Ten years ago, if you were to plan a trip down the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, you’d be looking at a map with 14 potential destinations on it: seven large distilleries, seven small distilleries.
Pull up the trail today, and you can choose among 43 distinct map markers. That increase represents a concerted effort on the part of trail organizers to bring new distilleries into the fold, as well as a veritable groundswell in the number of distilleries that have thrown open their doors in the past decade.
What does that mean for you, the drinker of bourbon and/or enjoyer of tours? More options, more stories, less travel time to your next destination and a greater diversity of experiences.
Where to Look
The Kentucky Bourbon Trail, founded by the Kentucky Distillers’ Association in 1999, breaks up the state into four regions:
- Bluegrass, which is clustered around Lexington and Frankfort;
- Central, including Louisville as well as outlying areas such as Bardstown;
- Northern, most (but not all) of which is just a stone’s throw from Cincinnati; and
- Western, scattered around Bowling Green and some surrounding towns.
It is possible to drive the trail – with a designated driver, of course – but that’s not the only option. There are a number of bus tours available, as well as a boat tour and even a cycling tour.
Official trail passports can be obtained at individual distilleries, as well as through the trail website, and each distillery has its own distinct stamp.
Mandy Ryan, director of experiences for the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, suggests travelers make arrangements ahead of time, rather than show up at the distillery and hope for the best, due to the growing popularity of the trail stops.
“We’ve had so much traffic this (past) year, it’s been crazy,” Ryan says. “I think (2022) is going to be the highest record ever for our distilleries, in terms of visitation.”
Though it is theoretically possible to hit every distillery, trail organizers emphasize that it’s not necessary to complete the whole thing, and that it’s better to have a handful of truly enjoyable experiences than to rush into each individual stop for a stamp.
“We really want people to take their time, enjoy the journey, come back over the course of months or years, and see something new every time they come,” Ryan says.
What to Find When You Get There
In addition to its regional divisions, the list of distilleries is divided in two, based on how many barrels each distillery has in storage.
The standard Kentucky Bourbon Trail consists of recognizable names: think Jim Beam, Maker’s Mark, Old Forester, Woodford Reserve. Then there’s the Kentucky Bourbon Trail Craft Tour, which sports a longer list consisting of craft distilleries and just added a new member, Whiskey Thief Distilling Co. in Frankfort, in 2022. The truly ambitious can combine the two tours into the Make it a Double mega-tour.
“The (standard) trail distilleries are going to be bigger – have bigger campuses, more established brands,” Ryan says.
That means access to the behind-the-scenes details of the brands you know and love, as well as, most likely, more options for sampling. On the other hand, Ryan says, hitting spots on the craft trail means more intimate experiences and, potentially, more relatable stories.
Recent changes in Kentucky law have expanded the options available at distilleries throughout the state. Only since 2017 has it been possible to order a cocktail at a distillery tasting room, which means visitors can know get a clearer idea of how they can enjoy a given bourbon at home.
“We have some of the best restaurants in the state in our distilleries right now,” Ryan says.
From there, options extend to food pairings, behind-the-scenes tours, interactive experiences, rickhouse visits, cocktail classes, fill-your-own-bottle options and luxury “master distiller” experiences. Maker’s Mark even offers an ultra-premium tour that includes a two-night luxury hotel stay and a helicopter ride to its distillery to pick out a private barrel.
What to Bring Back with You
Any distillery you might visit will sell you a bottle (or two or three or four), but there’s more to be gained from a trip down the trail.
The sights along the various trail routes are part of the experience, too – and for some, they inspire as well as impress.
Motorcycle trips to distilleries throughout Bourbon Country with his father provided key inspiration for Adam Hines, co-founder and master distiller at High Bank Distillery in Grandview Heights.
“Over the course of five years, I probably went on 50 different distillery tours down there,” Hines says.
Though he had no intention of starting his own distillery during those trips in the 2000s, Hines remembers how each distillery had its own story, and made story a key part of High Bank’s identity.
You probably already know that Westerville was once home to the Anti-Saloon League, a major force in the temperance movement and one of the driving forces behind Prohibition. But Whiskey War’s namesake actually predates nationwide Prohibition, which was in effect from 1920 to 1933, as well as the league’s move to Westerville in 1909.
In the 1870s, a Westerville saloon owner named Henry Corbin challenged the local prohibition ordinance – one of the first on the books in Ohio – and the term “Whiskey Wars” was coined to describe the resulting conflict, which included the dynamiting of Corbin’s establishments.
A tale about one such confrontation holds that Corbin tried to ward off a hostile crowd with two pistols – which is why two pistols appear on High Bank’s Whiskey War logo.
Without five generations of family history in distilling to draw from, as many smaller Kentucky distilleries do, Hines instead incorporated his hometown of Westerville and its outsized role in the story of Prohibition. Thus, the name of High Bank’s signature blended whiskey: Whiskey War.
Garth Bishop is a contributing editor at CityScene Media Group. Feedback welcome at gbishop@cityscenemediagroup.com.
Top Shelf
Memorable bourbon experiences a little closer to home
Need a sneak preview before you head out onto the Kentucky Bourbon Trail? There are plenty of bars and restaurants throughout central Ohio that boast extensive bourbon lists, including:
- 101 Beer Kitchen (Dublin, Gahanna and Westerville)
- The Alibi Bourbon and Cocktail Lounge (Short North)
- Barrel & Taps (Grandview Heights)
- Beeline (Easton Town Center)
- Buckeye Bourbon House (Downtown Columbus)
- Subourbon Southern Kitchen & Spirits (Worthington)
In addition, two local microdistilleries, Middle West Spirits and Watershed Distillery, make bourbon. High Bank Distillery is working on a bourbon as well, but isn’t done aging it yet.
