Woodford Reserve

Top choice


Restored to its 1800s glory, Woodford is perhaps the prettiest distillery in Kentucky. The company still uses old-fashioned copper pots to triple distill its bourbon (for a cleaner taste). You'll see them plus stacks of white oak barrels resting in atmospheric stone warehouses during the main distillery tour. It runs hourly on the hour on weekdays, more frequently on weekends. The first tour is at 10am (1pm Sunday), and the last is at 3pm. Reservations recommended.

While tours include a tasting, you also can also walk in for just a tasting ($10 for two bourbons and a rye whiskey). The classy stone-and-timber visitor center feels like a lodge and invites lingering with its comfy couches and fireplace. Inside, a cafe and bar serve light meals and more bourbon respectively.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby attractions

1. Coolmoore at Ashford Stud

2.46 MILES

Coolmore is an international breeding giant, so it’s no surprise top racehorses American Pharaoh and Justify – both Triple Crown winners – have retired to…

2. Castle & Key

2.58 MILES

Castle & Key looks like something out of a fairy tale. Colonel EH Taylor built it as a distillery in 1887, complete with a turreted stone castle, lush…

3. Wild Turkey

5.29 MILES

This distillery sits on Wild Turkey Hill overlooking the Kentucky River. More industrial and less self-consciously old-fashioned than many of its…

4. Frankfort Cemetery

6.33 MILES

American pioneer and Kentucky folk hero Daniel Boone, whose adventures led him to settle present-day Kentucky, is buried on a hilltop in Frankfort…

7. Old State Capitol

6.99 MILES

Architecture buffs will want to explore the impressive-looking building, which was the seat of power from 1830 to 1910. Tours depart from the nearby…

8. Buffalo Trace

7.86 MILES

Not only is it the nation's oldest continuously operating distillery, in business since 1787 and chock full of cool old buildings, but Buffalo Trace is…