Kentucky Bourbon Trail Adds Distilleries, Revamps the Digital Side

The Kentucky Bourbon Trail, a mecca for whiskey tourism in the United States, has kicked off summer with a revamp that includes an expanded trail, now encompassing 46 Kentucky distilleries, and a major upgrade to the digital side offered by the group’s website. The Bourbon Trail, which launched in 1999 and celebrates its 25^th anniversary this year, has attracted millions of tourists to Kentucky over the years.

This new expansion of the Bourbon Trail, which previously included 18 core distilleries, will encompass what was previously called the Kentucky Bourbon Trail Craft Tour, a separate leg spanning 28 craft distilleries. By combining both trails, Kentucky now has one statewide Bourbon Trail experience that includes 46 distilleries.

The Kentucky Bourbon Trail distilleries include Angel’s Envy, Evan Williams, and Stitzel-Weller in Louisville, plus Bardstown Bourbon Co. in Bardstown, Four Roses in Lawrenceburg, James B. Beam in Clermont, and Woodford Reserve in Versailles, among numerous others. The separate Craft Tour had been divided into four regional groups, spanning from Copper & Kings in Louisville and Castle & Key in Frankfort to New Riff in Newport and MB Roland in Pembroke. Notably absent entirely are Buffalo Trace and Barton 1792—both are owned by Sazerac, which opted out in 2009 due to a trademark dispute over the use of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail name.

The expansion has more than doubled the scope of the Bourbon Trail tour, which now spans nearly 300 miles, and will be accompanied by the new website’s launch later this summer. The new kybourbontrail.com will allow Bourbon Trail visitors to build their bourbon adventure and better plan their trip. Along with being able to select from multiple new itineraries that showcase different distillery combinations and the best route between them, guests will find information on local culture, dining, and notable scenic points of interest along the trail.

Kentucky Bourbon Trail Passports registered before July 1, 2024, will be honored until July 1 of next year. Thereafter, the passport will be retired.

The Kentucky Distillers’ Association (KDA) created the Kentucky Bourbon Trail in 1999 with seven distilleries, to educate visitors about whiskey-making and the history of America’s native spirit. It was the first spirits tour in the country and has grown immensely from those early days. In its 25 years, the Bourbon Trail has welcomed more than 18 million visitors: current estimates put its annual tourism at 2.5 million visitors a year.

The KDA recently commissioned research into the trail’s visitors and found that 76% of them hail from outside Kentucky and that many stay in the state for multiple days to explore the trail. With those results in mind, the group expanded the tour and made its website more user-friendly for out-of-town guests.

Going forward, many distilleries on the Bourbon Trail plan to unveil new or upgraded visitor centers and guest experiences. The Kentucky Distillers’ Association estimates that upward of $194 million will be spent over the next five years by distillers to upgrade and expand their visitor centers and guest experiences to further enhance tourism along the Bourbon Trail.

Kentucky Bourbon Trail Members