Bringing this back from the dead. I am (hopefully) going next week. I'll be hitting all the distilleries on the tour, of which there are now 9 (Bulleit was just added), and Buffalo Trace which is not on the official tour. I have read that the "whiskey connoisseur experience" at Heaven Hill is worth the extra fee, to do the "hardhat tour" at Buffalo Trace, and to try the "prohibition tasting" at Evan Williams. Any other tips or must-do's for the distilleries? I'll be staying a night or two at the Old Talbott Tavern in Bardstown. I'll also probably stay a night or two either in west Lexington or Frankfort. Any recommendations for dinner and/or cocktails in these areas? This may be my last chance for a good time for a few weeks before Ferguson gets stupid, so I am hoping to make the most of it.
Skip Jim Beam. Don't miss Makers Mark or Woodford Reserve, they both have great tours. If you get a chance for dinner in Louisville go to Proof on Main. http://www.proofonmain.com/?s_kwcid... main&ef_id=U9ZjGwAAAM1qOtBz:20141107125743:s
I've been in Louisville all week. For dinner, Harvest, Rye, Decca, Wiltshire on Market, Milkwood (off the charts) For drinking, Haymarket, Sidebar, Down one bourbon bar, Against the grain brewing, Proof on main
I just went to Buffalo Trace and had a blast. I don't think they do any of their special tours this time of year (maybe they just started back up?). Buy some of their Bourbon Cream while you are there. It is hard to get anywhere else.
For dinner in Lexington, I would recommend Ted's Montana Grill if you like bison or want to try it. The bison ribeye is a little pricey, but it is the best steak I have EVER had. Ted's Montana Grill
It's a must see. Ex in laws lived 20 minutes from there, would go there about twice a year. Love that place.
Some of the distilleries may not be noteworthy, but I am going to all of them on the tour to get my passport stamped and get my damned free t-shirt! I think I can get a stamp just by showing up at the gift shop, so I may not do the full tour at some of them. I mean, how many times do you have to see how bourbon is made before you get the picture? That's also why I am interested in the distilleries with variations on the regular tour. Woodford Reserve and Buffalo Trace are the two I am most excited about. Maker's Mark, Evan Williams and Four Roses should be good. Town Branch isn't even really a distillery, and I have heard Jim Beam is "meh" (although they have greatly expanded their tour and gift shop over the past year or so). Oh, and thanks for the recommendations so far!
For chilling with a glass of bourbon at night I'm a big fan of parlay social in downtown Lexington. They have a flight of 3 different ages of Pappy for $99, or at least they used to. I haven't had the flight, but I've had the 12 year which wasn't anything special and I had a glass of 20 year that cost $83 and was completely worth it. There's a 23yr that costs about $120/shot around here but I haven't tried it yet. For distilleries I've only been to makers and it was beautiful in November when we went. I would highly recommend it, though don't expect a lot of sampling. You can dip your own bottle in wax thoigh.
We really wanted to go to the cooperage (barrel maker) in L'ville but the tour only runs like Monday-Thurday.
I'm back and it was very cool. Anyone who enjoys whiskey should make this a bucket list trip. Some have big gift shops, some have small ones. All are pretty pricey. Some have stuff you can't get elsewhere. Don't miss Woodford Reserve or Maker's Mark. Beautiful, serene facilities. Couldn't believe they pump as much hooch out of here as they do, because they seem more like small production facilities (especially Woodford Reserve). At Maker's Mark you can buy a 375 ml of Cask Strength, which is very difficult to find outside the bourbon region and only recently released even there. Any bottle you buy in the gift shop you can hand-dip yourself in the red wax. I'm a big fan of Buffalo Trace's small batch and single barrel brands (Elmer T. Lee, Blanton's, Col. E.H. Taylor, Eagle Rare, and the Van Winkles), so this tour was a must for me. The distillery is huge and very industrial, and the tour doesn't show you much (rick house, Blanton's bottling line). I had a great guide, however, who made it entertaining. Nice gift shop (alas, no Pappy here). Four Roses has unique Spanish architecture, but the tour of the facility was like walking through a factory...noisy machines and pipes everywhere. They do have good bourbon, though. Jim Beam's tour was better than expected. It starts with a working mini-distillery so they can show you how the process all works from one room. The mini distillery produces about one barrel a day. When you get to the bottling line you can wash one of the bottles, watch it go through the line, and purchase that bottle (of whatever they are bottling at the time. That day it was Knob Creek Single Barrel). You can also have your bottle engraved. Town Branch is a brewery first, distillery second. It was still cool. I didn't take the tour at Wild Turkey. We just hit the gift shop, but still got free samples. At Heaven Hill we chose to to a Connoisseur Experience rather than another standard tour. We got samples of a couple of rare bourbons, including Evan Williams 23 yr old. At Evan Williams we chose to do the Speakeasy Tour. It's a themed tour and was pretty cool, and another chance to do something different from the standard "this is how bourbon is made" tour. Bulleit was just added to the tour. They are moving operations to their new location, so the tour only included a look inside a rick house, an old cooper's shop, and their main building. Mr. Bulleit's office used to belong to Pappy Van Winkle. This was the least entertaining, but may get better as more of their production moves in.
I stopped at Woodford Reserve yesterday. Was pressed for time but, it was still worth the stop. Lightened my wallet too. Would have liked to stop at Buffalo Trace also.
I did the the Woodford Reserve "Corn to Cask" tour this summer($30), as well as the ghost tour at Buffalo Trace (free). The ghost tour was silly, but the guide was good and we all had fun. Plenty of samples at the end too. Picked up a few bottles of Bourbon Cream and Eagle Rare. The Woodford reserve tour was really good if you want to learn about the whole process. You get to sample the product at all the different stages too. I recommend both.
