Bardstown Bourbon Company

Seating here right now and struggling to finish this awful Old Fashioned.
Boring, no tasting, no passion old fashioned! They used to be good when I last visito then back in March/2025
They used to have better old fashioned before. Sad!
Do yourself a favor and order an old fashioned with any other Bourbon and they will make a fresh one, and not from the batch!

This review covers both the bourbon company and the restaurant from the point of view of a first time visitor. However, this is the 19th distillery my husband and I have visited, so we are not new to bourbon.

When you pull into the parking lot, it’s obvious this is a modern distillery. The grounds are well manicured and the glass front rickhouse draws visitors’ attention. We were greeted promptly when we entered and visited the gift shop to purchase a lapel pin as is tradition for us in every distillery we visit. The clerk never stopped talking to her coworker or looked at us while we completed the purchase. There is a tasting bar near the entrance where they sell half ounce pours. We took advantage of getting a flight of 3 collaboration pours and it was well worth the $25 as each bottle represented retails for $150 or more.

Thankfully, the Core Four tour was a great experience. The tour starts with the tasting which is different from other distilleries. We sampled Bardstown 4 origin products before visiting other areas. The tour requires the use of stairs and one room we visited was 109 degrees but we were only there a few minutes. Our tour guide Amber was very knowledgeable and did a great job. The tour ended with thieving from an experimental barrel which was a nice surprise and had wonderful flavor. Our guide compared the thieved tasting to Green River full proof.

After the tour, we decided to stay for lunch. Buyer Beware - if you want to sample a pour, get it from the bar near the entrance. In the restaurant, you get a much larger pour for 4x the price. My husband got a smashed burger and fries and I got a grilled chicken sandwich and fries. The food was very good and the fries were similar to fair fries and delicious, but these meals were overpriced for what they were.

We ended up purchasing the Stave Finish bourbon, which is a distillery only bottle. We enjoyed the afternoon at Bardstown and overall recommend you stop here during your visit to the Bourbon Trail. Cheers!

Bardstown Bourbon Company was a great stop. I love their bourbon and the tasting was amazing. The guys at the tasting bar were friendly and know their bourbon. The restaurant serves wonderful dishes- we shared some small plates and it was plenty. We had Korean chicken and Brussel sprouts and they were delicious. We both made purchases at the gift shop and left happy!

They do not honor phone call reservations at their restaurant. Our group called 2 months in advance to schedule a reservation and were told no one put us down. After the fact there was no consideration to try to remedy the situation other than waiting an hour and a half. Zero tolerance for the way we were treated after. I hope they figure out a better scheduling system as their current one leaves much to be desired. If you have a bachelor/bachelorette party don’t think about this place until they fix their system.

I came for to buy a gift for a friend and I'll be back for some food next visit. They were closed in the day I was in town.

Great place. Very friendly people and great bourbon.

Josh was one of the best tour guides we've had anywhere, really sold us on the distillery and their unique mission and viewpoint, love the local passion.

Ordered surf and turf . Filet and sea trout . I received salmon and a piece of roast which was tough as nails . Not a very friendly group to deal with . I suggest eating elsewhere.

Love me some BARDSTOWN Bourbon!! Stopped by and tried the 4 grain single barrel and boy was it great!!!!

I came with friends for the barrel mixing experience, and we had some food and drinks. Start to finish it was a phenomenal experience.

While waiting for our experience time, we got snacks and drinks in the main room. There were no tables but we were able to sit near the lovely fireplace. I got the poutine which was excellent, as well as a delicious Manhatten.

The barrel mixing experience itself was amazing. Our guide was very knowledgeable about Bardstown distillery's history. The experience took place in their bourbon museum room which has an incredible collection of bottles that rivals the mixing experience itself.

The mixing activity was a lot of fun. We duplicates one of bardstowns own blends from constituent single barrel whiskeys, and then got to experiment with our own. It was a fun environment and everyone had a great time.

I'd come back and do the same experience with others, or happily do the distillery tour as well. This is a must-stop!

BBC is an amazing place to learn about bourbon with an atmosphere of passion for the craft that truly makes you feel special.
Pete Lifton who founded it must be looking down and smiling!
The folks at BBC were so excited to share their experience and Josh did an incredible job sharing his knowledge that made learning easy and fun!
Thanks BBC! I will be back again!

Absolutely loved our time here. Felt like part of the family and the product is top notch. Sam is the best. Girl needs a raise because she knows her stuff. This. Place. Slaps.

We arrived early just to check it out and got in a tour. The tour was great and the guide was good. The campus is amazing! We arrived before the restaurant was open so we got to look around and it was all very clean and well presented. The staff was all amazing and helpful. You could tell they definitely were very customer oriented. Only knocking one star because of the prices at the gift shop. I know they are a young company but the prices for the blends was insane. But hey if people are paying for it why not I guess. I’d like to return in a couple years to see if they have more of their own stuff.

Did a 9 AM tour on 11/21 and my wife and I were the only ones on the tour. Out guide Samantha was amazing and fun.
Facility is great and very modern. Very easy to get to off the highway.
The tour itself is nice to start with a tasting and finish with a tasting directly from a barrel.

Our Friday started with lunch at Bardstown Bourbon Co. The Fries Green Tomatoes were great. I particularly enjoyed the cucumber dip. My favorite Brother-in-law, George ordered the Hot Brown. He said it was tasty. My sister Joy ordered the Chef Special and open faced pot roast sandwich. I can vouch it was really good even warmed up the next day. Sadly the Patty Melt I ordered was not good. The Texas Toast was too much, the cheese was sparse and crispy and the ground beef was dry. They should take it off the menu and make the Chef's Special a regular.

As always the tasting and tour are my favorite of the Bourbon Trail.