Louisville, KY - The Bourbon Trail

I spent less than 48 hours in KY back in August, but we packed it full of activities. My favorite of the activities was the Maker's Mark distillery tour, which is part of a much bigger Bourbon Trail (not actually in Louisville but an hour or less of a drive away). Something along the lines of 95% of the world's bourbon is made in Kentucky. I won't give away too much of the Bourbon making process, but it's quite amazing. First off, the Maker's Mark distillery tour is completely free (which I really didn't believe at first). The tour guide was so nice and informative. Second off, at Maker's Mark, everything is done by hand in surprisingly small batches, and each batch takes 5 or so years to complete. There's so much science to it, which was really interesting to learn and you get to see all the steps first hand.

At the end of the tour, you get free tastings (if you're over 21) of the bourbon at two different stages. I'm not much of a bourbon drinker myself, but it was interesting to taste it after learning about it. And if you want, you can buy a bottle to dip in wax yourself, which is pretty cool (I bought the really small bottle because I don't intend on ruining the wax that I dipped by opening the bottle and drinking it since I don't even like bourbon...).

If you have time, stop in nearby Bardstown on your way there or back. It's a very cute historic little town. There are carriage rides (though it was raining so we didn't partake in that), adorable old style restaurants and pubs and some awesome boutiques (I bought myself the cutest clutch wallet at Izzy's Boutique).