The Bourbon Trail | Topknot Travels

Last week, Eddie and I took a couples trip with some friends and we went to visit The Bourbon Trail in Kentucky. I went along because I knew it would be a fun time with Eddie and our friends, but I didn’t anticipate enjoying the tours and tastings as much as I did! I don’t normally drink Bourbon straight, but I do enjoy an Old Fashioned when I’m having a cocktail and I really enjoy doing fun things with my husband, so I knew we would be in for some fun. 

Before I start sharing, I have to preface this by saying I did ZERO planning for this trip. Our friend Carlos planned everything start to finish, and we basically showed up! His biggest suggestion is to plan in advance and book any distilleries you want to visit as far out as you can. We found that we got the most out of tours, rather than just tastings. 

Our Stay

​We stayed at the historic Seelbach Hotel. It is an older hotel but it is clean and well-maintained, plus it has SO much history (it’s also said to be haunted!). It’s also well-located in downtown Louisville and you can walk to a lot of places from there. The hotel’s concierge is a historian and we saw him while we were there. There are some beautiful rooms you can visit with some very cool stories – think Prohibition and Al Capone. 

We also rented a car – there are a few distilleries in Louisville, but we also wanted to visit Frankfurt and Bardstown. 

Eat | Louisville

• River House Restaurant & Raw Bar 
  • ​The food, drinks, and ambiance here are top notch. If you’re a fan of the Old Fashioned, they have a Campfire Old Fashioned that is delicious. We had oysters and octopus as appetizers, and they were both delicious. I also had the scallops for my main course and the dish was amazing. This is definitely a must-do restaurant. Give yourself time to get there early and have a drink out on their back lawn. 
• Jeff Ruby’s Steakhouse
  • ​A classic steakhouse, with exactly what you would expect! Everything was delicious here too and if you’re looking for a “fancier” experience, this is the place to go! Desserts are enormous, so order carefully! The bar also has a piano and they had live music while we were there. 
• Merle’s Whiskey Kitchen
  • ​Stop here for lunch. They have a Cuban sandwich, which Eddie and I tried. It was not a traditional Cuban sandwich like what we are used to in Miami, but it was very good! 
• Grassa Gramma
  • ​This was recommended by one of the hotel employees. It’s located in a shopping center, but it’s a completely Italian themed restaurant. From the moment you walk in, you feel transported to an Italian piazza. It’s a little kitschy but the food was great and it was a nice change. 
• The Brown Hotel Lobby Bar & Grill 
  • ​​We had brunch here and it did not disappoint. This is where the “Hot Brown” originated, which is a hot sandwich covered in béchamel sauce. I didn’t have this, I had the Bluegrass BLT, a Fried Green Tomato Sandwich and it was AMAZING. 

Frankfort | The Bourbon Trail

On Thursday we woke up early and made the drive to Frankfort (it was just about an hour from Louisville). We headed straight to our first distillery of the day. You can watch a recap of our day here. 

• Four Roses
  • Here we did a tasting as their tours hadn’t opened up when our reservations were made. It’s a beautiful property, so I wish we could have seen more of it, but the tasting was great and was a great starting point for our day!
• Capitol Building 
  • We drove by the Capitol building in Frankfort and it was beautiful. There’s also a lookout point where you can see the building from higher up and that was very cool, too. 
• Buffalo Trace
  • At Buffalo Trace we did the Barrel Tour. This was a pretty comprehensive tour of the distillery and we all agreed that this was the hands down favorite distillery we visited. The grounds are impeccable, and you can see where the old has been merged with the new.  
• Bourbon on Main
  • We had lunch at this delicious spot with a view of the river. It’s locally owned – and that’s always a good reason to support a business in my eyes. The House Burger was delicious! 
• Woodford Reserve
  • I also LOVED this distillery. The grounds are gorgeous, on rolling hills, and you get some more of the process on their tour. 

Bardstown | The Bourbon Trail

Watch a recap of our day here. 

• Lux Row Distillers
  • ​This is a brand new distillery, built within the last several years, so it was very cool to see the old vs. the new. It’s a stunning property, and their warehouse is incredible to step into. 
• Lunch at Old Talbotts Tavern & Downtown Bardstown 
  • Downtown Bardstown is adorable. It’s picturesque and full of cute local shops. Their Main Street is worth taking a stroll down, and then have lunch at Old Talbots Tavern – walking in is like stepping back in time. 
• Barton 1792
  • ​This is an older distillery with a lot of history. We got to climb up to the top of the still and try some “white dog.” It’s kind of like drinking rubbing alcohol but it’s a really cool experience. haha
• Bardstown Bourbon Distillery
  • ​This was another much newer distillery. The property is absolutely gorgeous, and they have a restaurant and bar on site. We had a tour here where we tasted the bourbon right out of the barrels, and it took place inside the warehouse. It was such a different experience, and we learned a lot about tasting bourbon here. 

Louisville | The Bourbon Trail

Watch a recap of our day here. 

• Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory
  • We did a tour here and it was very cool to see how the renowned brand makes their wooden bats, from start to finish. ​
• Justin’s House of Bourbon
  • If there is a distillery you wanted to do a tasting at and couldn’t get an appointment for, check this place out. ​They have probably every bottle of bourbon you could imagine. Prices do vary because they do purchase some of their bottles off market, but it’s definitely a place to go to get a taste of whatever you want. It’s also a super good time – the bartenders there were a riot. 
• Churchill Downs Derby Race
  • ​Definitely an experience! If you’re not headed out for the actual Kentucky Derby, don’t wear a hat/fascinator – you’ll stand out for sure. But it’s a beautiful property and it’s fun to check out. 
• Angels Envy Distillery
  • ​We were only able to do a tasting here because their distillery is under construction, but this is one of Eddie’s favorite bourbons. It was a different experience because Angel’s Envy is is a finished bourbon, which means after it’s aged, it’s finished in port barrels to give it another layer of complexity. I really enjoyed the tasting here and the tasting room upstairs is BEAUTIFUL. 

There you have it! All the scoop on our trip to Kentucky! Is this a trip you would take? 

xoxo,