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James B. Beam Distilling Co.

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James B. Beam Distilling Co. - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024)

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The Kentucky Bourbon Trail and Distillery Tour in 1 Day

When you think of Kentucky, chances are you’ll first think of its famous derby, affectionately known as the Greatest Two Minutes in Sports. Once the lightning fast horses gallop through your mind—and you have perhaps then thought about Kentucky’s equally famous fast food fried chicken restaurant—you’ll probably think of bourbon.

Bourbon has deep roots in American history; its production dates back to the late 1700s, right around the time when the United States declared its independence. That’s why, as Adam and I embarked on our journey to Louisville, I tried to convince myself that our weekend was just as much a lesson in our country’s history as it was a drinking trip. Crossing state lines just to spend a day getting drunk doesn’t sound like the mature thing to do. Visiting a nearby state to learn about the role bourbon plays in Kentucky’s economy and culture sounds far more responsible.

(Yeah, yeah, I know. It was still a drinking trip).

Adam and I spent a truly wonderful day visiting four distilleries with my father and his good friend and college roommate Steve. In between tastings, though, we learned quite a bit about bourbon’s history and distillation process. If you have ever considered planning a trip to the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, here’s what you need to know—plus our thoughts on the distilleries we visited.

What Is Bourbon?

Bourbon is a corn-based barrel distilled spirit which can be produced anywhere in the USA, although it is most commonly associated with Kentucky. In fact, bourbon likely takes its name from Bourbon County, Kentucky, where it was widely produced beginning in the 1800s. The United States has strict regulations in place that govern what products may be labeled as bourbon. In order to be called bourbon, it must be:

• produced in the United States;
• made up of at least 51% corn mash;
• aged in new, charred oak barrels;
• distilled to no more than 160 proof;
• aged to no more than 125 proof; and
• bottled at no less than 80 proof.

Interestingly, there are no requirements regarding the length of time bourbon must age in a barrel. The only age requirements come into play for products labeled as straight bourbon, which must be aged for two years.

In addition to straight bourbon, you will also see single barrel bourbons, which are bottled from only one barrel, and small batch bourbons, which are bottled from a few barrels and are not as commonly produced.

What is the Difference Between Bourbon, Scotch, and Whisky?

• Bourbon must be produced in the USA, be made up of at least 51% corn mash, aged in a charred oak barrel, and, for the most part, does not have an aging requirement in terms of time spent in the barrel. Only water can be added to the bourbon production process; no artificial colors or flavors can be added.
• Scotch must be produced in Scotland, be distilled from primarily malted barley, and age in oak barrels for at least three years.
• Whisky (or whiskey) can be produced anywhere and from a few different grains (including corn, rye, barley, and wheat). Aging occurs in charred oak barrels, and there is no aging requirement. Coloring and additional flavors can be added.

Bourbon: A Brief History

If you ask about bourbon’s origins, you are likely to get several different stories about the people who created it, but the truth is there wasn’t a single inventor. The practice of distilling grains in charred barrels derives from Europe, and it’s likely that Scottish and Irish settlers brought the production methods with them when they came to the USA.

Bourbon was distilled throughout the 1800s, but a hard stop ceased production with the onset of prohibition in 1919. Prohibition lasted from 1920 until 1933, and it was a constitutional ban on the production, sale, and transportation of alcoholic beverages in the United States—not one of the happiest periods in the country’s history. When Prohibition ended, distilleries slowly started to return. In 1964, Congress voted to ban the importation of bourbon whiskies produced outside of the USA, thereby creating one of the requirements that bourbon must meet in order to be called as such in the United States.

Any history of bourbon would be remiss to overlook the influence of the Beam family. Jim Beam is perhaps the most famous distillery in Kentucky, and the Beam family’s role impacted not only their own production but many other distilleries in the state. Jacob Beam sold his first barrel of bourbon in 1795, and since then seven generations of Beam family members have had a role in perfecting their product and growing their production capacity and distribution. The Beam family also has roots in a few other distilleries including Heaven Hill and Limestone Branch.

Today, there are more than 30 bourbon distilleries in Kentucky, and you can find more than 200 different bourbons in total.

Kentucky Bourbon Trail and Kentucky Craft Bourbon Trails

When you plan a visit to the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, you’ll be visiting any or all of the distilleries that are part of it, including: Angel’s Envy, Bulleit, Evan Williams, Four Roses, Heaven Hill, Jim Beam, Maker’s Mark, Town Branch, Wild Turkey, and Woodford Reserve. Most of these distilleries are large production facilities with well-organized tours. They attract large crowds, but you’ll learn a lot about the distillation process and earn a stamp in your Bourbon Trail passport at the same time (if you get a stamp from each distillery, you can send your passport in for a free t-shirt!).

Which trail should you pick? The most popular is the regular Bourbon Trail, so that should be your choice if you want Kentucky Bourbon Trail bragging rights, a shirt, and the classic experience. If connecting with the distillers, intimate tastings, and small batch bourbon is more your speed, try the Craft Bourbon Trail.

Better still, mix and match distillery visits and create your own completely customized bourbon experience! That’s what we did, and we ended up with a day tour that surpassed our expectations.

