9 Must-Try Bourbon Tasting Experiences in Kentucky

December 1, 2024

Why simply raise a glass when you can elevate your entire vacation? Visit Covington, Frankfort, and Bardstown, Kentucky, to experience bourbon tastings that go well beyond the standard sip. Drench your palate and blow your mind at these stops along Kentucky’s authentic bourbon road trip.


COVINGTON BOURBON TASTING


Prohibition Bourbon Bar has the cozy vibe of a small Prohibition-era speakeasy, but don’t be fooled by its size: This gem of a bar tucked inside Newberry Bros. Coffee boasts the world’s largest collection of bourbon at 6,412 different labels and counting! Build your own tasting flight of four half-ounce pours, opt for a recommended flight, or better yet let co-owner Peter Newberry choose a mystery lineup. “Tasting totally blind allows you to appreciate what you’re drinking without the influence of all the marketing hype,” he says. “It’s the best way to discover what you really like.” Prices are dependent on selections.


Get There: 530 Washington Ave. in Newport; 859.261.9463.



Revival Vintage Spirits & Bottle Shop is a one-of-a-kind mecca for bourbon lovers and collectors. Its astonishing collection of rare and vintage bottles is available for tasting and purchase: Come sample from and stock up on bottles that will realize your bourbon-tasting fantasies, earn you some legit bragging rights, and wow your online fans. “We’re pouring tastings at prices that would be 10 to 20 times higher anywhere else,” says Brad Bonds, co-founder and curator. “This is my passion. I want old alcohol to be accessible to everyone.” Flights of four half-ounce pours are $25+ depending on selections.


Get There: 5 E. 8th St. in Covington; 859.479.2676


Tousey House Tavern, which celebrated its 200th anniversary in 2022, is a homey space bursting with gracious Southern hospitality. Sit in any of the cozy dining rooms—one has a hand-painted mural from 1822—or on the spacious outdoor patio to savor bourbon alongside Southern dishes like fried chicken and Kentucky hot brown. Tasting flights have been recently updated to showcase different flavor profiles, producers, ages, and/or styles. Of course, if you’d prefer to build your own flight of four half-ounce pours that’s an option, too. “Our goal is to give you the best experience possible,” says Eric Morehead, general manager. “Our list of about 120 bourbons includes classics, highly allocated bourbons, antique bourbons, and surprises.”


Get There: 5963 N. Jefferson St. in Burlington; 859.586.9900


FRANKFORT BOURBON TASTING


Buffalo Trace,  the nation’s longest-running and most award-winning distillery, offers eight different tours covering diverse topics like history, ghosts, architecture, and gardens. All tours are free and all include the same tasting experience—if so inclined, you can skip a tour and head straight to the complimentary tasting. The range of the product line is showcased: Wheatley Vodka, Buffalo Trace Bourbon, Eagle Rare Bourbon, Bourbon Cream, and Freddie’s Root Beer are always included, while an additional bourbon pour varies daily. “There’s a one in four chance you’ll taste Blanton’s, E.H. Taylor, Weller Special Reserve, or Sazerac Rye,” says Matt Higgins, visitor services general manager. While tasting you’ll learn distillery history, product information, and interesting facts. A Rebecca Ruth bourbon ball is also included, a sweet pairing that’s especially fitting since bourbon balls were created by that Frankfort-based candy company.


Get There: 113 Great Buffalo Trace in Frankfort; 502.783.1000.


Kentucky River Tours,  the nation’s only boat-based bourbon tour company, offers eight different themed tours as well as custom private tours. Among the options, the two-hour Bourbon & Boats experience includes a river tour and a premium bourbon tasting. Each tour is ultimately a unique way to discover Kentucky River’s role in bourbon history.


Get There: 701 Wilkinson Blvd. in River View Park in Frankfort; 502.219.3318.


Three Boys Farm Distillery, which celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2022, is located on a 127-acre working farm growing the corn and other grains used in its pot-still single distillation process. The 30-minute Whiskey Thief Tour includes the opportunity to taste five different bourbons straight out of the barrels. Tickets are $30 per person and include a keepsake tasting glass. Love a particular sample? Fill a bottle yourself using a whiskey thief right there in the barn for an additional charge that varies based on the size of bottle and bourbon you select. Want to taste more? Head to the gift shop to sample flavored whiskeys and rums.


Get There: 283 Crab Orchard Rd. in Frankfort; 502.552.1001


BARDSTOWN BOURBON TASTING


Preservation Distillery + Farm is Nelson County’s first official craft bourbon operation and only pot-still distillery. Tours and tastings cover product history, production methods, and fascinating tips. The most gob-smacking option is the Premium Cask Overproof Whiskey Experience ($55/person) which includes a full distillery tour and tasting flight of five products, all from the vintage barrel collection and all cask strength over 100 proof. Featured vintage bourbons like Very Olde St. Nick and Rare Perfection are available in the gift shop and the tour’s tasting list changes as products sell out. The gift shop typically also stocks at least one bourbon so rare it’s not available for tasting.


