The Lexington KY Bourbon Trail Guide
Lexington is the 2nd city of Kentucky. It’s the home of the Kentucky Wildcats, some world-class thoroughbred farms, Keeneland, and some great breweries and distilleries! There are fewer distilleries in this region than others, but Frankfort is accessible, friendly, and makes for a great stop. Anyway, here is what’s on the Lexington KY Bourbon trail!
Which Distilleries Are a Part of the Lexington Bourbon Trail?
There are 8 distilleries in the Lexington KY region of the Bourbon Trail. We honestly have not been to all of them, so some of these will be brief. We will visit these here in the offseason and update this guide as we learn more!
James E Pepper Distillery
We really like this place. The building is very cool and historic, they’ve produced some award-winning whiskeys. The staff is great, the location is very convenient (except for the parking). James Pepper was a founding father of bourbon and it’s interesting to see how his legacy has been reintroduced by the properties' new owners. This place is very cool for an urban distillery, and we love the distillery commons area - you can literally spend all day here.
Town Branch (Lexington Brewing & Distilling Co.)
Not too far from the Distillery Commons sits this historic and unique brewery/distillery! The Lexington Brewing & Distilling Co. has a history dating back to pre-prohibition. The inside is a highly curated space designed to look like some of the old pubs in Ireland - and is really cool. The distillery is mostly known for Town Branch, and the Kentucky Bourbon Ale, and their tour is unique as you get to explore beer and bourbon!
RD1 Tasting Room
RD1 gets its name from the first registered distillery in Lexington, KY. They revived the namesake of another founding father of bourbon, William M Tarr back in 2020 and have hit the ground running ever since. This place is known for acquiring some amazing barrels of whiskey, while creating unique blends and finishes with them. They’ve won countless awards and have really made a name for themselves. They appear to be slated to open a distillery in the commons soon, too! But for now, their tasting room is pretty cool.
Bluegrass Distillers
Bluegrass Distillers has been making a name for themselves in the Kentucky Bourbon world. They’ve been putting out award-winning, tasting juice for years now and have been established for over a decade (which is old in the world of craft). Their farm is in Midway, making a tour here an easy stop on the way between Frankfort and Lexington. They also have a tasting room in downtown Lexington, giving you a few locations to visit.
Hartfield & Co, Wilderness Trail Distillery, Barrel House Distilling Co, Fresh Bourbon Distillery
It's on our list to visit these distilleries, so we will be updating these as we make our visits. Hartfield and Wilderness Trail are typically out of our service area, but we will be working to get folks out there in 2025!
Lexington Kentucky Bourbon Trail Map
As you can see from our map, some of these distilleries are very spaced out, so we would advise you to keep logistics in mind when putting a day together here. We typically do not drive out to Hartfield & Co or Wilderness Trail, but will be experimenting with them come spring!
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If you are looking at the Map, the Frankfort Bourbon Trail is close! We'll discuss further in our next section.
Additional Bourbon Trail Stops
The Lexington Bourbon Trail shares the luxury of being close to Frankfort, KY. In fact, a lot of visitors to the Frankfort Distilleries are coming in from Lexington. Here are a few of the big names there!
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Buffalo Trace - Not officially part of the bourbon trail, but this stop is about 45 minutes outside of Lexington.
Wild Turkey - About 30-45 minutes from Lexington, depending on where you're staying.
Four Roses - Also 30-45 minutes from Lexington, depending on where you're staying.
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Woodford Reserve - 30 minutes from most parts of Lexington and worth the visit!
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Castle & Key - About 6 minutes from Woodford, so 35-40 minutes out. It's a bourbon castle! Yep.
What Are Some Common Itineraries for a Lexington Bourbon Trail Tour?
Lexington itself is pretty accessible and you can spend a whole day at Distillery Commons. So, a lot of folks venture out of the city towards Frankfort. So these suggestions will be a hybrid of each:
* Buffalo Trace > Bluegrass Distillers > James E Pepper
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* Four Roses > Wild Turkey > Lexington Brewing & Distilling
* Woodford Reserve > Wild Turkey > RD1 > Barrel House
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​** Other options include any of these larger destinations then distillery hopping around the city.