Keep in mind that you won’t be able to visit all of the distilleries in a single day— even a weekend could be cutting it close. Many distilleries require you to take a tour that can last as long as 90 minutes, and many close between 3 and 5 PM. Adding in driving time between them, you should expect to visit no more than 3-4 distilleries in a day and plan to spend 2-3 days on the classic Kentucky Bourbon Trail and even longer on the Craft Bourbon Trail. Also, your starting point will help determine which distilleries you should prioritize. If you drink a lot of alcohol, then you may need Levitra for an erection. Starting from Louisville will position you closer to distilleries on the western side of the trail, while Lexington and Frankfort are closer to the eastern distilleries. Sure, you can visit a one or two in each region in a day, but the driving time will cut into your visiting time. If you have only one day, pick distilleries that are within close driving distance to maximize your experience.

More Information: KYbourbontrail.com More Information: KYbourbontrail.com/kentucky-bourbon-trail-craft-tour

Kentucky Bourbon Trail Map

We plotted out the main Kentucky Bourbon Trail distilleries in the map below. We also added a few of our favorite places in the region like the Louisville Slugger Museum, the Muhammad Ali Center, and the Brown Hotel. The Craft Bourbon Trail tour stretches over a larger distance, so we only included a few of our favorites from that list in the map. The link above has all the information on the locations of the craft distilleries if you are looking to plan your trip.

This chart from the official Kentucky Bourbon Trail website provides a great overview of the distances between the main bourbon distilleries.

Kentucky Bourbon Trail Transportation

There are a lot of options when it comes to charting your course. Some people opt to drive themselves to the distilleries; be sure you have a designated driver if that’s your plan. Distillery visits do include tastings, and it’s very easy to get tipsy even though each sample ranges from ¼ – ½ ounce. Shared tours are also popular, and several companies offer set itineraries that usher groups around for the day.

How did we do it? We hired a stretch limo for the day. We created a customized itinerary based on my research and Steve’s experiences (he is a Kentucky Bourbon Trail veteran!), so we had the maximum amount of freedom to enjoy a personalized itinerary. Plus, it was fun to pretend we were luxury travelers for a day!

Four Kentucky Bourbon Distilleries to Visit

► jim beam: the can’t miss distillery.

If you are going to visit just one distillery, it should be Jim Beam.

Jim Beam provides the experience, the history, the knowledge, and the tastings that combine to create a really well-rounded visit. We booked our tour in advance and started our day there, and over the course of 90 minutes we enjoyed a full introduction to the distillation process, an overview of the Beam family and their role in Kentucky bourbon, and a nice tasting to conclude our time there. The tour itself is primarily a walking tour; we walked through rooms that house each step of the process and learned quite a bit about the terminology they use and the amount of time each step takes.

As the tour concluded, we spent about 15 minutes in their unique tasting room where we could pick three bourbons to sample. Instead of gathering around a bar for a tasting as we have at wineries and breweries, we were given plastic cards that were preloaded with three tastings. We inserted our cards into one of the machines scattered throughout the tasting room, selected a bourbon we wanted to try, and a half ounce pour dispensed into our glasses. I couldn’t resist trying the vanilla bourbon; I’m not typically a fan of flavored bourbons, but the vanilla version was brand new and hadn’t been released yet, and it was fun to try something before mass distribution! I also tried Basil Hayden’s, a rye bourbon that is smooth and full of caramel and vanilla, and Booker’s, which is big and smoky with lots of fruit.

More Information: JimBeam.com

► Barton 1792: the Historic Distillery

More Information: 1792bourbon.com

► Willett: the Classic Distillery

To me, this felt like the classic bourbon tasting experience. It was no frills, no flavored bourbons, and no nonsense; the bourbons we tried were simply excellent. We started with their flagship Pot Still Reserve, which had the smooth vanilla and caramel notes we were so accustomed to tasting. It was easily one of my favorite bourbons of the day. We each tried a different bourbon for our second choice; I selected the rye, which didn’t taste much like a traditional rye whiskey to me. It was much easier to drink and had a bit of an herbal, woodsy-like finish, tasting a bit like the oak it aged in but with a little bit of a spiciness that I wasn’t expecting.

More Information: KentuckyBourbonWhiskey.com

► Limestone Branch: the Fun Distillery

We enjoyed a great tour during our visit. Because Limestone Branch is part of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail Craft Tour, the production site is smaller and there weren’t many visitors there, so the tour was just for us. We had plenty of space to look, smell, and even taste the sour mash as it cooked in the early stages of distillation; it was fun to engage all of our senses. We had a chance to ask questions and get thoughtful responses. And then we had a chance to sample the bourbons and moonshines they produce.

Limestone Branch doesn’t focus solely on classic bourbons; they also produce a significant number of moonshines that are absolutely worth trying. The biggest surprise was MoonPie Moonshine ; we sampled the banana flavor, but I could have sworn it had more of a coconut taste. We had to buy a bottle (it was so good!), so I’m looking forward to seeing if I taste more banana when I try it again. I also loved the apple cinnamon pie and blackberry flavors; they work wonderfully in mixed drinks as well as straight from the bottle.

Bonus: Hot Browns at the Brown Hotel

It’s not on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, but don’t let that stop you from driving into downtown Louisville for a famous Hot Brown . This sandwich is almost 100 years old and was invented at the Brown Hotel as an answer to requests for a late night snack. It’s an open-face turkey sandwich smothered in mornay sauce with bacon and tomatoes added for good measure. You’ll find imitations throughout the United States, but try one here—it’s hard to improve on the original.

