Ultimate 3-Day Kentucky Bourbon Trail Itinerary (From A Local)
With so many bourbon distilleries to see on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, it’s certainly hard to fit in as many distillery tours and bourbon tastings as you’d like in just a long weekend. In fact, the Kentucky bourbon trail includes 42 distilleries. That’s why I created this 3-day bourbon trail itinerary.
I grew up in the land of bourbon and I absolutely love sharing my home state with you, too. In fact, I was even married at Buffalo Trace! And because I’ve spent so much time with a local perspective of just how to visit the trail, you’ll find the best guide to make your experience memorable.
This 3-day Bourbon Trail itinerary was created to help you experience the best of the Bourbon Trail. I’ve combined some of my favorite experiences and considered variety, too. Every day, tour, and tasting will help you fully immerse yourself in what the Kentucky Bourbon Trail has to offer.
Happy travels to Kentucky!
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How to Plan a Perfect Bourbon Trail Trip
Gone are the days when bourbon lovers could just show up at a distillery and join a tour without reservations. Today planning a trip to the Bourbon Trail requires a lot more time and organization.
You must book your tickets in advance to secure a tour, which means you need a solid plan of location, timing between tours, and prioritization on which locations you are most interested in so you don’t miss it.
Want to Eat and Sip Like a Local? My Bourbon Trail Blueprint includes a custom Google Map with my favorite food and drink stops near every major distillery.
Is a guided tour bus experience for you? Though I believe the DIY approach to the Bourbon Trail is the best way to do it there are companies that offer tour bus experiences that take you from distillery to distillery, and even get your tickets for you.
These range is cost from $250-400 per person per day. You can’t customize this experience, so you’ll only be given the tours offered (usually the standard) and limited time at each distillery stop, too. However, it’s much more cost-effective and offers better experiences to do the tours on your own.
Most tours open reservations between 2-3 months in advance. Which means you need your itinerary finalized by then, so you know where you want to go, and when. But don’t worry – I’ve helped you plan the ultimate 3-day itinerary to pack it full of unique bourbon trail experiences!
And if you want more assistance getting into those always-sold-out tours, be sure to snag my Bourbon Trail Blueprint, which includes a helpful guide to booking windows for each distillery (with booking links).
>> Need a list of all the distilleries offering tours and tastings? Use this free interactive map!
Getting Around the Bourbon Trail
Unless you opt for a guided tour, the best way to get around distilleries outside of the immediate Louisville area is to rent a car.
It’s really the only way to see the distilleries outside of Whiskey Row if you don’t go with a guided tour. Plus, it offers you flexibility in time between your stops, too.
Tastings on the trail are small amounts of bourbon, with strict regulations on the amount of alcohol you can consume. Distilleries are only allowed to offer you 1 3/4 total ounces at a tasting.
Still, if you opt to book a rental car for your bourbon trail experience, be sure to select one person as the driver, especially if you plan to enjoy a cocktail at the distillery’s bar.
3-Day Bourbon Trail Itinerary: A Local’s Guide
This 3-day itinerary is designed to be self-guided. With so many great distilleries to choose from, quality eats around the trail, and more, this is the perfect way to visit the bourbon trail and have a well-rounded experience.
I made this 3 day Bourbon Trail itinerary based on suggestions I’ve given friends and family over the years. It’s handmade with local favorites and hidden gems to help you create the perfect trip on the Bourbon Trail through a DIY approach.
I wanted to highlight a variety of tour types and tastings to help you fully immerse yourself in the Bourbon Trail experience. Instead of day after day of standard tours, this guide helps you find variety in your days. You’ll leave with a newfound appreciation for bourbon distilling through some of my favorite tours.
Day 1: Arrive in Louisville and Whiskey Row
Louisville is the best base for 3 days on the Bourbon Trail. Not only does it give you easy access to the highways to explore the Bardstown and Central Kentucky distilleries, it also showcases the urban bourbon experience surrounding Whiskey Row.
Set yourself up on Whiskey Row at one of the many amazing hotels and get started on your trail experience.
Today, it’s time to explore Louisville best distilleries. Start your day with tickets to the Old Forester tour. Their standard tour is a great introduction to the bourbon-making process, all within the small space confines of Whiskey Row.
The tour includes all stages of the bourbon-making process, an excellent bourbon tasting, and products in the gift shop you can’t find anywhere else that are always in stock. It’s a great place to start your time on the trail.
Tickets for the Old Forester Tour open three months in advance, so be sure to put it on your calendar to snag your ticket!
Want to Skip the Bourbon Trail Guesswork?
