ROAD TRIP FROM ATL: Kentucky Bourbon Trail

Rickhouse at Heaven Hill

Friends…this is not that far and it’s a good time — especially if you like bourbon and other whiskeys. Let’s get into it!

We looked at our 4th of July plans and we had none. And apparently no one goes to Kentucky to drink bourbon over that weekend because the hotels were inexpensive and the distilleries were not crowded. PERFECT if you ask me. So, with about a week’s notice, I planned this trip.

We decided to stay in Louisville because there was a Hyatt there and I was trying to get some bonus points. IYKYK. (If you don’t know, ask me…I’m all about paying for my trips without money.) Anyway…we drove up on Thursday night. We decided to take my Mach-E because we like taking my EV on road trips and there are SO MANY great fast charging stations between Atlanta and Louisville. Honestly, it was a breeze. We’re gonna call Friday Day 1 because that’s our first full day in Kentucky.

DAY 1:

Bardstown Bourbon Co. - Core Four Tour - 10:00a: We loved the facility. All of the staff we encountered were lovely. They even had a random deer running around the property while we were there, which brought me joy. Drinks-wise…I don’t know. It’s interesting. I liked their Rye whiskey and their Wheated whiskey more than I liked their Bourbon. Still worth a stop, I think! They do have an EV Charger with two ports for free slow charging in their parking lot.

Lux Row - Grain to Barrel Tour - 12:00p: This is basically right next door to Bardstown Bourbon. Another nice facility. The tree-lined drive, or what they call their “row” in the name, was lovely as you drive in. The staff, again, were exceptional. We decided to buy one of their staved whiskeys to take home because it was so deliciously caramel vanilla without being sweet. Very tasty. Also, their Bourbon Cream is a known good one. Grabbed a bottle just because we were there. Again, worth a visit.

For lunch we stopped at Mammy’s, per the recommendation of one of the staff at Lux Row. Pretty solid food. Definitely a big menu. I had the chicken salad, which was a delicious, onion-less chicken salad. Would get that again, honestly. Nice cool and refreshing choice on a hot summer day.

James B. Beam - 8 Generations of Beams - 3:45p: Our last stop of the day. This is Jim Beam. No idea why they call this distillery location by his actual name, but that’s what it’s called on Maps. We booked this tasting because we didn’t feel like we needed another tour of a rickhouse that day. It ended up just being us in this tasting, which was something. If I had been sitting one-on-one with someone who really knows the distilling there, maybe I would have liked that interaction. As it was, we’re just tasting with one of the regular guides who had worked there for like a year and was from Colorado. Haha. I also apparently don’t really like Beam products. Sorry, not sorry. Taste is subjective.

Day 2:

Buffalo Trace - 9:00a: This visit was not a tour. We specifically planned to be here when they opened so that we could try to buy the released allocated bourbons that morning. They release a couple of typically hard-to-find bourbons every day now. You have to wait in line to get the chance to buy them. The line for us at the opening time was a 45 minute wait. I suggest wearing sunscreen and maybe bringing your umbrella out to create your own shade as this line is not shaded. We were able to get our hands on E.H. Taylor and Weller Special Reserve, which is a win for us. We never see those in our stores. Buffalo Trace does also have a good tour, but we had previously been on that tour, so we were just here to access bottles.

Preservation Distillery + Farm - Tour + Tasting Experience - 11:30a: We chose to visit this one even though we don’t know the brand. We like small-time vibes and this definitely gives you that. It’s still a very nice property and they have longhorn cows! We actually loved all of the whiskeys we got to taste here. Very good flavors. At $170+ per bottle, you would hope they are good. Definitely worth a visit to do the tastings, and if you feel like a splurge — this a great selection to spend it on.

Heaven Hill - Bottled-in-Bond Warehouse Tour and Tasting - 1:00p: This was the deepest we’ve ever gotten to walk into and around a rickhouse, so this was pretty cool. They also had quite a few barrels out for some liquor stores to do barrel selections, which was fun to see. None of the shops we saw the names for were in Atlanta, though, unfortunately. This was also where we decided to eat lunch. The restaurant upstairs is pretty good, honestly. I ordered a sandwich with a side salad because I love a house salad…and I wish I had just ordered a big version of their salad. The sandwich was something I could see people liking, but it had a flavor in the slaw topping that I wasn’t loving. The deviled eggs are delish, though. You should get those.

Log Still - Sip & Discover - 4:00p: Last stop of Day 2 and it was interesting. This distillery is pretty new and not making their own bourbon yet. They ARE making their own gin, and honestly, that was better than the contract bourbon. It’s truly out in the country and you will lose your phone signal. We learned while we were there that this distillery has fought like 3 or 4 times to get their #47 distillery number back, which is also why they were asked to make the whiskey for the 47th President’s inaugural basket (or something like that)…it was a terrible whiskey, y’all. The bottle does have the Presidential Seal on it, and maybe it should stay sealed. We were more impressed by the land and facilities than the liquor here. It’s beautiful out there. There is an old train track where they can bring people in for a Summer Supper Series, which is cool. They have quite a few AirBnB’s on-site, which are the old distiller’s family homes…plus a lovely walking trail around a pond. They also have The Amp, which is their concert venue, and a separate Conference and Events Center down the way. It’s a lovely place to visit, but maybe not for the taste of their whiskey yet.

Day 3:

We start our trip home…but first, we must visit the place which was the whole reason for this trip. Star Hill Farms and Maker’s Mark. Again, we ended up being the only people on this specific tour. There were plenty of people around going on the other tours, but we had a different track for our tour. The drive out is very rural and very reminiscent of the roads I grew up driving in south Georgia. Basically old farm roads that got a layer of asphalt at some point. Loved it.

We started out with a cocktail and then walked through the farm’s garden where they grow a lot of their veggies and herbs for the restaurant on-site. Then we hop into an SUV to ride around the farm. This specific tour is focusing on the regenerative farming aspects of their whiskey curation. Their water source, their solar farms, their tree conservation and research, The Mother Tree, the goats, etc. All kinds of neat things they are doing to make the farm and distillery more sustainable. I’m a big fan. This was not only the best tour we had of the whole trip, this facility was the most beautiful, and the whiskey was some of the best. Hands-down, you NEED to visit Maker’s. It helps that they also have a Chihuly exhibit going on right now. It’s kinda wild that they are owned by the same people who own Beam. Like, VERY different experiences. And very different goals of the companies, it seems. So, I guess Suntory is trying to be diversified in their offerings. Extra note: They also have free EV charging.

We continued our trip home. This was a busy weekend, but a really fun weekend. There are so many more distilleries to visit, but we had a great time and the spacing of the tours was perfect (well done, me). I love planning a trip. I posted a Reel on Instagram and Facebook if you want to see some pictures and videos.