that area. Check with Brenda on this board or Bobby C.

You might be able to convince a Ky member of this board to put you up in exchange for Swedish accomodations in the future (Hint, Hint, Hint!!!)

Rental Cars average about $150/week depending. Best rental prices are not at the airports. (Enterprise, Budget, Avis)

There are a few extended stay hotels that rent weekly, monthly. They run about $129/week. Nothing fancy. One bed studios, not usually in picturesque locations.

Be sure and PM me when you firm up your plans and I'll put aside some time to show you around. (Hot Air Balloon? Hiking? Biking? Thoroughbred Racing?)

[nor02lei]

Mr. Ed,

Thank you for taking time to help me planning. I am a bit hug up with the ester for date. If I go in May I will miss the festival. And I do like festivals. You can be sure about that. I recon you meant the distilleries are just shut down under the 5 festival days and not for the hole September. Or else I have to change to spring.

I will take your advise on Bardstown as a home base.

Rent car for 150/week is cheaper than I have expected.

When it comes to the accommodation part I still have some problems. I found 2 hotels that did fit your description but they won’t answer email. The price 129/week seem ok to me. Also I have got the address to a woman that rent out rooms in the city. I have sent her a letter since she doesn’t have email. The exchange accommodation part sounds tempting but my problem is that my family and me live very tight. We are actually moving 1 September. Our new home will be without any extra room. I could put in another bed in the living room but it will be very Spartan living.

I am flattered that you want to show me around and take me out on (American) activates. First I had planned to stay 6 weeks but of economical and family reasons I have shortened it to 4. Will se how much time for other things than whiskey, beer and food there will be. Biking is for shore one thing I like. And since I got food and drink as my main interest I need to exercise. I will PM you later when I now more.

Leif

[bourbonchef1189]

Thanks for your information. 0.8 BAL is that the same as 0.08 % alcohol in your blood?

Blood alcohol is measured by parts per thousand in your blood stream. Most people shorten it to 0.8 but it's 0.08.So you could be DUI or DWI with just two drinks.

[wku88]

Leif, I could talk to my mother about having you stay a few days in her apartment. It is only 5 minutes from the Louisville airport. The Jack Daniels tour, I would recommend staying overnight in Lynchburg. As Louisville is only an hour or two from several distillery tours, it would be a good starting point. My uncle owns an old distillery that is not currently producing, but it is close to the Beam and Heaven Hill stills. Possibly, my uncle could be convinced in showing you the grounds, and a short narrative of the place.

Just let me know, as us Kentuckians are very willing to share our history with others.

Oh, I forgot, Spring in Kentucky will have you convinced it is Heaven.

[TNbourbon]

...The Jack Daniels tour, I would recommend staying overnight in Lynchburg...

Now, the "Population 361" that appears on each Jack Daniel's bottle IS just marketing, but also not far off from the truth. The only rooms for rent in Lynchburg that I'm aware of are at Miss Mary Bobo's Boarding House (run by Lynn Tolley, a long-time taster at JD Distillery), a fine but smallish and popular facility. Booking well in advance is necessary, even just to enjoy its daily, family-style, country lunches. Nearby Tullahoma and/or Manchester (10-20 miles distant) have over 1,000 rooms between them, however.

[nor02lei]

I have now booked flight and hotel in Louisville and Bardstown in September. I had lots of problems witch the hotels due to the fact that they don’t answer email. I got help by B J Boone with the Bardstown hotel just recently. I looked back into my mail lists and discovered that I had mailed the same hotel already in October with no result. Well now to the next step. I will plan the distillery visits from both ends to the middle so to speak. I have a very high ambition with the visits but I am a realist so I suppose I will get quit different treatment at the distilleries. At some I probably only will get a normal tourist roundabout. This is the way I would like it. I world like to see the whole production chine including sampling the mach and white dog. Also hoping to sample straight from some barrels in the warehouses. Than I would like to ask a few questions about there products and stuff to somebody at the distilleries that really now the answers (not the PR department).

The help I need is email and/or fax numbers to the right people at the different distilleries including SW and Medley. I already got BT and van Winkle.