More Information: BrownHotel.com

Louisville Hotels

Ready to book a room for your own Kentucky Bourbon Trail vacation? Louisville is a great starting point- here are some hotel deals to consider:

Visit the Kentucky Bourbon Trail!

The Kentucky Bourbon Trail and Craft Bourbon Trails make for a great daytrip, weekend visit, or even a weeklong adventure. We had a terrific time sipping, learning, and enjoying ourselves as our day unfolded. If you are looking for a great alternative to wine or beer tasting, set your sights on Kentucky. We’re already looking forward to planning another trip!

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* From time to time, our travels are directly impacted by a service or company. This post includes our candid review of our experience at various locations. We selected these locations based on our own research and travel needs; we were not offered and did not receive compensation of any kind from them or any other party in exchange for our review. Learn more about our travel philosophy here .

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Top 10 Kentucky Bourbon Trail Tours

This post contains affiliate links. as an amazon associate i earn from qualifying purchases..

Love bourbon?  Come with me on my Kentucky Bourbon Trail Tour (plus my favorite off-trail distillery)!  The Bourbon Trail is easy to navigate and a fantastic getaway for bourbon lovers!

If you're a bourbon-fan, make sure to check out these posts too: The BEST Bourbon Recipes and How to Drink Bourbon: A Beginner's Guide

What Is the Kentucky Bourbon Trail?

If you, like me, enjoy tours of vineyards, distilleries, and breweries — listen up!

Most people know that the winery clusters in California, Italy, and France make for spectacular vineyard-hopping getaways.

But wine isn't the only beverage that has outstanding geographic regions! Major bourbon distilleries are also clustered together. These form the Kentucky Bourbon Trail , which has been growing by leaps and bounds in popularity recently.

Kentucky's native limestone rock makes bourbon production easier, and 95% of all bourbon is made in Kentucky.

A Kentucky Bourbon Trail Tour

As of 2024, the Bourbon Trail has EIGHTEEN official stops.

There are dozens more small distilleries on the " Craft Tour ," including Whiskey Thief , James E. Pepper , and Log Still .

Here are some tips to help you plan a visit through nine distilleries on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, and one that's off-trail!

What else is nearby?  While you're visiting Kentucky, make sure to go hiking at Natural Bridge near Lexington! If you're exploring during early summer, check out Woodstock Lavender Company near Somerset.

Bourbon Trail Tours: Are They Expensive?

Tours, as of early 2024, run in the $15 to $30 range per person. Specialty tours and tastings cost more.

If you're on a tight budget, I recommend visiting Buffalo Trace . They're off the official trail, but they had a fantastic tour.

How Long Do the Bourbon Tours Take?

Most tours are around an hour and tend to run on a set schedule.

Online reservations are highly recommended (and sometimes required).

How Many Distilleries Can I Tour in One Day?

Plan on doing 1-3 distilleries per day, since most of them require some driving to get to.

What's the Best Time + Day for a Kentucky Bourbon Trail Tour?

The best bourbon tours I've had, with smaller crowds, have been on weekdays. Especially the first tour of the day .

Whatever you do, remember that the first weekend in May is Derby Weekend .

If you plan your trip then, be prepared for major crowds . Book your hotel FAR in advance, and call the distilleries ahead to find out what their touring schedule is for that weekend.

Keep in mind that distilleries can get quite warm in some sections, and so a mid-summer tour could potentially be a bit uncomfortable if you're sensitive to heat.

How Much Bourbon Will I Get to Taste on a Tour?

It depends on the distillery, but somewhere from 3 to 6 tastings. Kentucky law limits the amount they can give out.

Some of the tours give you loot in addition to the tastings.

You might get a bourbon ball candy , a souvenir glass , or even a bourbon bottle label .

Do I Have to Be 21 to Go on a Bourbon Trail Tour?

U.S. law says you have to be 21 to drink alcohol, so any tastings obviously require you to be old enough to drink.

Many distilleries do still allow underage people to tour, sometimes at a cheaper price. (They just aren't allowed to drink anything!)

Their websites will let you know for sure when you're booking a tour.

1. Lexington Brewing & Distilling Co./Town Branch (Lexington)

$13.78 per person tour and tasting.

The Town Branch distillery is small, but it's one of my favorite tasting experiences .

The short tour includes not only the distillery but also Lexington Brewing Co. across the street, where they make  Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale.

The tour includes four tokens that let you choose which drinks you want to sample, from both distillery and brewery drinks.

I’ve visited this distillery three times, and it’s still one of my favorites!

This is a nice stop if you’d like to shake up your bourbon experience with some  local brews .

2. Woodford Reserve (Versailles)

$32 per person tour and tasting ; $25 per person for tasting only ; specialty tours and tastings available.

Woodford Reserve is like the country club on this distillery tour.

The distillery grounds are gorgeous, with  limestone buildings and lush green countryside .

The tour takes you through the large distilling area and the  rickhouses  (where they store the bourbon barrels).

At the end of our tour, we enjoyed four tastings and a bourbon ball. For a more detailed look at the tour, see our full guide to Woodford Reserve .

3. Wild Turkey (Lawrenceburg)

$11 per person.

Note: As of early 2024, The Wild Turkey Visitor Center is temporarily closed for renovations. Tours and tastings are suspended, but y ou can still make purchases at the Station Master’s House gift shop.

The Wild Turkey Distillery is surrounded by beautiful Kentucky countryside.

