Louisville’s Urban Bourbon Trail
301 South Fourth Street, Louisville, KY 40202
1-888-LOUISVILLE | syates@gotolouisville.com
Louisville is a great entry point for exploring Bourbon Country. Begin at the Visitor Center for a distillery preview and then experience the world-class bars of the Urban Bourbon Trail
Louisville's distilling history dates back to the early 1800s with whiskey legends like Evan Williams and George Garvin Brown. Before Prohibition, over 50 distilleries, barrel warehouses and bottling plants concentrated along Main Street in a district known as "Whiskey Row." Today, you'll find offices of international brands, world-class bourbon bars and the start of bourbon tours along Main as well as nine museums in the six-block historic neighborhood that is now Museum Row.
Get a sneak preview of the distilleries, pick up a map of the bourbon trails, buy Just Add Bourbon merchandise and plan your Bourbon Country adventure with the help of travel counselors.
All aboard the bourbon bus! Let the folks from Mint Julep Tours take you to the distilleries and culinary experiences of Bourbon Country in style. Choose from half-day to full-day tours exploring the Kentucky Bourbon Trail®, Urban Bourbon Trail, Louisville City Tours, Horse Country or any combination.
The Brown-Forman Cooperage presents a step back in time, and Brown-Forman is the only spirits company to craft their own barrels for the aging of spirits, including Woodford Reserve, Old Forester and Early Times. See the lumber yard, view the artful selection of staves, and follow the hand-crafted barrel assembly to the fired charring process. Witness the historic art of barrel raising, powerful sounds, and the smell of burning oak, which are present every day at the Cooperage. Tours must be set up in advance through Mint Julep Tours.
The cocktail scene and culinary experience along the Urban Bourbon Trail varies from historic hotel properties that once served whiskey to the likes of Al Capone and F. Scott Fitzgerald to cosmopolitan "scenes" where urban trendsetters are making retro drinks, such as the Old-Fashioned and Manhattan, in vogue again. All offer bourbon flights, special bourbon cocktails including the official drink of the Kentucky Derby - the mint julep - and bourbon-inspired cuisine.
In addition to picking up your favorite brand at one of Louisville's well-stocked liquor stores, take back more Bourbon Country momentos, including mint julep soaps and lotions at Moss Hill, or bourbon-smoked salts at Bourbon Barrel Foods. Pick up a Just Add Bourbon cap or shirt at the Visitor Center and a bourbon cake or chocolate treat at Mert's or Cake Flour. And don't forget the Happy Balls!