Another problem is how to travel between the hotels and the distilleries. Since people always travel by bus in American movies I figured that I could go by bus and the last few miles by taxi. It seems however that my film theory was completely wrong and there are not many buses going. That is the reason that I had to book 2 hotels. I’m still hoping to go by bus to the Frankfurt and Lawrenceburg distilleries since they are quit near to the main road between Kentucky’s 2 biggest cities. Thankful for advice.

Leif

[dale3mike]

When you are in Louisville, I can recommend two microbreweries:

The New Albanian Brewing Company, just across the Ohio River, in New Albany, Indiana. I work nearby.

http://newalbanian.com/index.php

And The Bluegrass Brewing Company, in Louisville.

http://www.bbcbrew.com/

I hope you have a good time. Feel free to send a PM when you know your schedule, as I am always up for a Bourbon or a brew.

Mike

[nor02lei]

When you are in Louisville, I can recommend two microbreweries:

The New Albanian Brewing Company, just across the Ohio River, in New Albany, Indiana. I work nearby.

http://newalbanian.com/index.php

And The Bluegrass Brewing Company, in Louisville.

http://www.bbcbrew.com/

I hope you have a good time. Feel free to send a PM when you know your schedule, as I am always up for a Bourbon or a brew.

Mike

Mike,

Thank you for your tip. The second link is a place very close to my hotel. I had seen that already and I get real thirsty and hungry just by locking at the page. I would not mind joining you for some drinks in any of these 2 places since you live so close and all.

Leif

[JeffRenner]

The help I need is email and/or fax numbers to the right people at the different distilleries including SW and Medley.

Leif

Sadly, both of these distilleries closed in the 1990's.

Jeff

[BSS]

Sorry to inform you but taking buses between distilleries will not work. They just don't exist for the purpose you want in towns outside Louisville, Lexington, and N. KY. In Kentucky, most people don't use public transportation at all. For this reason, a very very small percentage of the people in Kentucky have ever used public transportation inside the state. Even in the bigger cities, public transportation does not operate very conveniently. I know Grayhound still has some routes but they are very infrequent and typically they don't take the most logical route to get you places(I wouldn't take it). Your best bet is to rent a car, but I’m not sure if you can do that. There are some taxis around, but that will cost you a good fee to get from Louisville to Frankfort/Bardstown/ or wherever. Check out the legalities of renting a car, you will be glad you did.

[camduncan]

Sorry to inform you but taking buses between distilleries will not work. They just don't exist for the purpose you want in towns outside Louisville, Lexington, and N. KY. In Kentucky, most people don't use public transportation at all. For this reason, a very very small percentage of the people in Kentucky have ever used public transportation inside the state. Even in the bigger cities, public transportation does not operate very conveniently. I know Grayhound still has some routes but they are very infrequent and typically they don't take the most logical route to get you places(I wouldn't take it). Your best bet is to rent a car, but I’m not sure if you can do that. There are some taxis around, but that will cost you a good fee to get from Louisville to Frankfort/Bardstown/ or wherever. Check out the legalities of renting a car, you will be glad you did.

As another interested "future" tourist from overseas, you got my interest...

Does this mean there are no organised tours that travel from distillery to distillery?

(This type of tourist operation does massive business here in wine regions of Australia - you can pay to join a tour group that tours say 6 wineries with lunch included at one of them..)

[gr8erdane]

Leif,

Have you tried contacting any of the tour companies in the area? Possibly they could find room for you on one of their groups or even point you to reasonable alternatives. Maybe try contacting the people at www.bluegrasstours.com? I found them at the Kentucky Tourism website.

[nor02lei]

Leif

Sadly, both of these distilleries closed in the 1990's.

Jeff

Jeff,

I know that they are closed but I am still interested to see them and isn’t that C Medley Whathen guy still bottling bourbon at the old Medley plant?

Leif

[BSS]

I haven't ever went on one of the organized tours put on by one of the tour companies so I don't exactly know. I know Bluegrass Tours do a lot of horse farm tours in Fayette, Woodford, and Bourbon Counties, and I'm pretty sure some of these will stop at Woodford Reserve.

On the other hand, I have never heard of one of them stopping by just the distilleries.

That would probably have to be an organized special event.

This also wouldn't work for Leif because he would still need to get from Louisville/Bardstown to Lexington to get on one of these tours. Then If he was on one of these tours, he wouldn't be able to get the specialized tour he wants.