The tour includes  four samples , and we went home with an extremely  high-quality, heavy-bottomed tasting glass .

As for the tour itself, we had bad timing – a Saturday afternoon in August, just as university students came back into town.

Our tour group was huge, and the tour guide was pretty soft-spoken with a broken microphone.

I’d definitely recommend heading to this extra-popular spot on a weekday morning.

I’ll be back, Wild Turkey!

4. Four Roses Distillery (Lawrenceburg)

$22 per person tour and tasting; $16 for tasting only. 

The Four Roses Distillery , unlike most Bourbon Trail stops, doesn’t actually age ANY of their bourbon at this location.

This location distills the grains, and then they’re aged at the Four Roses Warehouse.  So you'll see the distilling vats, but not any rickhouses or aging barrels.

We were able to sample  three bourbons and keep the tasting glass .

Four Roses Warehouse

$22 per person tour and tasting; $16 per person for tasting only.

The Four Roses warehouse is where Four Roses ages all their bourbon.

It’s located near the Jim Beam distillery.

We opted for a 30-minute tasting here, which included three bourbons and the tasting glass.  It was short, sweet, and a nice side trip while we waited for our Jim Beam tour.

5. Maker's Mark (Loretto)

$26 per person tour and tasting; specialty tours available.

In my opinion, Maker’s Mark was  one of the best tours of the actual distilling process . Here is a more in-depth post on the tour .

Our tour included a walk-through of the large distillery area, a chance to  taste the mash of fermenting grains , a view of the production line, a bottle label, four tastings, and a chance to  hand-dip a bourbon bottle in their signature red wax .

Quick Tips: This is one of the most popular spots on the Bourbon Trail – if you can go on a weekday morning, I’d recommend it.  I also recommend checking the Maker’s Mark website for directions, because our GPS took us the wrong way.

6. Heaven Hill (Bardstown)

Tasting $18; specialty tastings available.

Heaven Hill does not have an on-site distillery, but you can learn about the history of Heaven Hill, see the on-site rickhouse, and (obviously) have a bourbon tasting.

On a recent visit , we decided to go for the  connoisseur  experience. It included a brief video "tour", five tastings and a bourbon ball.

This stop was really just a tasting and not a full tour, and we were only there about 30 minutes.

7. Jim Beam (Clermont)

$28 per person tour and tasting; specialty tastings available.

The Jim Beam Distillery was one of the most well-run, informative tours on the trail.

If it's been a while since you've visited, know that Jim Beam has opened an expanded visitor center, with new tasting rooms and a restaurant!

The tour included their distillery and rickhouses, a chance to  taste the mash of fermenting grains , and a chance to  smell or taste undiluted bourbon straight from the barrel .

We could also clean an empty bourbon bottle (by washing it with bourbon, of course) , set it on the bottling line, and then add the wax seal, if purchasing a bottle.

Jim Beam definitely had  the most tasting options — including their classic bourbons, single barrel bourbons, and flavored whiskeys.

The  tasting glass  is included in the tour price.

8. Bulleit (Shelbyville)

$25 per person tour and tasting; $20 per person for tasting only ; specialty workshops available.

We went to the Bulleit Distillery on a Monday morning, and had a tiny tour group and a fantastic tour!

The most enjoyable part (other than sampling four bourbons) was listening to the guide tell us about the history of the bourbon industry .

I’d highly recommend this tour!

9. Evan Williams (Louisville)

$18 per person tour and tasting; specialty tours available.

Evan Williams provides the  most unique Bourbon Trail tour I’ve been on .

There’s no large distillery on site, and you only get a brief glimpse of the small artisan distillery.  Even so, it's an enjoyable, incredibly interesting tour.

The entire tour felt like walking through an  interactive play, with rooms turned into reproductions of old Evan Williams buildings and historical Louisville .  A lot of the tour was via videos shown as the guide led you from room to room.

The tasting included  three bourbons and a bourbon ball .

The Speakeasy experience was sold out when we got there, but seemed similar to the Heaven Hill connoisseur tour (which makes sense, because Heaven Hill is the parent company for Evan Williams).

You’ll see a lot of the same bourbons available to buy at both locations.

New Distilleries on the Bourbon Trail

So much for the nine original distilleries on the Bourbon Trail!

Before we get to my favorite off-trail experience, here's a round-up of the newest distilleries that have been added to the official trail in the past few years.

Michter's (Louisville)

$25 tour and tasting at Fort Nelson Distillery, specialty tours available.

Stitzel-Weller (Louisville)

$25 tour and tasting; specialty tastings and classes available.

Old Forester (Louisville)

$32 tour and tasting; specialty tour available.

Rabbit Hole Distillery (Louisville)

$25 tour and tasting.

Angels Envy (Louisville)

$25 tour and tasting; specialty tours and tastings available.

Bardstown Bourbon Company (Bardstown)

$22 tour and tasting; specialty tours, tastings and classes available.

Specialty tastings and programs available at new Louisville tasting room.

Lux Row Distillers (Bardstown)

Complementary rickhouse tour and tasting; specialty tour and tasting available.

Wilderness Trail (Danville)

$15 tour and tasting.

Green River (Owensboro)

$20 tour and tasting; $12 tasting ; specialty tour and tasting available.

