Bourbon Trail Tour FAQs
How far in advance do we need to book a Bourbon Trail Tour?
We recommend that you plan your trip at least two to three months in advance for a weekend trip, or two to three weeks in advance for a tour during the week.
The Bourbon Trail has become a very popular tourist destination, especially on the weekends. While Spring and Fall are currently peak seasons for Bourbon Trail tours, there’s a growing demand all year long. This makes tickets to the distillery tours increasingly difficult to get, especially on short notice. For a weekend tour, you need to book two to three months in advance to give yourself the best chance of getting tickets to the distilleries you want to visit. If you can visit during the week, we can usually arrange something with two to three weeks notice.
How do you choose the bourbon distilleries that we visit on our Bourbon Tour?
We select the two or three distilleries you visit based on:
- Your input
- Ticket availability
- Proximity to one another
If you have certain distillers that you want to visit — or that you don’t want to visit–, please indicate those preferences under the “Distillery Preferences” section when you make the reservation for your suite. We will try our best to honor your requests, but it will ultimately depend on the availability of tickets to your preferred distillers on the date you’ve chosen. The proximity of distilleries to one another will also influence the two or three we select for your tour.
If we can’t get tickets to any of your top distilleries, we will contact you and let you decide if you want to visit the distilleries that have available tickets or if you want to change the date of your trip here.
What does a typical Bourbon Tour day look like?
First, since you probably don’t want to sample bourbon on an empty stomach, we feed you a hearty breakfast. Your driver will pick you up at the Inn between 8 am and 9 am (we’ll provide a more exact time when you arrive). You must bring your Identification, but that’s really the only thing you need to bring. The driver has snacks and water for the ride.
You typically tour your first distillery and then have lunch (included in the package). During the afternoon, you will visit either two more distilleries or one distillery and one horse farm, depending on the tour you chose. You will return to the Inn between 5 pm and 6 pm, and you have a little time to unwind and relax — or to sip a bourbon!
Dinner is typically at 7 pm at Bucks Restaurant, unless you asked to change the time or venue. Bucks is a short walk from the Inn. The cost of dinner, up to $125, is included in your package.
We want to bring home a special bottle of bourbon. Can you help us find it?
The best resource to find that special bottle is your Bourbon Trail Tour guide. All the guides are great people who know more than anyone could imagine about bourbon, Kentucky history and horses. They can often direct you –or in some cases even bring you– to the place where you can buy what you’re looking for.
Is there anything that’s NOT included in our all-inclusive Bourbon Trail Tour Package?
The only thing that’s not included in your package are gratuities for your tour guide and for the server at the restaurant.
However, if your dinner bill is more than $125, you are responsible for the difference
What if we want to have more than one day of bourbon tasting and touring?
Many of our guests go on the one-day guided tour at distilleries outside of Louisville on the first day. Then, they plan their own excursions the next day at distilleries in Louisville. While the Bourbon Trail is long, a big section of it runs right through downtown Louisville, which is about a five or ten minute ride from the Inn. Louisville distilleries include Angel’s Envy, the Evan Williams Bourbon Experience, Old Forrester, Rabbit Hole and Michter’s, as well as craft distilleries such as Stitzel-Weller, Cooper & Kings American Brandy and Kentucky Peerless,
Visit the Urban Bourbon Trail website and get your passport with information about the distilleries and coupons with discounts at more than 40 bourbon bars in Louisville.