My Booking Blueprint includes the exact booking windows, best tours to choose, sample 1-day routes, and food & drink stops from a Kentucky local.
Afternoon In Louisville
Next, it’s time to experience the modern take on bourbon making in Louisville with a tour at Rabbit Hole or Angel’s Envy. Both offer great production tours of the new-age approach to bourbon making in Louisville.
Personally, I’m partial to Rabbit Hole’s more relax approach to tours (and they have a great gift shop.) But Angel’s Envy is perfect for those looking for a larger production space and rooftop bar experience, too.
Keep in mind there are plenty of bourbon tour options in Louisville. We’re just hitting the tip of the iceberg (and some of my personal favorites). And with the growth of the Bourbon Trail many distilleries are now opening tasting rooms and experiences downtown if you can’t get to their distillery, too.
Afterwards, take a trip outside of downtown to experience Stitzel-Weller. Though they don’t produce any bourbon on-site, they do offer one of my favorite tours on the Bourbon Trail.
Here, they showcase the legendary work of past master distillers that made Kentucky famous for bourbon production. It’s unique and a great way to explore the early history of bourbon in Kentucky, too.
After your tour, get ready to be greeted with many of the wonderful culinary experiences Louisville has to offer with dinner at the Village Anchor. Known for their wide selection of bourbons on the menu and quality southern food, this place is certainly one to try.
(You can also try Proof on Main – another great cocktail bar not far from your Old Forester experience.)
If you’d rather spend your evening with something a bit different, I recommend this Bourbon and food pairing tour by Louisville Food Tours. The tour starts at 5:00 pm, so be sure you book your last bourbon tour at 3:30 pm at the latest to get to NULU in time.
Day 2: Venture out to Bardstown
Wake up early to drive from Louisville to Bardstown, Kentucky. A quaint town, known for its large amount of major brand and craft distilleries. The drive is only about 50 minutes and pretty scenic.
On your way out of Louisville, stop by Quills Coffee. It’s my favorite coffee in Louisville and the perfect place to grab a latte for the road.
Bardstown has always been the center of the bourbon industry in Kentucky but the recent tourism boom has made is a great place to spend the day, with distilleries putting a lot of time and resources into creating amazing experiences for you.
Trying to Figure Out the Bourbon Trail on Your Own?
This helpful guide lays out the booking windows, top tour picks, and smart route suggestions, all from a Kentucky native who’s planned hundreds of trips.
Start your day at Heaven Hill Distillery at the Do Your Own bourbon experience. This tour gives you the opportunity to taste exclusive products and choose to bottle your own. This experience is super unique and will give you the option to buy a hard-to-find bourbon at the end.
Before the tour be sure to give yourself time to explore the new Heaven Hill Bourbon Experience, with interactive galleries and a movie theatre.
Heaven Hill has a beautiful cocktail bar upstairs above their galleries, too. Though you’ll having an amazing lunch at our next stop do take a second to peek up there. You’ll find amazing views of the distilleries warehouses and an outdoor deck, too.
Your afternoon in Bardstown
After your Do Your Own class, head down the road (literally) to Bardstown Bourbon Company for lunch. The restaurant offers a wide selection of southern favorites, like chicken and grits and bread pudding. You will need a reservation, so be sure to book one in advance.
Bardstown Bourbon Company has some of the most unique operations, with modern facilities and an interesting business model. After lunch explore one of the many experiences offered here. I did the rickhouse thieving tour and it was a great price for the experience offered.
Depending on your schedule, you could visit Willett in Bardstown before heading out of town. A guided tour can be booked 90 days in advance and offers a unique look at a smaller operation with quality products.
Willett is a beautiful location with great products, too. You could choose to just complete a tasting here, which you can usually find availability pretty easily. Their tasting is open-ended, where you can choose which of their products you want to try.
Like Bardstown Bourbon Company, Willett also has a great restaurant. If you pace your visits it’s a fantastic place for cocktail and dessert on their porch.
Other things to do in Bardstown
- Visit the Volstead Bourbon Lounge to find some hidden gems to try
- Take a tour of downtown with this self-guided walking tour
- Find some unique bottles of bourbon at the Blind Pig Bourbon Market
- Visit a show at The Stephen Foster Story
After touring Bardstown head back to Louisville for dinner. Louisville has a very active and fantastic culinary scene. Head to NULU and try La Bodeguita De Mima, a local favorite for upscale Cuban food. Or try River House Restaurant, a great place with riverside views just outside of downtown.