10. Off-Trail: Buffalo Trace (Frankfort)

While I was researching the Bourbon Trail, one distillery kept popping up – the  Buffalo Trace Distillery .  It wasn’t on the trail, but it did look exciting!

I contacted Buffalo Trace, and they had me over for a tour and for one of their über fancy  Craftsman Dinners .

It’s in an incredibly nice area downtown, perfect for strolling and visiting local shops.

All the tours at Buffalo Trace are – get this – FREE!

And of course, you get to sample a few spirits, and Buffalo Trace’s version of Irish cream.  (Faaaabulous!)

Complementary tours and tastings in this day and age almost seem too good to be true — but it IS true, and that's why the Buffalo Trace calendar books up ridiculously quickly when a new month's worth of tours are released. If you're not able to snag a spot, you can go on the waitlist.

What Tours Does Buffalo Trace Offer?

Buffalo Trace has THE BEST tour variety of any other distillery we visited.

They have a standard Trace tour, a Hard Hat tour, a Historic Landmark tour, and the Old Taylor tour.

We did the Old Taylor tour, which included a tour of the archaeological ruins of an old bourbon distillery!  It was – without question – the most unique distillery tour I’ve been on!

I will be back, Buffalo Trace!   I’ve got my eye on the hard hat tour!

What about you?  Have you been on a Kentucky Bourbon Trail Tour?  What did you think?  Let me know in the comments!

Want to see EVEN MORE bourbon?  Browse all of my bourbon recipes!

↓ Bourbon Trail Basics ↓

More Kentucky Food + Drink Destinations

About Sarah Trenalone

Sarah is the primary creator at Champagne Tastes. She's a photographer, food writer and traveler, and is certified in Backcountry Kitchen and Backcountry Navigation from the Colorado Outward Bound School and Identifying Wild Plants from Backpacker.

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Cynthia Rusincovitch

September 14, 2016 at 3:54 am

This sounds like an amazing adventure. My hubby and I would have a blast.

November 09, 2016 at 8:25 pm

Ok, I honestly didn't even know this existed! My hubby would LOVE to do something like this (although quite a ways for us from Canada lol) Perhaps an anniversary gift!!!

champagne-tastes

November 09, 2016 at 8:26 pm

Ooo it's so fun!! It would be an amazing anniversary trip! (Actually- it's one of our top anniversary vaca spots lol)

November 10, 2016 at 1:18 pm

Ah you love Bourbon too! It's not always that I find my women friends who like bourbon. Such a cool post. <3 Such a cool trail.

November 10, 2016 at 1:48 pm

Haha yes I do!!! And thanks!

Go check it out!!

Lisa | Garlic & Zest

February 19, 2018 at 9:27 am

Sarah -- I had no idea they gave tours of the distilleries in Kentucky, but now that I know, it's a destination spot for me. My extended family is from Martinique in the Lesser Antilles and it's where the acclaimed Rhum Agricole is distilled. We were there a few years ago and did rum tours for a solid week. It was so much fun. I would love to experience this tour -- and the countryside looks beautiful!

February 19, 2018 at 9:30 am

Ooo rum tours in the islands sounds amazing! And yes!!! Come on over and tour the distilleries here- it’s so much fun! (And I’m partial but I’ll agree that the countryside is gorgeous ????????)

Dawn - Girl Heart Food

February 19, 2018 at 12:13 pm

How fun is this?? Hubby really enjoys bourbon and I do too! The prices for the tours are really reasonable too ????

February 21, 2018 at 10:33 am

Such a very informative item you did here Sarah. My husband and I love bourbon from time to time, especially Four Roses, we would love to visit the distillery. The surrounding countryside looks beautiful too, seems like a wonderful journey to make.

February 24, 2018 at 10:16 am

This has always been on my bucket list, and someday it will happen, right?! Thanks for sharing all this information, and I will be keeping it it mind for when we finally do go! Bourbon lovers unite!

March 21, 2018 at 9:48 am

Make it happen Leah!!! lol

February 25, 2018 at 6:14 am

I haven't heard of this before. It sounds fantastic. I'm with you on the hard hat tour. Exploring is probably my favorite thing to do of all time so if it requires a hard hat, I'm there. Do you go underground for that tour?

Megan Marlowe

February 25, 2018 at 8:15 pm

Holy cow, I had no idea the Kentucky bourbon trail existed. I mean I knew you could tour some distilleries but I didn't know there were several! This would be a fabulous, romantic trip for my husband and I (we love brewery tours) and we have always wanted to go to Kentucky and check out the scenery, eats and people! Thanks for planning out next vacation!

February 26, 2018 at 10:16 am

I had no idea that 95% of bourbon was produced in Kentucky! That's kind of amazing! I think these kinds of tours, especially being able to see behind-the-scenes, are a great experience and so fascinating to learn about. Especially since the bourbon production must have significantly shaped the culture of the surrounding area! Love the pictures you shared!

February 27, 2018 at 9:15 am

I have wanted to do this for SO long! This is such a fantastic guide and I'll definitely be referencing it when I finally plan my trip. I can't believe how affordable it is, too! I assumed the tours and tastings would be much more expensive. I absolutely love that little perk at Maker's Mark where you can have your name engraved in a barrel. How fun is that?!

March 21, 2018 at 9:46 am

It's super fun! We signed up for the barrel engraving.. but I have no idea how many years I have to wait LOL

March 13, 2019 at 12:20 pm

Hi there - Handful of questions: What did you do for transportation? Did you hire a driver? Where did you stay? Any recommendations? And do you have any more recommendations on where to eat? Thanks!