Get There: 426 Sutherland Rd. in Bardstown; 502.348.7779


Lux Row Distillers, one of Bardstown’s newest distilleries, is capable of producing 3 million gallons of spirit each year. Multiple tours showcase its six barrel warehouse and 43-foot custom copper still, but the Guided Tasting Experience really impresses palates with premium brands. Offered Monday through Saturday, the 45-minute guided tasting features a rotating lineup of four quarter-ounce pours of top-shelf brands, exclusive single barrels, and the limited-release 12-year double barrel bourbon that ranks as Lux Row’s most premium product. Chocolate pairings sweeten the experience.


Get There: 1 Lux Row in Bardstown; 502.337.7420


Bardstown Bourbon Company is a state-of-the-art distillery set on 100 acres of rolling farmland. Among its many compelling tours and experiences, Taste of Whiskey History is the most jaw-dropping. Hosted in the vintage whiskey library that houses over 400 bourbons and ryes dating back to 1892, the guided tasting features an exclusive flight of three one-ounce vintage pours. “It’s a deep dive into history,” says Dan Callaway, vice president of hospitality and product development. “We’re a modern distillery in the Bourbon Capital of the World and tasting whiskey history is part of understanding where we come from. You never know what will pop up—a pour from 1909, 1969, 1970s? The library is filled with once-in-a-lifetime opportunities, some of the best bourbons ever made.” Tickets are $250 per person to sample whiskeys that routinely sell for thousands of dollars an ounce.


Get There: 1500 Parkway Dr. in Bardstown; 502.694.7212



Reservations recommended for each of these mind-blowing bourbon tasting experiences. Must be 21 to participate. Always enjoy your bourbon like a true Kentuckian, responsibly.

Savoring Bourbon: The Best Pairings and Local Culinary Delights

April 24, 2025
Foodies and bourbon enthusiasts seeking elevated dining experiences find their bourbon-infused bliss in Covington, Frankfort, and Bardstown. Many restaurants and bars in these bourbon-centric cities showcase unique takes on pairing bourbon with meals, specialize in bourbon-infused menus, and feature dishes that amplify bourbon flavors. Additionally, these three cities offer bourbon experiences that bourbon lovers aren’t likely to find anywhere else. SIGNATURE SPINS In Newport, the team at Purple Poulet Southern Bourbon Bistro , led by Chef Rick Zumwalde, loves a good splash or three of bourbon in dishes like fried chicken and waffles with maple bourbon syrup, “Swanky” Shrimp-n-Grits with bourbon-cream pan gravy, hickory-smoked beef brisket with bourbon-peach jus, a Casino-style market catch with bourbon-bacon-maple broth, and bourbon mashed sweet potatoes. Likewise, the team at Beehive Augusta Tavern shows its unbridled enthusiasm for Kentucky bourbon by incorporating it into multiple dishes: bourbon-braised short ribs, bourbon carbonara, bourbon-glazed bone-in pork chops, bourbon-glazed salmon, a bourbon bordelaise burger, and honey bourbon fried chicken. Even sides like the honey bourbon bacon brussels get a dousing. At the Kitchen & Bar at Bardstown Bourbon Company (BBCo.), Kentucky’s first distillery-based restaurant, Chef Stu Plush likes to bring out bourbon tasting notes through various dishes. For instance, the menu suggests BBCo. Origin Series Bottled-in-Bond or Prohibited Paradise for country ham carbonara and BBCo. Origin Series Rye Whiskey or Feel the Heat for its Southern fried chicken. At HOC (House of Commons): A Bourbon Library in Frankfort, Founder and Proprietor Dave Sandlin brings encyclopedic knowledge to the bourbons he stocks. Additionally, this bourbon barkeep knows how to spin a good yarn. “Everyone has a story to tell, and every bourbon has a story to tell,” said Sandlin. “Our storytelling is the framework around the more than 315 Kentucky whiskeys we have on the shelf, why we have them, why each is special, rare, or different.” Visitors to HOC won’t find food and bourbon pairings (although Sanders is happy to share restaurant recommendations); this bourbon bar is about pairing bourbon to people’s palettes. “People come in and tell us what they like, and we formulate a taste profile for them,” said Sanders.

Bourbon Basics: How to Taste, Pair, and Enjoy Like a Pro

April 23, 2025
Planning your first distillery visit or considering a journey along the Kentucky Bourbon Trail®? Bourbon has a built-in mystique and culture that might give the bourbon-curious and aspiring aficionados pause in taking that first step into the world of America’s Only Native Spirit. BOURBON 101 The variety of distilleries and their unique experiences may seem daunting, and terms like “nosing” and “Kentucky chew” baffling, but part of the fun of bourbon is in the learning. Beginners can get their feet wet in Frankfort at Buffalo Trace Distillery , with an intro to the history and science of bourbon, and at Castle & Key with an interactive Cocktail Therapy class to elevate sensory awareness. The Old Pogue Experience on Northern Kentucky’s The B-Line ® in downtown Maysville offers a different perspective, combining the Bourbon History Galleries, which delve into the 1791 Whiskey Tax Act Rebellion and Prohibition, with an (optional) tasting of an original Kentucky bourbon—Old Pogue Master’s Select. In the Bourbon Capital of the World, Lux Row Distillers in Bardstown gives an insider’s view of the bourbon making process from start to finish on its Grain to Barrel Tour, followed by an educational, guided tasting experience. Here is a guide to some bourbon basics that will help you look more natural than novice when sitting down to a tasting and will soon have you pairing like a pro.
More Posts