Woodford Reserve Distillery
Woodford’s Reserve is located along the Kentucky Bourbon Trail in the town of Versailles. It was founded in 1812. With the help of a Scottish scientist, it is credited with creating the sour mash that is used in the fermentation process of bourbon today. Woodford’s is also known as the official bourbon at the Kentucky Derby.
See MoreBuffalo Trace Distillery
In 1755 Hancock and Willis Lee established Leestown along the Kentucky River, which is now home to the Buffalo Trace Distillery. A distillery was built in 1792 on-site and is preserved and standing there today. Buffalo Trace has earned many awards and honors over the years, After a few owners and name changes, in 1999 the distillery was redone and renamed to Buffalo Trace Distillery.
See MoreMaker's Mark Distillery
Maker’s Mark began in 1953 with Bill Samuels Sr. in Loretto, Kentucky along the Bourbon Trail. Margie Samuels is credited with creating the bottle, label, and famous red wax finish that makes its presentation different from other bourbon bottles. It is still a family-run business with Bill Jr. and Rob Samuels running day-to-day operations. Maker’s Mark rotate their barrels by hand till the taste is right and not by the age of the bourbon.
See MoreFour Roses Distillery
Located in Lawrenceburg along the Kentucky Bourbon Trail is Four Roses Distillery. Four Roses Bourbon uses 10 different recipes, each with its own notes to differentiate between them. There are a few accounts of how the label was named Four Roses and you will need to go to the distillery and ask to get the true answer.
See MoreBulleit Distilling Co. Visitor Experience
Located in Shelbyville, Kentucky is Bulleit Distillery. Bulleit Bourbon dates back to 1830. The brand disappeared for over 100 years when the founder and maker vanished while transporting Burbon across the country. It was then picked back up by a family member and has been on shelves ever since.
See MoreJames B. Beam Distilling Co.
Located in Clermont, Kentucky is the distillery for Jim Beam Bourbon. Jim Beam got its name when the Boehm family came over from Germany and moved to Kentucky. When they arrived, they changed their last name from Boehm to Beam. They were also the first ones to make bourbon from corn instead of rye as rye whiskey was popular back then. Their aging process differs by keeping the whiskey/bourbon in the barrel for four years instead of two - which is required by Bourbon law.
See MoreWild Turkey Distillery Visitor Center
Wild Turkey Bourbon was started in 1850 by the Ripy family, but its first label name was called Old Moore. It was then relabeled to Austin Nichols when the Ripys merged with that distillery. In 1940, the label was again redone, and out came Wild Turkey's first bottle of bourbon. In 2016, Mathew McConaughey (alright, alright, alright) joined the Wild Turkey family as the Creative Director. Wild Turkey Distillery is located in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, and is located on the Bourbon Trail.
See MoreWillett Distillery
Aloysius Lambert Thompson Willett created Willet Distillery in Bardstown, Kentuck in 1936. In 1984 the business was purchased by Even and Martha Kulsveen, they also made small-label bourbon until 2008 when they rebranded their label to Willet.
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