Surviving on Wine, Beer, and BBQ on the Bourbon Trail

The rolling hills, mouth-watering barbecue and plethora of adult beverages can make for an enjoyable few days along the Bourbon Trail, even for someone who doesn’t love whiskey. A long weekend was the perfect amount of time to get a taste of that unbridled spirit of Kentucky. And don’t fret! – Below you’ll find recommendations for distilleries along with others for restaurants, activities, breweries and a winery.

Day 1: Arrival in Louisville

We arrived in Louisville on a Friday afternoon, just in time for our first distillery tour and dinner. We picked Copper & Kings, an alternative choice because their focus is brandy, not bourbon. They also make absinthe. Turns out that like bourbon, I’m also not a fan of brandy, but Copper & Kings had a fun vibe – ping pong and giant Jenga in their courtyard and a fancy tasting room upstairs. The one-hour tour was $15 and included three tastings.

The cellar at Copper & Kings. They play music to their aging barrels.

Feeling a little tipsy, we went searching for food. We heard good things about nearby Butchertown Grocery, but we opted for the less fancy and also nearby Feast BBQ. After about a 20-minute wait to order at the counter (when we looked discouraged others in line reassured us that it was worth the wait) and some tough decisions on what to order our meal came quickly and didn’t disappoint.

Overnight: Airbnb in Louisville.

Day 2: Exploring Louisville and Embarking on the Trail

On Saturday morning, we joined a walking tour – one of my favorite things to do when traveling. We picked Louisville Historic Tours and loved walking around and learning about the city. The tour was $20 per person and we really enjoyed David Domine, the guide; he was knowledgable and friendly.

Mid-afternoon we headed to Angels Envy, a recommended distillery in the city. When we arrived we learned that they do tours by reservation only and were sold out for the day. Tip: We didn’t want to to feel rushed by having to stick to a schedule and were concerned about not knowing how long we would want to spend at each stop. But if you have “must-visit” distilleries on your list, make a reservation for the tour. After roaming around their gift shop, we grabbed a bite to eat and a beer flight across the street at Against the Grain Brewery. The brussels sprouts were good, the beer just okay – even though we were ecstatic to receive it after a long wait.

After some nosh we hit the road leaving Louisville, heading east on the trail. Tip: we debated trying to see a horse race at Churchill Downs, but the timing didn’t work well with our morning tour. I felt this was a bit of a missed opportunity and wished we would’ve squeezed this in.

Our first stop on the trail was Jeptha Creed Distillery. We skipped the tour ($10 and 45 minutes – 1 hour) and had a drink at their bar and browsed in their gift shop. I bought a jar of apple pie moonshine butter to put in this year’s hamantaschen (filled-pocket triangular cookies for the Jewish holiday of Purim).

From there we stumbled upon the Talon Winery Tasting Room and purchased a $5 tasting. Having been fortunate to travel to France and having a sister who lives minutes from Napa, I tempered my expectations for the Kentucky wine, but wound up being pleasantly surprised. The bartenders were generous pourers and friendly, and I bought a bottle of the Bluegrass Blush.

Again feeling tipsy, we went in search of something sweet to eat. After many online searches for the best – ice cream, pie, dessert – you name it, we landed on Homemade Ice Cream and Pie Kitchen, which is actually a chain in the greater Louisville area. My husband had trail mix ice cream and I ordered the banana pudding. It. was. delicious. Sweet tip: If you have a sweet tooth, go there. My taste buds and mind were so consumed with its deliciousness that I forgot to take a picture.

We grabbed some more barbecue, this time from Bootleg Bar-B-Q, a bit off of the trail, and called it a day.

Overnight: Airbnb in a small town east of Louisville.

Day 3: The East Half of the Trail and Lexington

We picked Three Boys Farm Distillery for our morning whiskey fix. We were the only ones visiting this beautiful, quaint mom-and-pop shop. In hindsight, it was nice to start the day like this before heading to the jam-packed, very popular establishments later on. We bought a couple bottles of whiskey – Whiskey Thief Rye Whiskey for my husband and Pecan Pie Foggy Dog moonshine for me – in anticipation of serving it at Friendsgiving.

My favorite distillery tour was, by far, at Buffalo Trace. First, the name – being a proud Buffalonian, I was immediately drawn to this place. Second, the tour was free and included tastings of vodka, bourbon cream, and bourbon truffles! Third, the tour, starting with a movie and ending with a visit to the shop where workers handwrite bottle labels, was informative and interesting. Tip: Highly recommend Buffalo Trace.

Our last distillery stop was to Woodford Reserve. After our experience the previous day at Angels Envy, and knowing we wanted to stop at Woodford, we called them that morning to make a reservation. We were told it wasn’t necessary and to just show up. When we did, later that afternoon, the tours were sold out for the rest of the day. Feeling a tad bitter, we still enjoyed a bourbon cocktail on their lovely patio and got a glimpse of their beautiful grounds. Tip: Make reservations.

We spent the evening hanging out in a cute, perhaps up-and-coming, hipster neighborhood north of Lexington with several breweries, distilleries, and restaurants. We got another beer flight, this one from Ethereal Brewing – definitely worth trying. And after having our fill of BBQ, we opted for pizza from nearby Goodfellas Pizzeria. It was really good.

Overnight: Airbnb in Lexington.

All in all, we enjoyed our time eating and drinking our way through Kentucky and were able to check another state off the list.

A friend passed along the below recommendations for Louisville but we weren’t able to check them out ourselves:

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