I finally went on the Bourbon Trail in Kentucky. For years I avoided it, because — frankly — I don’t like bourbon that much. And despite Kentucky being a six hour drive from Chicago, I preferred my whiskey adventures to take me to Scotland or Ireland.
But it became increasingly difficult to consider myself a whiskey travel writer when I hadn’t been to Kentucky, one of the largest whiskey regions in the world. The excuse that I prefer single malt to bourbon wasn’t cutting it.
So when I was searching for somewhere to celebrate my birthday for the second pandemic year in a row (meaning I preferred to stay stateside), I kept thinking about Kentucky. It would be warmer than Chicago and I’d get to nerd out on whiskey the entire time. But even after the decision was made, I didn’t have high expectations.
Spoiler alert: I’m happy to report that my Bourbon Trail Birthday Trip exceeded my expectations, even discovering a few surprises. Here’s what surprised me about visiting Kentucky.
5 Surprising Things About the Bourbon Trail
The whiskey distilleries aren’t all the same.
I often joke that all bourbon tastes the same, even though I know that isn’t true. (Yes, that’s my single malt snobbery coming out!) Even though I know there are differences between bourbons, I half expected the whiskey distilleries in Kentucky to be similar to each other.
So I was surprised to learn that the whiskey distilleries in Kentucky are quite different from one another. Most distilleries make whiskey using a column still (typical of bourbon and rye production). And even those using column stills varied in size, from Barton 1792’s 55-foot high still to Angel’s Envy’s 35 foot still. Then there are those using pot stills instead of column stills, like Michter’s, Woodford Reserve, and Willett.
There were old, historic distilleries on huge campuses like Woodford Reserve and Buffalo Trace, compared with Angel’s Envy’s modern, petite downtown distillery that looks like a cathedral. There were really good tours (like Barton 1792) and not-so-good tours (Four Roses). So every day — and every distillery — was a different experience.
(Here are the can’t miss distilleries in Kentucky.)
The distilleries are farther away from each other than you think.
When I was planning our Bourbon Trail Birthday Trip, I was surprised to learn how far away the distilleries are from each other. I naively assumed that the Bourbon Trail was a cluster of distilleries. While that’s partially correct — the Bourbon Trail consists of a bunch of distilleries — it’s not just one cluster. The official Bourbon Trail includes only certain distilleries, with some categorized as a “craft” trail.
Beyond the official Bourbon Trail, whiskey distilleries in Kentucky are spread throughout the state. They’re loosely categorized into four regions: Central (Louisville and Bardstown), Bluegrass (Lexington), Western (near Tennessee), and Northern (near Cincinnati). We stayed in downtown Louisville, and regularly drove an hour one way just to reach other regions. It wasn’t bad, but definitely had to be factored into our planning.
(Here are six tips for planning a distillery trip in Kentucky.)
The food in Kentucky is delicious.
One lesson I continue to learn over and over again is how good Southern cuisine is. As a whole, it’s comfort food at its finest: hearty dishes made with local ingredients made to make you feel good. (And also really, really full!)
We ate simple but great dishes like burgers at Mussels & Burger Bar and shrimp and grits at 8up. Even the fast casual places were memorable, like breakfast tacos at Con Huevos and fried chicken at Royals Hot Chicken. But the highlight was an incredible tasting menu at 610 Magnolia which I cannot recommend enough. The food features a modern take on Southern cuisine, and we splurged on the wine pairing, which was a nice break from bourbon.
Spirits other than bourbon are hard to come by.
I expected the bourbon selection at bars in Kentucky to be impressive, and even that exceeded my expectations. Many bars and restaurants, especially in Louisville, had incredible bourbon lists — some numbering into the hundreds of whiskeys!
But I was surprised that spirits other bourbon and rye were rarely seen, even other types of whiskey. I hardly saw more than a few single malts or Irish whiskeys on menus and back-bars. And most places had the bare minimum of other spirits, like gin or tequila. One exception is The Bar at Willett Distillery, who had an impressive cocktail menu (and the varied spirits to pull it off).
The distillery gift shops have more than whiskey.
Usually gift shops aren’t my thing, whether it’s a museum or a distillery. But I was shocked at some of the whiskey-inspired offerings at the distilleries in Kentucky. Like the bourbon-infused roasted coffee and bourbon truffles at Michter’s, or the whiskey-themed dish towels at Willett.
Of course the whiskey selections at some distilleries were worth the visit alone. Michter’s distillery had the hard-to-find Toasted Barrel Finish the day we were there, plus we were lucky enough to bottle our own cask strength rye. The next day we coincidentally toured Buffalo Trace on a Blanton’s release day, getting a bottle for $63! And I nearly forgot that Willett’s rye normally costs $80, when it’s usually double that in Chicago.
Needless to say, make sure to leave extra space in your luggage for all the goodies you’ll no doubt come home with!
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Related :: Six Tips for Visiting the Bourbon Trail and Can’t Miss Distilleries in Kentucky
That was the most non discussion of the bourbon trail I’ve ever seen.