This is a tour that whiskey lovers are sure to add to their bucket list. Between pastures and tastings, the roads of Kentucky are not lacking in charm. This state claims 95% of the world’s bourbon production.
The big houses are located within a radius of 150 kilometers around Louisville, whose historic district Whiskey Row has counted up to 89 distilleries. Evan Williams, founded in 1783, is one of the oldest. It offers a historical overview of this craft while Stitzel-Weller, opened in 1935, in Shively in the western suburbs, is renowned for its innovations.
You can bottle it yourself
To the east, the route leads to Buffalo Trace in Frankfurt, Wild Turkey and Four Roses in Lawrenceburg and Woodford Reserve in Versailles. Heading south, a visit to keg maker Independent Stove Company is a must, in Loretto, before stopping by Maker’s Mark and its famous red wax capped bottle. And to bottle it yourself, you have to go to James B. Beam Distilling in Clermont.
Between two laps, don’t forget to take a detour to the thoroughbred stud farms, the Derby Museum or the Kentucky State Capitol and its staircase inspired by that of the Opéra Garnier. To consume, them, without moderation.