Rent a car so you can enjoy it at your own pace.

[bluesbassdad]

Can anyone provide Leif information regarding legal/administrative hurdles he might face if he were to rent a car in Kentucky?

I know only enough to be worried that it might not work out. For example, imagine having to apply for and take the test for a Kentucky driver's license in order to complete the rental process, but one needs a car to take the driving test. (Hey Jeff! Can Leif borrow your car while you're at work? He'll bring it right back if he passes the test. :grin: Do you still have the bicycle from your missionary work? :slappin: )

Would a Swedish credit card be just as good as one issued in the U.S.A. in regard to completing the rental agreement? I assume Visa is international, but is it?

Seriously, I'd think the State of Kentucky's tourist bureau should be able to provide all the necessary information for international travellers. Where car rental is concerned, I'd think the rental companies would provide information through their websites.

Yours truly,

Dave Morefield

[camduncan]

Dave & Leif,

In all of our traveling over the last 3-4 years, we've never run into any issues yet. Some of these may be obvious, but in our case (and I'm assuming it will be similar for Leif) -

We use Visa Credit Cards because they are accepted througout the world. Master Card is a pretty good option too. However we have seen signs in retail outlets whilst overseas saying American Express isn't accepted, or if it is, a 5% (or some such figure) surcharge applies to any transaction..

- Leif, it's best to check with your bank how best to proceed here. Also ask them about costs per transaction (these can really add up) Also ask about costs for cash withdrawals as these tend to be higher and if it's cash taken from your credit card, can start earning interest immediately.

We applied for an iternational drivers licence here in Australia. Most countries will accept an Australian drivers licence, but some like to see an International one as well. They are usually valid for 5 years.

- Leif, again, check with your local drivers licence department.

From memory, travel to the USA requires a Visa

- check with your travel agent, or, if you didn't use one to book the trip, drop by one and ask for some advice.

Some rental car agencies require you to list a place of residence whilst hiring their cars. Usually the place you are staying the longest is sufficient. They usually all require a bond or deposit prior to you hiring the car. It's usually in the form of a pre-determined ammount of money held against your credit card. (Ensure you have enough Credit Limit to put down a bond of say, between $250-$500 plus all of the spending you intend to do) If you are booking prior to travelling, ask them if they have any special requirments.

Lastly, and this is probably the biggest one of all.... If you can't afford travel insurance, you can't afford to travel. I can't stress this enough. Most travel agents can assist you. Some Credit Cards offer free travel insurance. But above all, ensure you have cover!!!

Case-in-point: My wife is a travel agent. Her office booked someone to holiday in another country who refused to take travel insurance. Thankfully they signed several forms stating they had offered, and had refused to take the insurance out. Sadly, they died in an accident. The cheapest flight home for his body was $40000AU which his family had to pay if they wanted to bring his body home. They were also charged massive medical fees for the care taken after the accident and had to pay the morgue for the time his body was left there whilst they arranged to have the body bought home. Total cost was in excess of $60000AU on top of dealing with family grief at the sudden death. With insurance, the entire cost would have been covered.

[jeff]

(Hey Jeff! Can Leif borrow your car while you're at work? He'll bring it right back if he passes the test. :grin: Do you still have the bicycle from your missionary work? :slappin: )

Geez Dave, you know I do, but it's in the shop having the bell recalibrated:slappin:

[barturtle]

I checked the TARC website(the Louisville busline) it will get you to both of these places(I'm not sure how hard it is, as far as transfers from where you're staying, but the option exists).

the system website is www.ridetarc.org

I have several friends in Louisville that have no autos and use the system a lot, seems to be fairly good.

[nor02lei]

I checked the TARC website(the Louisville busline) it will get you to both of these places(I'm not sure how hard it is, as far as transfers from where you're staying, but the option exists).

the system website is www.ridetarc.org

I have several friends in Louisville that have no autos and use the system a lot, seems to be fairly good.

Timothy,

Thank you for the link. I did know about the TARC busses but I did not have this link. I have not found any information on the Louisville homepage however so I don’t know were the distilleries are located. Therefore I can’t check if TARC can bring me there. It is good anyway that they will bring me to the 2 micro breweries in the city and I guess must other interesting things located near the city centre as well.

Leif