Kentucky Bourbon Trail
The world famous Kentucky Bourbon Trail is ready and waiting for you. Pick from your choice of seven world class distilleries and take your tour with Mint Julep Tours. We'll plan and manage your tour to provide a top quality experience to some of Kentucky's most famous Bourbon distilleries. Along the way, you can also visit one of the many outstanding thoroughbred horse farms here in Kentucky. Along the Kentucky Bourbon Trail is a multitude of world class distilleries all producing America's only native spirit. You can't afford to miss this opportunity on your next visit to Kentucky!
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7 Bourbon Distilleries to Tour
Our Bourbon Tours are meant to be flexible and personalized. You get to pick which of the 7 major Bourbon Distilleries you want to visit! The tour is divided into 2 general regions, the East Tour and the South Tour.
East Tour:
Select from Wild Turkey, Woodferd Reserve, Four Roses, or Buffalo Trace Distilleries.
Wild Turkey is an old fashioned, time honored facility dedicated to the production of premium straight Kentucky Bourbon the way it's been created for centuries. Master Distiller Jimmy Russell oversees every step of this delicate process and upholds the generations old, traditional method of distilling Kentucky whiskey. This facility's location is outstanding as it's situated on the crest of a hill overlooking the Kentucky river, providing a picturesque view of the surrounding countryside.
Woodferd Reserve is another old distillery, established in 1812. This beautiful facility situated along Glenns Creek was purchased and reopened in 1996 as more of a showpiece, a distillery frozen in time to show how bourbon was created in the 19th century. Authentic old fashioned copper beer stills, cypress wood fermenters, and tracks to roll barrels into storage are just a few of the highlights of this location. A tasting is served at the end of the tour.
Four Roses Distillery is a very specific tour to show how Kentucky bourbon is distilled. The architecture may make you think you're in wine country, but this is definitely a bourbon place. Your tour will showcase two of the best parts of this National Register of Historic Places location: a 45 foot tall copper beer still and several 16,000 gallon red cypress fermentation tanks.
Buffalo Trace Distillery dates back more than 200 years and is also in the National Registry of Historic Places. It's built on top of an old migratory buffalo path, or buffalo trace, that dates back all the way to colonial times. Buffalo trace has won more international awards than any other distillery! You'll even get the chance to sample some of this world class liquor with a tasting at the end of the tour.
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South Tour:
Choose among Maker's Mark, Heaven Hill, and Jim Beam Distilleries.
Maker's Mark's world famous distillery is one of the highlights of the South Tour. This one of a kind facility is unique in several ways. First, it manufactures world class bourbon and liquor, and you'll get the chance to see every aspect of it. But this is done in a facility that is in harmony with nature, not at odds with it. The age old facilities are situated in a beautiful location, and over 350 plant species flourish on the expansive grounds. You'll get to go through several of the buildings and tour the grounds, and, of course, a complimentary tasting awaits you at the end of the tour along with the opportunity to purchase a 375 mL bottle. You can seal this bottle yourself by dipping it in the signature Maker's Mark red wax.
Heaven Hill is a distillery that is primarily built for the storage and aging of bourbon, so, of course, the tour will cover a massive warehouse, containing over 20,000 barrels in an "open rick" storage system. A large tasting barrel near the center of the warehouse gives you the chance to sample two of Kentucky's finest types of bourbon, an 18-year-old Elijah Craig and Evan William's Single Barrel bourbon. The tour also takes a detour through another huge 10,000 square foot heritage facility opened in 2004.
The world's largest distillery, Jim Beam's brand needs no introduction, and you'll get the chance to see everything! A complete tour of this one of a kind facility awaits you, along with a short movie at the end. And, of course, a tasting is offered at the conclusion of the tour with some of the liquor created by Beam's seventh generation master distiller.
Contact us to find out more about our Kentucky Bourbon Trail tours. We offer a variety besides the Bourbon tours including Horse Country Tours and the Urban Bourbon Tour. We also offer you the chance to customize your Kentucky Burbon Trail tour!