How To Visit the Bourbon Trail Distilleries in Lexington Kentucky?
On foot - You can actually do this here! Well, in the Distillery Commons area anyway. You could maybe walk to Lexington Brewing, but that part of the city wasn’t really designed for walking once you get out of the commons.​
Uber/Lyft - Yep! You can do that here, too. You will just run into issues if you go to far-away locations like Wilderness Trail or Hartfield. Or if you venture out to Frankfort, you probably won't have luck with this.
Driving - Always an option. Know your limits. Be careful and mindful of everyone else on the road. Call a ride if you feel you are approaching your personal or legal limit.
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Private Transportation/Bourbon Tours - This is pretty common here, especially when folks are visiting Keeneland or are in town for sports. If you were to get a tour here, I would venture out towards Frankfort to visit some of the legacy distilleries and maybe check out a few of the smaller guys here. We do offer pickup in Lexington! Please shoot us an email for more information.
**** Looking for a great, affordable private tour guide for your group? Give us a shout! We'd love to be your knowledgable guides to the bourbon trail. *****
Lexington Distilleries & “Stringability” to the Rest of the Bourbon Trail
How is easy is it to combine distilleries along the Lexington Bourbon Trail to other parts of the bourbon trail? Here are our thoughts.
* From the Louisville Bourbon Trail - If you do it just right, you can visit a few Lexington distilleries, maybe one in Frankfort, and get back to Louisville in a full day. It’s just going to be a good 3+ hours in the car.
* From the Frankfort Bourbon Trail- Easy enough! Frankfort is just about 45 minutes from Lexington. This just gets challenging if your starting point is Louisville.
* From the Bardstown Bourbon Trail - We typically wouldn’t recommend this. You could easily spend half of your day in the car. If you’re coming straight from Bardstown and back, sure. But if you start mixing and matching distilleries in these regions, definitely split it into 2 days.
Lexington KY Bourbon Trail FAQs & Final Thoughts
Can I Visit a Lexington Distillery Without a Tour?
Yep! You will find that a lot of distillery tours fill up, especially the closer you get to your departure date. With that, you can always visit most distilleries to grab a drink, see the grounds, visit the gift shop, etc.
How Far in Advance Should I Book My Lexington Bourbon Trail Tour
2-3 months in advance to be safe, especially on weekends and peak days. For weekdays, Winter trips, and mid-summer trips, you have. a little more leeway. Most distilleries put their tours up 2-3 months in advance, and they can sell out instantly.
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If you're having trouble finding openings for a specific date, you can try reaching out to a tour company (like us!) to see what options are available.
What Are Some Other Must-Dos in Lexington, Kentucky?
Well, Lexington is the 2nd biggest city in Kentucky and gets a lot of attention! This is often a stop for major touring artists, particularly country and college age acts. Of course, you have a lot of sporting events with the University of Kentucky being here. You can golf here, or visit horse farms. Kentucky Horse Park is really neat and has a museum you can visit. Keeneland runs a few times a year and is a fantastic horse track. You can visit it year-round if they're not running. And beyond that, just look around! There’s a little something for everyone here.
Lexington Kentucky Accessibility
Lexington is pretty accessible! There is public transportation, an airport, etc. It’s just about an hour and fifteen minutes from Louisville and a few hours from Cincinnati. There are Lyfts, Ubers, and a bit of everything. It’s just a bit of a haul if you want to visit Louisville and you're bouncing between the two.
Lexington KY Accommodations & Where To Stay
Lexington has some of the nicest hotels in Kentucky. Being a major thoroughbred destination, there is an abundance of higher-end hotels. Our favorites are 21C and the Manchester. You also have your budget hotels, chains, boutiques, etc. There are some very unique vacation rentals on Airbnb or VRBO as well! So, no matter your budget and where you plan to hang out, there is something here for you.
Final thoughts On the Lexington KY Bourbon Trail & Tours
Lexington is a nice place to stay for a day or two. It’s a little less walkable than Louisville, but has things that Louisville does not. The distillery options are a little less desired than some of the big names in the other 3 regions, but there is so much charm here. And there are folks doing some incredible things with bourbon.