Dive into bourbon history in Covington, Frankfort & Bardstown, Kentucky

covington

Neeley Family Distillery in Sparta may be just ten years old, but the family history reaches back 11 generations—and moonshining is a big part of it. In 2015, tenth-generation Roy Neeley, who hand-built Neeley’s state-of-the-art-distillery, and eleventh-generation Royce Neeley, who’s the Master Distiller, took the family business legit. “Royce incorporates much of that moonshining tradition into his distillation processes, including the use of pot stills, locally sourced grains, limestone water, and locally propagated wild yeast,” said bourbon expert Mark Rucker, founder of The Bourbon Life. “The products are a unique reflection of his processes and pay homage to ways whiskey used to be made.”

Want to sip some of history’s finest spirits? Head over to Revival Vintage Spirits and Bottle Shop. The world’s first vintage bottle shop has great tastes on tap. Sample rare, vintage, and even some contemporary bourbons among other spirits from the Revival’s “Taste of the Day” menu. Then shop for such liquid gems as an ultra-rare 100 proof Old Taylor Bottled in Bond from 1913-1917 or a 1948-1954 100 proof Kentucky Tavern Bottled in Bond that comes with a Christmas boot display. You never know what treasures you’ll uncover at this trove of bourbon history.

In Maysville, the Old Pogue Experience at the Kentucky Gateway Museum Center combines a tasting room, gift shop, and bourbon history museum for a one-of-a-kind experience that includes both by-the-drink and by-the-bottle sales, plus galleries with a collection of artifacts dating back to the 1791 Whiskey Tax Act Rebellion. After learning about the rebirth of original Kentucky bourbon, Old Pogue’s Master Select, enjoy a sample of it along with one of Old Maysville Club, a rye malted whiskey.

Bite into ribeye steak with bourbon peppercorn sauce in a building that survived the hand-to-hand combat of the Battle of Augusta during the Civil War, the Great Depression that began in 1929 and lasted more than a decade, and the Great Flood of 1937. Sitting along the banks of the Ohio River a few doors away from the Rosemary Clooney House, the Beehive Augusta Tavern has a long, rich history—now further enriched with the 2018 addition of the Augusta Distillery. Tour the distillery in its expansive and historic digs that once served as a carriage manufacturer and taste the bourbon (Buckner’s 13 Year) voted “Best Bourbon in the World” in 2023.

frankfort

Colonel Edmund Haynes Taylor Jr. was the mayor of Frankfort from 1871 to 1877 and again from 1881 to 1890, but he gained greater fame as the “Father of the Modern Bourbon Industry.” Called a “true bourbon aristocrat,” E.H. Taylor was an innovator of copper fermentation tanks and column stills, among other inventions, and played a key role in fighting for higher standards in the bourbon industry. It was Taylor who led the charge for the passage of the Bottled-in-Bond Act of 1897. Visitors may pay respects at Frankfort Cemetery, final resting place of Taylor (plus another pioneer: frontier explorer Daniel Boone).

Learn more about the 19th century bourbon influencer on the E.H. Taylor, Jr. Audio Walking Tour and the guided Bourbon & History Walking Tour (available May through October). The former features six stops on the tour, all within a six-block area of historic downtown Frankfort and covers topics including “River, Bourbon & Fire,” “Public Life & Politics” and “E.H. Taylor’s Hometown.” The latter is a one-mile, 45- to 60-minute guided walking tour, also in historic downtown Frankfort.

What are the names of those early distilleries that would eventually become Buffalo Trace and Jim Beam? Find out on a self-guided tour of the Kentucky Bourbon exhibit at Frankfort’s admission-free Capital City Museum. You’ll recognize the legends of the bourbon business among the artifacts and memorabilia, including collections of bottles (including Old Taylor, Old Stagg, and Old Hermitage) plus tools of trade.

At Buffalo Trace, a National Historic Landmark and the oldest continuously-operating distillery in America, book the Old Taylor Tour to “Bourbon Pompeii,” and walk through living bourbon history. This archaeological excavation site uncovered the ruins of E.H. Taylor Jr.’s O.F.C. (Old Fire Copper) Distillery—a legacy that remained hidden beneath the earth for decades. It is among the remnants and still-standing structures that Taylor himself built and shows off the handiwork of the man who revolutionized the bourbon industry. Tours are complimentary; advance reservations strongly recommended.

bardstown

Among the 5,000-piece permanent collection at the free-admission Oscar Getz Museum of Bourbon History, see the names of people whose stories intersect bourbon’s timeline and the artifacts relating to them: a replica of Abraham Lincoln’s tavern license; George Washington’s confiscated copper still; a display of hatchet-swinging temperance advocate Carry Nation; and a Booz bottle designed by Philadelphia liquor dealer E.G. Booz, one among 1,500 rare to one-of-a-kind bottles of whiskey and bourbon whiskey found in the museum. Located within Spalding Hall, the collection spans pre-Colonial days to the post-Prohibition years. It’s the perfect place to begin any exploration to the Bourbon Capital of the World. Stroll around yourself or request a guided tour.

James B. (Jim) Beam (1864-1947), known as The Colonel and The Legend,” is the man credited with bringing the Beam brand back to life by rebuilding the distillery in Clermont in a mere 120 days. Jim Beam’s grandson, F. Booker Noe II (1929-2004), served as Master Distiller at Jim Beam for 40-plus years. Earl Parker Beam (1941-2017), grandnephew of Jim Beam, served as Master Distiller at Kentucky-based Heaven Hill Distilleries. Seven generations of the Beam family have been involved in the bourbon business. Their family plot is located at The Bardstown City Cemetery, adjacent to the St. Joseph Cemetery on North Third Street downtown.

The self-guided Historic Bardstown Walking Tour not only offers a glimpse into the past of Kentucky’s second oldest town but into bourbon’s far-reaching influence. Stops include the Volstead Bourbon Lounge, which showcases over 400 bourbons; Mammy’s Kitchen & Bar, whose bar is firmly focused on bourbon with over 140 offered; Toogie’s Table’s second floor bar—equally inviting to bourbon newbie and aficionado alike; and Lux Row Distillers, offering an array of experiences from production tours to tastings to cocktail classes. Maps are available at the Welcome Center. Though not officially on the tour, these spots are along the route and worth note: the circa 1779 Old Talbott Tavern, home of the world’s oldest bourbon bar; and Distillers Row, aka Third Street, which is site of Jim Beam’s former family home.

Ride the rails into history and pass such historic sites as the Jim Beam Distillery on a 2.5-hour, 35-mile roundtrip culinary journey presided over by a master distiller. My Old Kentucky Dinner Train’s Bourbon Excursions are offered on select nights, April through September, aboard two restored 1940s vintage dining cars pulled by two 1950s F-unit locomotives. Dine on a gourmet four-course dinner prepared fresh onboard the train while learning about the flavor profiles of selected bourbons as a master distiller guides you through a tasting as well as through the history and crafting of the bourbon.