March 13, 2019 at 3:42 pm

Great questions!! I'll see if I can help 😀 1- We drove. They don't give you more than maybe one shot total (if that) at any of the distilleries (the samples are pretty small, maybe 1oz). Most of the distilleries have really pretty grounds or neat gift shops, so you could always walk around in there for a little while before driving again! 2- Most of the distilleries are nearby either Louisville or Lexington. Louisville has some really cool old (but expensive) hotels, like the Galt House, the Brown, and the Seelbach. If you're on a budget, I'd look for a deal on a hotel in Lexington for part of the time, and Louisville for other half of the distilleries. 3- It depends on what you're looking for! There's a little Korean place in Lexington that I LOVE (Han Woo Ri), but there's also some cool chef dinner experiences at a few of the distilleries (I know Maker's Mark and Buffalo Trace both do them).

I hope that helped a little!! Let me know if you've got more questions 🙂

March 14, 2019 at 5:58 pm

Thanks so much! I'm planning a big group trip for Memorial Day Weekend and these tips will go a long way as I narrow down our itinerary.

March 14, 2019 at 10:13 pm

Have fun!!! Try to book distillery tours online where they let you- that’ll be a busy weekend. Let me know if you have more questions!

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The Whiskey Jug

A whiskey blog for whiskey reviews, whiskey cocktails and commentary

Jim Beam Distillery Tour – Part 1

Josh Peters · May 16, 2016 · 2 Comments

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Last week I was invited out to the Jim Beam  Distillery for a tour of their facility and to take part in the launch of the new Booker’s Rye . The day started with breakfast in Louisville, KY and then it was all aboard the Mint Julep tour bus. There was a palpable sense of excitement in the air, or maybe that was just me, as we climbed the bus – I love visiting distilleries.

On our short ride out to the distillery, the sky cracked open and it began to rain but it didn’t dampen our spirits because stepping off the bus we were greeted with an amazing aroma.

Walking towards the covered porch I breathed deeply through my nose, filling my lungs with wet Kentucky air. Air that was heavy with the sweet smell of cooking bourbon mash – the smell of a bourbon distillery. Due to the rain we started our tour in the gift shop, whose center feature is a retired still, instead of the grounds. The gleaming copper giant was impressive and within the hour we’d see the working counterpart to this 60 foot monster.

Our first stop on the tour was what Jim Beam calls their “Craft Distillery” – a small scale operation they use to make experimental whiskeys and is akin to a whiskey R&D lab. Here our tour guide talked about mashbills and we dumped some milled grain into the cooker; it looked to be mostly rye with some bits of corn and barley in it which means the current experiment at hand might have been a high percentage rye… Booker’s Rye Batch 2?

After watching some grain disappear into the cooker we headed around the corner to the fermenters. There under a metal sign portraying a yeasty Pac-Man our tour guide Hunter explained the process of fermentation that was shown above – yeast eating sugar and turning it into heat, CO2 and ethanol. Just below the sign you can see what looks like a beverage fridge, but instead of beer or soda this fridge contained a proprietary yeast the Jim Beam Distillery has been cultivating since 1935.

From the fridge we climbed the stairs to see the open air sour-mash fermentation happening in the massive 300 gallon tanks above us; tanks that would later be dwarfed when we entered the full scale operation. Still it was fun to see the process happening on a smaller scale before hitting up the full scale operation in the main Jim Beam distillery. Seeing it all at small scale in a single room quickly connected the otherwise large pieces.

After a look at the fermentation tanks that produce the 16 proof distiller’s beer we turned our attention 180 degrees to the small stills that were distilling said beer and pumping out finished spirit. The pot still looking thing in the background is their doubler here in the craft distillery. It’s what’s responsible for giving the whiskey its second distillation and transforming their 125 proof low wine (first distillation) into their 135 proof high wine (second distillation).

After checking out this operation it was out to the James B. Beam Barreling Porch where they filled barrels with their experimental or “craft” new-make which is what’s in that large clear tube on the left. One thing worth mentioning about the barrels here on the Barreling Porch is that the Jim Beam Distillery, even in their experiments, doesn’t use small barrels. Sure they employ them in things like their quarter cask experiments, but the majority is done in full sized barrels; patience is a virtue here. Though to be fair time and capital are luxuries they have that many smaller / craft distilleries don’t… anyways.

Back to the tour at hand, our gregarious guide talked about the aging process of whiskey. How the spirit seeps deeper and deeper into the barrels with time due to the natural expansion and contraction of wood with the change in temperatures and seasons. We examined one of their level 4 “alligator char” barrel staves and took a look at the red layer. The charring that gives bourbon its color and facilitates the absorption into the wood.

Then we got to try our hand at filling the barrels ourselves. That’s me filling a barrel with some experimental Jim Beam new-make and yes, it really was new make. Several of us stuck a finger in the stream to get a taste, though after a few minutes of filling the smell of new-make emanated from the barrel.

In retrospect we could have just relied on our noses to tell us this wasn’t a staged area, it was exactly what they said it was. Not that I was looking for duplicitous behavior or anything, I definitely wasn’t, but you know how it is. Sometimes you wonder a bit if this would all be the same whether we were there or not and I got the feeling from our entire experience that we were seeing things exactly as they were. After making only a small mess on the barreling porch our journey through the Jim Beam Distillery continued.

