A #WanderingWithRosé Guide to the Kentucky Bourbon Trail

Looking for a long weekend getaway?

Look no further than planning your visit to explore the Kentucky Bourbon Trail! Composed of both craft and big name distilleries, the Kentucky Bourbon Trail is meant for all lovers of bourbon and allows you to explore the gorgeous Bluegrass State by car. Not really a bourbon fan? Girl, I hear you – I wasn’t either, until this trip. I can honestly say I have a newfound appreciation for the bourbon process and the resulting product. And trust me when I say that this trip is a must in your lifetime.

Read more below for my recommendations and favorite spots on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail!

Where to Stay.

The Kentucky Bourbon Trail spans across the state of Kentucky with majority of the distilleries falling in between Louisville and Lexington. For our stay, we made The Brown Hotel located in Louisville, our home base for the entire four day long weekend getaway. Guys, this hotel is gorge. It’s pure Southern luxury and we would stay here again in a heartbeat. Be sure to upgrade to the club level during your stay and you’ll have access to a serious continental breakfast spread, afternoon hors d’oeuvres AND wine + beer. This was always a bonus after a long day on the trail.

For us, staying in Louisville was a great all-around location for visiting the various distilleries each day and made it incredibly easy for flying in and out of SDF. However, Lexington was absolutely gorgeous {hello, thoroughbred horse country!} and I would strongly consider staying on that side of the state during our next visit.

How to get around.

Rent a {nice} car. Since majority of your time on the trail is spent driving from distillery to distillery, be sure to rent a car that you’ll feel comfortable spending majority of your day in. In all honesty, there’s no use for a tour or driver, unless you plan to get absolutely blitzed at each distillery. I can say that this is a possibility only if you buy a few drinks a piece after the tour. If you’re just doing the tastings, you’ll be A-OK as you’re truly just sipping a taste of the product. However, if you’re someone that doesn’t like to navigate the countryside or wants to just kick back and relax, you get that driver Glen Coco!

The Bourbon Trail.

Day 1 on the trail consisted of tours at Maker’s Mark and Jim Beam, while making a pit-stop in the cute little town of Bardstown which has been designated this city the Bourbon Capital of the World.

Maker’s Mark

Maker’s Mark was our favorite tour on the Trail. We ended up doing one of their specialty tours of the distillery called Beyond the Mark – highly recommended! This tour takes you behind the scenes of production and allows you to see more than the typical visitor. We absolutely loved this distillery because everything is still produced the exact same way as it was in the original mill and distillery that dates all the way back to the 1800’s! You know, minus the whole Prohibition era that halted all production kind-of-thing. Certainly still a sore subject in Bourbon Country.

Do you love Maker’s Mark? If so, be sure to sign up for Maker’s free Ambassador program where they place your name on a new barrel. You’re able to monitor your barrel’s status and when it’s matured, you’ll have the opportunity to purchase the Maker’s Mark bottles aged from your barrel! I signed Kurt up for this program as a fun surprise before our trip, and revealed all the details about his barrel and its aging status while we were on the tour. He was so excited! In just 6 – 7.5 years {they go by taste and it all depends on the weather!}, his barrel will be fully matured and we’ll be able to head back down to Loretto, KY to pick up a few of his finished Maker’s Mark bottles. How great is that?!

Jim Beam

While visiting Jim Beam, we also had the opportunity to bottle our own bottle of Knob Creek, a small batch bourbon whiskey that we were surprised to learn was produced at Jim Beam. It was such a fun experience! Kurt simply choose his empty bottle, rinsed the inside with Knob Creek bourbon and set it on the assembly line to watch the full production from start to finish! At the end of our tour, we were able to pick up his bottle in the Gift Shop and custom engrave it. This was by far one of the highlights of our trip and such a great keepsake.

Day 2 on the trail consisted of tours at Wild Turkey and Woodford Reserve. These distilleries are located on the way to Lexington, so in between tours, we popped into downtown Lexington for lunch before heading back out to enjoy our drive through thoroughbred horse country. I have to say, these distilleries were both gorgeous. We loved the tasting room overlooking the Kentucky River at Wild Turkey, and Woodford Reserve had absolutely gorgeous grounds nestled in between thoroughbred horse farms. Can’t get much better than this! Since the day slipped away from us, we missed visiting the Buffalo Trace distillery, but have plans to check this one off our list when we come back for Kurt’s Maker’s!

Wild Turkey

Woodford Reserve

One thing to remember while on the Bourbon Trail is to allocate enough time at each distillery to ensure you’re not rushed. Plan to visit 2-3 distilleries per day that are all located within the same general area. It’s simply not possible to enjoy each distillery visit if you jam pack your day with more than 3 tours.

Where to eat.

As most of you know, I’m pretty serious about where I dine so this was the most fun to research for me. Upon arrival we hit up J Graham’s Cafe {home to the Hot Brown if you can eat gluten} which is located in the downstairs lobby of The Brown Hotel. I, of course, started out our trip with a bang {#YOLO} and ordered the Ali’s Smash cocktail. Lawwd, was it delish! For breakfast on Day 2 of the trail, we stopped by Annie May’s Sweet Cafe to indulge on her delicious GF baked goods, you may remember my visit from this post here. I seriously need her Toaster Treats in my life ASAP.

For dinners we hit up Proof on Main, Seviche and the absolute exquisite 610 Magnolia which is owned by Chef Edward Lee. YOU GUYS. This place is an absolute MUST for any visit to Kentucky. The food is artwork and easily one of the best meals I’ve ever experienced. Word of advice? Make your reservation early – it’s worth it! It’s completely adorable inside and faced with this bright yellow door. You can’t miss it!

Do you think you’ll be visiting the Kentucky Bourbon Trail in the near future? If so, what distilleries are you dying to see?!

Xx, Amanda