1 Music & Mutton Horses & 2 Bourbon Head into Kentucky’s Bourbon Country for distillery tours and tastings, including stops along the Kentucky Bourbon Trail ® . Lebanon is the only place you can see both the bourbon and barrel-making processes, so include Kentucky Cooperage , Limestone Branch Distillery and Maker’s Mark on your itinerary. Then pause for a selfie at the Maker’s Mark-branded Lebanon Water Tower. In Bardstown, “Bourbon Capital of the World,” begin with a bourbon overview at the Oscar Getz Museum of Whiskey History before making your way through distilleries like Heaven Hill Bourbon Heritage Center and Willet’s Distillery . Dine at a restaurant with more than 100 bourbons on the menu — Kreso’s , Rickhouse , Old Talbott Tavern — then spend the night at the luxe Bourbon Manor Inn . The Bulleit Frontier Whiskey Experience awaits in Louisville in the old Stitzel-Weller Distillery . With a history that stretches back to the 1830s and the intrigue of the founding distiller (who disappeared while transporting Begin on a high note at the Birthplace of Bluegrass: the Bill Monroe Homeplace at Jerusalem Ridge , where family memorabilia (including the dinner bell) gives a glimpse into the life of the Monroe family, whose youngest child would create a musical genre. Not far away is Uncle Pen’s Cabin . A fiddler by vocation, Uncle Pen was a significant source of inspiration for young Bill. Join the audience at the Rosine Barn Jamboree for live bluegrass music and dancing every Friday night. Follow that music theme to a $15 million facility opening in spring of 2018 as the new home of the International Bluegrass Music Museum in Owensboro, complete with a 450-seat concert hall, 2,000-seat outdoor concert arena, research library, teaching rooms and rooftop restaurant overlooking the Ohio River. You’ll see all this in addition to exhibits about “Big Mon” (Bill Monroe), historically significant instruments, a timeline of bluegrass music and the Hall of Fame. Or get your fill of mutton, chicken and more mutton at these iconic Owensboro eateries: Moonlite Bar-B-Q Inn and Old Hickory Bar-B-Que . Try secret-recipe barbecue and burgoo at the International BAR-B-Q Festival or, if visiting from May through September, at one of Owensboro’s 22 parish barbecue picnics. Need to go to The Wood Shed ? Of course you do! This Hopkinsville joint serves up classic barbecue plates along with daily specials and to-die-for cornbread and homemade pies. his barrels of spirits) this is considered one of the “true cathedrals” of the American whiskey industry. Sample the spirits at Shelbyville’s new Jeptha Creed Distillery and see the peacock of the horse world up-close on a behind-the-scenes tour in Shelbyville, “American Saddlebred Capital of the World.” Icelandic horses in Kentucky? You bet! Known for a spirited temperament and larger-than-life personality, this unique breed of small horse may be seen at Léttleiki Icelandics at Shelbyville’s Swallowland Farm. Ever wonder how Thoroughbreds spend their golden years? Find out in Lexington — “Horse Capital of the World” — at equine retirement facility Old Friends at Dreamchase Farm. Don’t Miss This! Pick up a cheese log and treat your taste buds to ooey-gooey savory deliciousness on Clark County’s Beer Cheese Trail in Winchester. Below, left to right: Rosine Barn Jamboree; testing the bourbon. Don’t Miss This! In Leitchfield, “Fiddling Capital of Kentucky,” stop by the Freedom and Fiddlin’ Festival in July. In Hodgenville, follow the Lincoln Heritage Trail to the Birthplace of Lincoln. 10 1-800-225-8747 / 1-800-225-TRIP
Kentucky Official Visitor's Guide 2017 Kentucky Official Visitor's Guide: Page 10
