After a year and a half of quarantining and social distancing, it’s time to raise your “spirits” at the 30th annual Kentucky Bourbon Festival in historic Bardstown, a celebration of the state’s bourbon-making heritage held Sept. 16-19. Learn to pair bourbon with regional cuisine, bid on rare bottles at the Master Distillers’ Auction, or sip your favorite bourbon while listening to a fast-pickin’ bluegrass band.
Distillery tours and tasting room visits are part of the fun, but if you can’t make it to the festival, no worries. You can go distillery hopping any time of the year, and now, there’s even more to see.
Dant Crossing and Log Still Distillery
A vintage train teeming with bourbon-loving passengers rattles through the undulating hills of Nelson County, passing harvest-ready cornfields, cattle grazing in pastures, and horses peeking through fences. In the bar car, some sip Monk’s Road bourbon from elegant snifters, savoring smooth vanilla nuances between slow drags on fine cigars, while others relish the peppery bite of Monk’s Road rye whiskey. There’s a burgeoning sense of camaraderie in the group, united in their passion for “America’s native spirit.”
That’s what John Wallace “Wally” Dant III envisions for the next phase of Dant Crossing in New Haven, the new 350-acre, bourbon-themed recreation and entertainment complex with Log Still Distillery at its heart. Think of it as the Disneyland of bourbon. A collaboration with the nearby Kentucky Railway Museum will help facilitate a 45-minute excursion through the pastoral setting where seven generations of Dants have distilled bourbon.
Dant, a savvy businessman and former Nashville healthcare CEO, is reviving the family’s bourbon legacy that began in 1836, when an ancestor distilled whiskey in a hollowed-out poplar log. The new distillery will sit on the site of the old operation that closed decades ago.
When it’s completed next year, the $30 million complex will have a 22,000-square-foot events center, a farm-to-table restaurant called 47 and Poplar (47 is the old distillery number) and, of course, a craft distillery that can produce 15,000 barrels of bourbon annually.
Monk’s Road bourbon is named for the road that leads to the distillery from the Abbey of Gethsemani, the monastery that was home to the Trappist monk and prolific writer Thomas Merton.
Within walking distance of the tasting room is The Homestead at Dant Crossing, a five-bedroom bed-and-breakfast in a restored lakefront farmhouse that has been in the Dant family for generations.
City-dwelling guests can relish the simplicity and charm of the countryside, dangling their hooks from a nearby pier hoping to get a nibble. Others may want to set off on a pleasant walking trail that circles the 12-acre lake. The Log Still water tower looms in the distance.
The view hasn’t changed much since Dant’s childhood, when he made regular trips from his Indiana home to visit his grandparents.
After dark, guests who started out as strangers become friends around a fire pit, while their children catch fireflies.
Dant often is asked what inspired him to pursue his dream of Dant Crossing, and the answer is simple—the pull of family.
“With Log Still Distillery and our Monk’s Road spirits, I get to honor my forefathers’ legacy, work alongside my cousins, and build something to pass along to our children,” Dant said. “The destination we’re creating at Dant Crossing is so other families can come and make lasting memories together. At the end of the day, honoring the past, present and future generations is the reason for all of this.”
Heaven Hill Distillery
Many bourbon enthusiasts base themselves at the Homestead at Dant Crossing and branch out from there to visit other area distilleries.
Start with Heaven Hill, which includes Evan Williams and Elijah Craig bourbons in its extensive portfolio, and check out the Heaven Hill Bourbon Experience, the impressive new visitors center formerly called the Bourbon Heritage Center. Following a $19 million expansion, the 30,000-square-foot space features three tasting rooms, a rooftop bar, and even more bourbon-themed fun.
Heaven Hill knows that today’s savvy bourbon consumer has a thirst for knowledge, and the new visitors center enlightens.
General Manager Jeff Crowe says the space “offers new educational opportunities not only about Kentucky’s native spirit, but about the history and culture behind it. It caters to the whiskey novice as well as connoisseurs.”
The new, hour-long You Do Bourbon experience, which takes place in a classroom setting, takes a deep dive into everything from mash bills (grain recipes used to produce bourbon) to quality control.
If you’ve ever dreamed of bottling your own bourbon, now is your chance. Visitors bottle and take home one of four spirits: a unique proof of Elijah Craig, Larceny Kentucky Straight Bourbon, a special barrel-proof version of Bernheim wheat whiskey available only at Heaven Hill, or the coveted Heaven Hill Bourbon Experience commemorative edition.
