The mister and I qualified for the Southwest Companion pass {which is the BEST airline reward ever! – you can be almost halfway there by applying for the Southwest RapidRewards Premier credit card} a few months back, and have been using it to take some short trips for the cost of just one of us. The trip was better than we expected. We chanced upon live blues music at a late night bar in Louisville, learned how to make the perfect Old Fashioned at the bar inside the Kentucky Marketplace in Bardstown, and celebrated July 4th with a 5k through the grounds of Buffalo Trace – and took advantage of lots of behind-the-scenes tours at some of the country’s best Bourbon distillery led by people who had worked for the companies for decades.
Photos from some of our favorite spots are below, and our complete itinerary can be found at the bottom of this post for those looking to plan their own trip through Bourbon Country. Did I mention the entire trip cost us less than $500, including meals and drinks?!
A rickhouse at Barton’s 1792. Each distillery has dozens of these buildings, which are constructed entirely of wood, have no electricity, and are often 8-10 stories high (with barrels 3 high on each floor).
A spiced cherry Old Fashioned from the Kentucky Bourbon Marketplace
For the price of the bottle of liquor, you can dip your own Maker’s Mark bottle following the tour.
A rainy, but fun, 5k on the grounds of Buffalo Trace Distillery
Woodford Reserve still uses barrel runs (look like train tracks) to roll barrels between warehouses and the bottling centers all over the distillery grounds
ITINERARY: LONG WEEKEND IN KENTUCKY
FRIDAY
Arrive Friday night via Southwest. We booked my ticket for 30k RapidRewards points and $12 in fees, then added Cody as my Companion for an additional $12 in fees. $24 for flights for two. Winning.
Pick up a rental car at the airport – you’ll need it for this trip! You can register for National’s Emerald program free online to get better pricing. Driving between distilleries shouldn’t be an issue. Kentucky state law prohibits them from giving you more than two 1/2 oz samples following the tour. You can always use Uber or call a taxi when you go out at night.
Make a few stops along the Urban Bourbon Trail using their iPhone or Android app as your guide.
Stay overnight at the Fairfield Inn in Jeffersonville, IN. You can save a lot by staying across the river, and the hotel is still less than a mile from everything in Louisville. We used a free night certificate from a recent Marriott promotion.
SATURDAY
Stop into Wild Eggs for breakfast. The menu is creative and healthy, and the food is excellent!
Grab a Groupon and pop into Kentucky Peerless, a craft distillery downtown, for their first tour of the day. You’ll get to see the distilling process up-close, with tours led by members of their production team. At the end, you’ll sample fun flavors of their moonshine, like Chocolate Pie! The Bourbon still has a few more years before its been aged long enough to bottle.
Start driving south towards Bardstown, making a quick stop into the Zappos/6pm outlet in Shepardsville to see if you can find a deal!
Pick up lunch at the Beech Grove Market, where you can get potato salad and a HUGE sandwich for less than $6. Take it over to the Jim Beam Stillhouse for a picnic on their gorgeous grounds. If you want to stay for the tour, make sure you book in advance. The wait when we got there was two hours, so we didn’t stay.
Down the road, stop by Barton’s 1792, which was recently purchased by the Sazerac Group who has invested heavily in expansion at 1792. The tour is fantastic, and FREE! Hold off on buying bourbon here, though – it’s actually cheaper at the liquor stores in town.
Head into Bardstown for cocktails and dinner at any number of adorable spots. Make sure you try an Old Fashioned at the Kentucky Bourbon Marketplace, made with Woodford Reserve Spiced Cherry Bitters – it’s the best we’ve ever had!
Stay the night in some cute B&Bs or if you’re traveling with a group, an AirBNB option. We stayed at the Hampton Inn Bardstown for less than $100.
SUNDAY
Have breakfast where you’re staying, then hit the road to Maker’s Mark. If you’re planning a trip in advance, make sure you sign up as an Ambassador on their website for extra perks – but note, it takes 6-8 weeks to process your application. The tour at Maker’s takes about two hours, so be prepared for that.
Continue the drive towards Lexington, stopping at the Four Roses Distillery (not the bottling warehouse near Bardstown) on your way. We weren’t impressed by the bourbon at Four Roses, but heard good things about the tour (we arrived late, so we just participated in the tasting).
Eat lunch at any number of restaurants along the drive. We chose a local chain where we could get chicken sandwiches and a HUGE salad – we needed the healthy food by that point!
Run by a liquor store on your way into Lexington. You’ll find some great deals at the larger stores; just make sure they pack them in bubble wrap or Southwest will charge you $5 each for packing materials when you go to check your bag.
Stop by West Sixth Brewing and try one (or two) of their flights. We enjoyed every one that we tried.
By this point, we had visited a LOT of distilleries, so we opted to take it easy and nap at the hotel for an hour before getting ready for dinner in downtown Lexington.
Stay at the Residence Inn Lexington North, near all of the horse farms (another great option for the afternoon). We used another reward certification from a promotion earlier this year, so our stay was free. Alternately, you can use Priceline to bid for a hotel downtown.
MONDAY
Eat breakfast where you’re staying, then hit the road so you can make it to the first tour of the day at Buffalo Trace Distillery. This was our favorite tour, due in large part to our guide, Freddie, who is the third generation in his family to work at BT. Buffalo Trace also offers specialty tours certain days of the week – info and reservations are available on their website.
Drop into Woodford Reserve for a different experience and a look at some of the largest pot stills in the region and a tasting in their incredibly nice tasting room.
Head back to Louisville for lunch and your flight out that evening. If you’re staying another day like we did, consider dropping in on the Bulleit Experience or the Jim Beam Urban Stillhouse. Or, make a few more stops along the Urban Bourbon Trail before snagging a cheap room via Priceline (we bid $70 and ended up at The Galt House on the river).
Have questions about other Kentucky options? Comment below. Safe travels!
NOTE: THIS POST CONTAINS AFFILIATE LINKS.
HOW FUN! I love Makers Mark and I want to dip my own bottle!!!!
Ohhh! Great recommendations, Ashley! I think I might be passing through Kentucky on my way to New Jersey so I’ll definitely keep your recs in mind. I can’t believe it was less than $500!