COOPED UP There’s only one way to see how the coopers of Louisville’s Brown-Forman Cooperage shape the barrels and that is on a Mint Julep Cooperage Tour Experience. See the metamorphosis unfold, from first stave to finished barrel. How many staves does it take to fashion a bourbon barrel? Count ‘em out on a tour of Lebanon’s Kentucky Cooperage . Watch the flames char the wood to toasty, flavor-imparting perfection. Kentucky craftspeople also make bourbon barrels for the world’s most award-winning distillery, Buffalo Trace, at Cumberland Cooperage . MIXED UP Shaken? Stirred? Find your bourbon bliss at curated mixology classes at the James B. Beam Distilling Co. in Clermont and at Bardstown Bourbon Company . Pssst! Paducah’s Barrel & Bond is one of the “Best Bars in Bourbon Country.” Just ask The Bourbon Review magazine or the many patrons sipping one of the 1,600 bourbons and American whiskeys here. Sip right in: Kentucky’s largest bourbon collection is here, at Lexington’s Bluegrass Tavern . There’s plenty of bourbon behind the bar — and more than 35 rotating beer taps, too — at Covington’s Cock & Bull Public House , also known for delicious pub fare. Cock & Bull Public House , Covington WINE DOWN Like superlatives? Sip wine at Nicholasville’s First Vineyard , the first commercial winery in the country, or soak up history at Augusta’s Baker-Bird Winery , home of America’s oldest wine cellar. Quaff full-bodied wine amidst countryside elegance at Eubank’s Cave Hill Vineyard & Winery or in the farming community of Rockfield at Traveler’s Cellar Winery . Farmer & Frenchman in Robards combines a winery, restaurant and cabins for a full farm-to-table getaway. Bluegrass Vineyard in Smiths Grove serves Makin’ Mamma Happy, a red wine that pairs beautifully with an overnight at the on-site B&B. Prefer mead? Find honey wine at Kentucky’s only meadery: Oldham County’s Hive & Barrel Meadery . 32 #TravelKY Farmer & Frenchman Winery , Robards
The Official Kentucky Visitor's Guide The Official Kentucky Visitor's Guide 2023: Page 32
