Kentucky

Kentucky is bourbon country. Bourbon is an American whiskey made from a grain mix of at least 51 percent corn and aged in new charred oak containers, and most of it is distilled in this state. The Kentucky Distillers’ Association groups many of the distilleries under the name Kentucky Bourbon Trail.

Two ways in for a visitor: the Kentucky Bourbon Festival in Bardstown, set for 16 to 19 September 2027, and the distillery tours, which run all year. Buffalo Trace, in Frankfort, offers a free tour with tasting. Woodford Reserve and Jim Beam charge 30 to 40 dollars.

Getting there

Louisville and Lexington have the main airports. The distilleries are spread across several counties, so a car is the practical way to visit, with a driver who skips the tastings.

Why Kentucky makes the bourbon

The Kentucky Distillers' Association puts the state's share at 95 percent of the world's bourbon and gives two reasons of geography. The first is water filtered through limestone, which the association calls the secret to the spirit. The second is the climate: hot summers, cold winters and swings in humidity make the barrels expand and contract with the seasons, and those movements of the wood give the whiskey its colour and character as it ages.

Bardstown, Bourbon Capital of the World

The town of Bardstown, where the festival is held, trades under the registered name Bourbon Capital of the World. Its tourism office counts 11 distilleries within 16 miles (about 26 kilometres) of Court Square and nearly 200 historic buildings in a walkable downtown that Rand McNally and USA Today once named the most beautiful small town in America. The Kentucky Bourbon Festival itself brings together more than 60 distilleries and over 200 brands and expressions, with sessions led by industry figures, and its board seats people from Heaven Hill, Angel's Envy, Brown-Forman and Visit Bardstown.

Reading the Kentucky Bourbon Trail by region

The association's Kentucky Bourbon Trail sorts its distilleries into six regions, Northern, Louisville, Central, Lexington, Bardstown and Western, and advises planning by region to shorten the distances between visits. Louisville alone has tasting rooms for Angel's Envy, Bulleit and Green River, while Clermont, near Bardstown, is home to the James B. Beam Distilling Co.