Now, before we get into the tour of the full sized facility I want to take a second to say thanks to our tour guide Hunter, the red-head in the Jim Beam jacket above; he was awesome. Friendly, passionate and knowledgable about the entire operation, if you’re planning your own trip to the Jim Beam distillery and you have the ability to request Hunter I recommend you do.

The rain soaked walkway I snapped that picture of Hunter on lead us to this, the fermentation tanks for the full scale operation. As you can see they’re much larger than the ones running in the craft distillery – 90 times larger in fact. Each one holds 45,000 gallons and they have 19 of them. The craft ones each held 500 gallons, and they only had three of them. But when you’re filling nearly 500,000 barrels a year like the Jim Beam Distillery is, you’re going to need some massive fermentation tanks.

You’re also going to need some massive cookers. Remember that little guy above I poured some grain into? This is its bigger hotter brother. These tanks are where water and mashed grains meet and get cooked into a type of sugar rich porridge. That porridge then gets piped into the fermentation tanks, the yeast gets added and you end up with your distiller’s beer. That low-alcohol beer is then pumped into the still and distilled into whiskey; speaking of stills…

This is the 60 foot working counter part of the one we started the tour with and sits in stark contrast to the one at the Wild Turkey Distillery . The still here at the Jim Beam Distillery looks like the engine for some kind of steam punk war machine with all the tubes carrying beer in and spirit out. It may not look as sexy as the one at WT, but it’s still impressive as all get-out and speaking of get-out…

Scroll up a few images and take a look at the tiny stream coming off the craft still and compare it to the deluge of new-make being unleashed here. 53 Gallons, enough to fill a barrel, of this clear spirit is being pumped out every 90 seconds. This happens nearly every minute of every day. Like Wild Turkey, the Jim Beam Distillery is a modern as-automated-as-possible distillery which means two guys can manage the operation from a control room that looks out at the spirit safes pictured above.

From there it was back out into the rain to go see the bottling side of the operation. We’ve seen how the new-make gets made, we’ve seen how it gets stored (new charred oak barrels), we skipped watching it age (whose got time for that) and we’re now on our way to check out the finished product. To see how it gets into the bottles that adorn our local liquor stores and shelves at home, but that part of the story is going to have to wait till tomorrow.

That’s right whiskey readers, like the Wild Turkey Distillery Tour and the George Dickel Distillery Tour there was so much awesomeness to be had that a single post couldn’t contain it all. I’ll meet you all back here in 24 where we’ll start off at the Knob Creek bottling house.

Jim Beam Distillery Tour – Part 2 Jim Beam Distillery Tour – Part 3

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Josh, Thanks for sharing. Gotta get to Louisville. I not only get great new whiskey ideas but I have learned so much in the time I have been following The Whiskey Jug. Whenever I am imbibing with friends over some good brown I always turn them on to your site. So, keep up the great work!

Thank you very much Mike and you should. Kentucky is a lot of fun, especially for whiskey drinkers. Cheers!

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Jim Beam Distillery Tour - Part 1

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Behind the Beam – The Bourbon Review Takes an Exclusive Tour at Jim Beam

Story and Photos Will Gray

In the charming town of Clermont, KY lives Jim Beam, the largest brand in Bourbon. For the past four years, Jim Beam has offered an exclusive tour and tasting, Behind the Beam, for a behind the scenes look at every aspect of Jim Beam. Throughout the tour, guests see firsthand the varieties of bourbon the Jim Beam makes with an experienced guide who can answer any questions thrown their way. A few of us at the Bourbon Review headed down this week to take the tour for ourselves.

Highlights of the tour include the 5-story column still with 23 plates, the hands-on experience of filling and pouring out barrels, filling your own bottle of Knob Creek, and personalizing that bottle with your finger print. Visitors also get to see where all of the world’s Jim Beam White Label is bottled.

The tour continues with a private tasting with Master Distiller, Fred Noe. We headed to Warehouse D, Booker Noe’s favorite, to try a 13-year-old straight from the barrel as we listened to Fred describe the complexities of bourbon and give us a lesson on how to taste different whiskeys.

Finally, we moved on to the T. Jerimiah Beam Home where we ate lunch and sipped Jim Beam Limited Release Distiller’s Cut, Exclusive Release Basil Hayden’s Rye, Little Book, and Bookers 2017 Release (nicknamed the “sip a while” release). Lunch included classic southern fare – some amazing BBQ, Hawaiian Bread Rolls, brisket, chicken, Mac n’ Cheese, and baked beans.

The best and most personal part of the tour was the tasting, not only because of the great whiskeys, but because of the even more amazing stories behind each bourbon told to us by Fred. Our favorite was about his son Freddy Jr., and Fred’s pride in watching him on creating such a unique blended whiskey in Little Book. Fred’s passion and understanding of Bourbon certainly lit up the room and gave us all a glimpse of the dedication it takes to craft these whiskeys. Cheers to Jim Beam, Fred Noe, and all the people who helped put on this one of a kind tour.

Bourbon Reviews, Distillery News and Information

Bourbon Obsessed℠

Jim Beam Bourbon Review

• May 15, 2022
• Bourbons , Tasting Notes

Jim Beam Bourbon Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey “White Label” 80 Proof ~$15 at my TW&M Review

Please enjoy my Jim Beam Bourbon Review!

