Kentucky Bourbon Trail distillery tours

The Kentucky Bourbon Trail is the name under which the Kentucky Distillers’ Association groups the state’s distilleries that welcome visitors. A standard visit is a guided tour of the distillery followed by a tasting. The three tours compared here cost from nothing to 40 dollars per adult and last 70 to 75 minutes.

The distilleries are spread over several counties. This page is filed under Bardstown, home of the Kentucky Bourbon Festival, but the three below are in Clermont, Frankfort and near Versailles, so plan the day by car.

How it works

• Buffalo Trace offers the Trace Tour, tour and tasting, at no charge. It is open to all ages and accessible to wheelchair users, and booking is recommended. Guests who taste or buy alcohol must show valid ID.
• Jim Beam lists its Beam Made Bourbon Tour & Tasting at 30 dollars plus tax and fees, in an article on its own site dated August 2026. The tour pages show no price. The company’s pages disagree on the length (75 minutes, 1.25 hours or 90 minutes) and on opening days (one page says closed on Tuesdays, another open every day), so check before you drive out.
• Woodford Reserve runs its Path to Flavor Tour daily, by online reservation only, for 35 to 40 dollars.

Practical tips

• Book ahead. Woodford Reserve takes online reservations only, and Buffalo Trace recommends booking.
• Bring ID. The minimum legal age to buy alcohol in the United States is 21, and tastings are for adults of 21 and over.
• Children. All three distilleries let under-21s join the tour. At Woodford Reserve they must stay with an adult at all times. At Jim Beam they may not enter the tasting room.
• Plan a driver. The distilleries are spread over several counties, with no public transport between them.
• Budget. A day with one free tour and one paid tour costs 30 to 40 dollars per adult, before tax.
• Combine with the festival. The Kentucky Bourbon Festival in Bardstown is set for 16 to 19 September 2027. A tour or two the day before makes a fuller trip.