In the You Do Bourbon tasting room, a diverse group of bourbon enthusiasts from all over the country finds it difficult to choose just one of these quality liquors to stock in their home bars. They confer with one another as they sip and sniff, weighing the pros and cons of each.
A bourbon host leads them into the lab, where they learn how mash bills that contain varying amounts of corn, malted barley and rye give each bourbon a distinctive flavor profile.
Bourbons crafted to let malted barley shine have a rich, nutty flavor that seems to grow more complex from first to final sip. Rye-forward bourbon shimmers with vibrant spicy heat that makes it a welcome fireside companion on a blustery winter day. But all bourbon is made from at least 51 percent corn, the most important grain.
It’s not just the ratio of grains that determines how the bourbon will sit on the palate. The aging process and the char level on the new oak barrel in which the bourbon is aged also shape the flavor.
After a little bourbon education and time to carefully consider their choice, everyone pulls the lever and fills their bottles. They label it, write the proof, and sign it with a flourish, just like Bardstown’s legendary master distillers do.
Some say they will imbibe as soon as they return home, while others plan to save their bourbon for a special occasion. What they all agree on is that You Do Bourbon is a distinctive experience that has made them feel a little bit smarter about the spirit they treasure.
More to See and Sip
With 11 distilleries in Bardstown, it would take weeks to experience all the bourbon tours and tastings, but here are a couple you’ll want to add to your itinerary.
It’s worth visiting Maker’s Mark, a granddaddy of the bourbon industry and a National Historic Landmark, just to roam the vast, bucolic grounds. You’ll learn about bourbon’s not-so-secret ingredient, limestone water, and have a chance to dip your own bottle into Maker’s Mark’s signature red wax for a one-of-a-kind souvenir.
Unlike historic Maker’s Mark, Lux Row Distillers has been around for only three years, but it’s already making a splash on the Bardstown bourbon scene. The Lux Row tour showcases mash bubbling in vats and informs visitors about how Kentucky’s four seasons contribute to world-class bourbon, but the best part is the tasting.
If there’s anything that comes close to being as soul-soothing as bourbon, it’s chocolate. Why not enjoy them together? Chocolate brings out the unique nuances of Rebel Yell, Ezra Brooks and David Nicholson Reserve.
Whatever your bourbon of choice, you’ll find rivers of it in Bardstown. Most visitors return home with not only a collection of souvenir bourbon glasses, but a deeper appreciation for the unique culture and character of this corner of the Commonwealth.
IF YOU GO
VISIT
Dant Crossing
225 Dee Head Road, New Haven
502.917.0200
dantcrossing.com
Heaven Hill Distillery
1311 Gilkey Run
Road, Bardstown
502.337.1000
heavenhilldistillery.com
‘You Do Bourbon’ tour $40, does not include the price of the personalized bottle.
KY Railway Museum
136 South Main Street, New Haven
1.800.272.0152
kyrail.org
$5 Admission
Lux Row Distillers
1 Lux Row, Bardstown
502.337.7420
luxrowdistillers.com
Production tour and tasting $13
Makers Mark Distillery
3350 Burks Spring Road, Loretto
270.865.2099
makersmark.com
Tour $20
DINE
The Kitchen & Bar at Bardstown Bourbon Company
1500 Parkway Drive, Bardstown
502.233.4769
bardstownbourbon.com
Located in the Bardstown Bourbon Company distillery, this establishment serves Southern comfort food.
Old Talbott Tavern
107 West Stephen Foster Avenue, Bardstown
502.348.3404
talbotttavern.com
Scout & Scholar Brewing Co.
112 West Flaget Avenue, Bardstown
502.268.1234
scoutandscholar.com
The first craft brewery in Bardstown also is a restaurant that serves American fare in a casual setting.
STAY
The Homestead at Dant Crossing
121 Dee Head Road, New Haven
502.917.0200
dantcrossing.com/rentals
Bourbon Manor Bed & Breakfast
714 North 3rd Street, Bardstown
502.350.1010
bourbonmanor.com
Jailer’s Inn Bed & Breakfast
111 West Stephen Foster Avenue, Bardstown
502.348.5551
jailersinn.com
For more on visiting Bardstown and Nelson County, contact Bardstown-Nelson County Tourist & Convention Commission, 1 Court Square, Bardstown, 502.348.4877, visitbardstown.com. For information on the Kentucky Bourbon Festival, visit kybourbonfestival.com.