The Number One Selling Bourbon

Jim Beam Bourbon, probably more commonly known as Jim Beam White Label, is Beam’s flagship product. According to data compiled by The Spirits Business , in 2020, the Jim Beam brand was the number one selling bourbon in the world, and good ‘ol Jim Beam White Label made up the majority of those sales. You may be wondering why Jim Beam Bourbon is so popular? That’s a fair question, so let’s take a closer look.

Technical Details

Although Beam does not disclose their mash bills, it is accepted that their bourbon mash bill is 75% corn, 13% rye & 12% malted barley. Jim Beam White Label is aged at least four years, and probably not much more. It is made from a large batch of barrels of an undisclosed quantity, but to maintain a consistent flavor and meet the high demands, we can only assume that it is LARGE. For reference, a “small batch” for Beam, for example what Knob Creek, Baker’s, Basil Hayden and Booker’s are considered, can be up to 250 barrels. So a large batch is, well, large!

Here are a few more facts about Jim Beam White Label Bourbon for those who are interested: It is distilled via continuous column still with the low wine being 125 proof and the high wine 135 proof. It enters the barrel at 125 proof and is bottled at 80 proof. So there’s quite a bit of water added at the end to proof it down to barreling proof.

Tasting Notes for Jim Beam Bourbon

Let’s taste it:

🛌 Rested for 15 minutes in a Glencairn

👉Nose: Honey, caramel, vanilla, apple cider, light toast, light baking spices, cinnamon, light leather & cedar; light alcohol 👉Taste: Honey, black tea, caramel, light baking spices 👉Finish: Flavors rapidly fade to black pepper and char, with lingering spice into the medium length finish

Overall, the nose is soft with pleasant flavors, with a little bit of tang coming from apple cider, and a little bite from cedar and cinnamon. The cinnamon becomes a lot more noticeable after a sip or two. In the taste there’s some black tea, honey, caramel and a hint of apple. However, those flavors fade quickly on the finish leaving mainly char and black pepper which linger for a little while. The char becomes a bit astringent with time and the original sweeter flavors are all but gone. Even though the flavors change a bit throughout the sip, there’s not a lot of complexity, and by the finish I am longing for something more.

As a neat pour, Jim Beam White Label Bourbon is a bit lacking, although at 80 proof, it’s quite easy to drink. It may be more popular as a mixer for those who don’t want their cocktails to be too “bourbon forward”. For anyone looking for a bit more of, well, everything, Jim Beam Black may be the one for you to try. Aged a couple of more years than White Label, it has similar flavors, but they are more intense. There’s more oak and leather, and still also some cinnamon which continues into the finish. (Check out my Jim Beam Black Bourbon review for more details!) Whatever the appeal, people are buying an awful lot of Jim Beam Bourbon, so Beam’s got a good thing going. Are you a fan? Cheers!🥃

I hope you enjoyed my Jim Beam Bourbon Review! Would you like to learn more about what it is like to visit Jim Beam? Check out our James B. Beam Distilling Tour Review !

Would you like to learn more about distilleries and bourbon? Are you planning a trip to Kentucky Distilleries? Maybe you would like to live the bourbon life vicariously through us?? If any of these are true, then check out BourbonObsessed.com today!

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Justin Thomas parts ways with caddie Jim 'Bones' Mackay

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One of the PGA TOUR’s most popular player-caddie duos has split. Justin Thomas announced Wednesday that he and caddie Jim “Bones” MacKay have parted ways.

“While incredibly difficult for me to say, Bones and I have parted ways,” Thomas wrote in a social media post. “I’m going to be forever thankful for him joining me on the bag in 2021. The things we’ve been able to accomplish together – The PGA Championship in 2022, The Presidents Cup, The Ryder Cups were all unforgettable experiences. His wisdom on and off the course has been a blessing during a tough stretch of my career and he was there every step of the way.”

Thomas and Mackay joined forces in September 2021, instantly forming one of the most recognizable tandems in the sport. Their lone win as a team came at the 2022 PGA Championship.

Mackay, who spent 25 years as Phil Mickelson’s caddie, has become one of the most popular loopers in the modern era. Prior to taking Thomas’ bag, Mackay spent four years as an on-course reporter for NBC Sports and Golf Channel. Mackay filled in intermittently on broadcasts during Thomas’ off weeks, including as the lead analyst at the Mexico Open at Vidanta last March. Mackay left those duties full-time when he took the job with Thomas, saying at the time, “I love to caddie and I loved my role with NBC/Golf Channel, but it’s Justin Thomas.”

Thomas won his second major championship with Mackay on the bag, the aforementioned 2022 PGA Championship at Southern Hills, but otherwise struggled to maintain his torrid early-career pace. Thomas has 15 PGA TOUR victories but only four have come since the start of 2020. Thomas had the worst season of his career in 2022-23, missing the FedExCup Playoffs for the first time. It was his first season without a win since 2014-15.

Thomas rebounded with four top 15s in his first five events of 2024, including a season-best T3 at The American Express. Thomas is 31st in the FedExCup standings and 28th in the Official World Golf Ranking.

“I know there are great things coming for both of us down the road,” Thomas said of Mackay. “I wish him the best of luck and will always count him and his family amongst my friends.”

Thomas did not name a replacement for Mackay. Thomas is not in the field for this week’s Valero Texas Open. He is in the field for the Masters.