We continue the hike from Lexington last year into Bardstown this year and explore a few more distilleries and drink their delicious bourbon. This year, it was a couple more of us that joined us in exploring Maker’s Mark, Willett, Jim Beam, and Bardstown distillery. We had to be on the road by 5 am to make our first tour at Maker’s Mark (which we did, with 5 minutes to spare) while also having enough time to enjoy some coffee and bite at Coat Check Coffee in Indianapolis.
We also had some time to play a bit of disc golf before we took too long looking for a disc and had to leave to keep on time.
Maker’s Mark
This was a beast of a distillery with lots of rich history. Our tour guide was also very knowledgeable (with a background in biochemistry), so he definitely knew all the science behind what goes on in the barrels and distillers.
We got to explore many different bourbons and different parts of the rickhouses. One of them was actually built right alongside some limestone where we still see water running! It is not a cave though…since there is a door, it’s definitely not a cave :).
At the end of the tour, we got a little gift bag and the opportunity to wax our own bottle, which was pretty fun!
Willett Distillery
Very different from Maker’s Mark, but also just as great. Got to tasty many different options of bourbon, along a delicious chocolate at the end of the tour.
Our tour guide was also really great and very proud of the bourbon, the family, and Willett in general.
This distillery also has lots of cats around, which we got to see 2 of!
After the tour, we got to sit down and have another drink a few bites…probably one of the best lunches. Although we were skeptical at first, every single dish was not only delicious, but it looked great as well. The drinks (I had a Kentucky Maid), were also delicious!
Bardstown Distillery
This one was one of the more modern distilleries, but probably the biggest of the newer distilleries. Our guide was great, threw in plenty of cheesy jokes, and got us a little buzzed with all of the bourbon this guy poured us.
We also had some reservations for the the restaurant there….unfortunately this was probably our least favorite. While not bad, it wasn’t great either…which to us, does not really justify the price on their menu items. We had some salmon, burger, pork rinds, arugula salad (which was actually the best item on here), and some drinks.
Again, the tour was great and so was our guide, but the restaurant is something we would probably pass on next time.
James B. Beam Distilling
This was the last stop before heading home and it did not disappoint.
This one is a massive distillery, so much so, there was a bus driving us around for location to location (which was nice because it was pouring outside).
What was pretty special about this one is that at the end, we got to bottle our own special single barrel bourbon and put our fingerprint on the wax seal!
We of course had some lunch at their restaurant and enjoyed everything! Pizza, fried chicken, fried tomatoes, duck, cornbread, and of course some good drinks!
Overall, great trip, will look forward to the next batch of distilleries we visit!