Day 3: Explore Central Kentucky’s Bourbon Scene
Get an early start and head to Buffalo Trace for their 10:00 AM Trace Tour in Frankfort. Buffalo Trace is one of the hardest tours to get access to, so be sure to mark your calendar when tours open and snag a ticket.
If tickets are sold out when you go to book, no worries. You can either come and try to get a last-minute stop. (And if anything you can get access to a free tasting without a reservation.) Or, rework this day’s itinerary for a later tour time.
Buffalo Trace Distillery is a must-do. It’s one of the best distillery tours and one of my favorite distilleries to visit, too.
Want to snag a special bottle at Buffalo Trace? The distillery releases a limited number of bottles of a different hard-to-find brand (Blanton’s, Weller, Eagle Rare, EH Taylor, etc.) in the morning each day. The gift shop includes a Product Availability list but the best ways to get one of these bottles is to head to the distillery before it opens and wait in line.
Afterwards, head over to Woodford Reserve. The distilleries are about 30 minutes apart, so be sure to schedule a tour at Woodford at noon at the absolute earliest.
Woodford has a great standard tour and some of the most beautiful grounds to visit, too. With limestone rickhouses and bourbon balls, you’ll love exploring and taking plenty of pictures, too.
For lunch, enjoy a quick bite at La Bodeguita Colombiana in Versailles. It’s close to Woodford and a great lunch option. If you’d prefer something in Frankfort near Buffalo Trace to Cliffside Diner. This is a very classic southern diner with fried chicken and patty melts on the menu.
After enjoying the experiences of Central Kentucky it’s time to start heading back to Louisville. You have time for one more bourbon trail experience. I recommend checking out Bulleit, located right off I-64 in Shelbyville.
Bulleit recently expanded to this new distilling location that has high-end finishes, good cocktails, and a quality product, too. If the days of the week work consider a cocktail class. Bulleit is known by bartenders as a cocktail-making favorite so why not try your hand at a cocktail class here?
After your final stop for the day check out the Bell House for dinner, Shelbyville’s fan favorite. You’ll likely need a reservation, especially on the weekend. Be sure to get a Kentucky staple, the Kentucky Hot Brown here. It’s fantastic and will give you a great look at a classic dish in the cutest little pink house.
Best Places to Stay on the Bourbon Trail
With just a 3-day itinerary, I’d highly recommend staying in Louisville. Here are some hotel recommendations in downtown Louisville to make it easy to get around most of the distilleries included in the itinerary.
My Hotel picks in Louisville
21C Museum Hotel Louisville (my Top Pick!)
Quick Look: Best hotel in Louisville in the perfect location to explore downtown. Unique design with fun elements and a free modern art museum inside.
This is probably my favorite hotel in Louisville but it is also a favorite for many visitors, too. It’s a bit on the higher price for Louisville hotel standards but if you are traveling off-season you can find some amazing deals for less than $150 a night.
Book my top pick!
The 21c is a great choice for your stay in Louisville.
The Grady
Quick Look: Upscale hotel in the trendy museum area this hotel is known for its amenities and charm. It’s just a quick block down from the start of Whiskey Row, too.
I love The Grady because of its amazing character and historic charm within the design but it’s also in a great location to walk to the distilleries in downtown, too.
Moxy Louisville
Quick Look: Located just around the corner from Old Forester, this Marriott property is a great place to center yourself on Whiskey Row.
I think Moxy Louisville can be a great option if you want to spend a little less money but still be in Whiskey Row.
Be sure to check out my complete guide to where to stay on the Bourbon Trail for all the best hotel options.
FAQs
Cost of visiting the trail varies widely based on if you choose to go on a guided tour or a DIY experience. I recommend a DIY approach because your costs will be around $15-30 per person for each tour you choose. Learn more about the cost to visit.
A weekend is a great way to get your feet wet and see a few distilleries. Just keep in mind you can usually only see 2-3 in a day due to their distance, tour start time, etc. But if you’re a bourbon junkie staying 4-5 nights will give you a really immersive Kentucky experience.
Personally, I love to visit the trail in late-fall but the trail is great anytime of the year. If you can, stay away from the summer months as Kentucky gets hot and most of the distilleries (outside of Whiskey Row) are not climate controlled.
More Bourbon Trail Tips + Inspiration
I hope you have a fantastic trip on the Bourbon Trail! I absolutely love sharing my incredible home state and favorite activity within it with you. If you liked this itinerary and want more helpful tips be sure to check out:
- If you’re looking for somewhere more unique to stay on the trail check out Shelbyville
- Need some other things to do in Kentucky? Find the best day trips here.
- If you have less time, check out my 2-day Bourbon Trail itinerary
