New Kentucky Bourbon Experiences

As Kentucky’s bourbon industry continues to grow, it brings with it new and exciting ways to celebrate America’s native spirit. From bike tours and races to museum exhibitions and visitor centers, Kentucky offers a bourbon experience tailored to each type of bourbon aficionado. 

  • Dueling Grounds Distillery has opened a tasting room in Cave City. The new location, called the Barrel Room, is located downtown, just minutes away from Mammoth Cave National Park. It offers guided bourbon tastings, craft cocktails, and a relaxing atmosphere to enjoy Linkumpinch Bourbon and seasonal releases.  
  • MB Roland Distillerydebuted a new satellite location in downtown Cave City. Cave Du Bourbon is a tasting room with bourbons, ryes, and flavored spirits such as Kentucky Pink Lemonade. They also carry Cajun seasonings and meal starters, as well as Cafe Du Monde coffees and beignet mix.     
  • Buffalo Trace Distillery will open the John G. Carlisle Cafe on its Frankfort campus Spring 2026. Buffalo Trace, the most visited distillery in the country, is opening  the John G. Carlisle Café on the first floor of the Elmer T. Lee Clubhouse. The restaurant will offer fresh, made-to-order lunch dishes including sandwiches, soups, salads and kids’ items, along with a limited cocktail menu featuring Buffalo Trace spirits. The 4,900-square-foot café will seat about 70 guests across indoor and porch dining spaces and will be open to the public without requiring a distillery tour. 
  • Larrikin Bourbon Co. in Lawrenceburg has opened the Larrikin Cigar Lounge, making it Kentucky’s only distillery with both a dedicated cigar lounge and a walk-in cigar humidor.   
  • WhistlePig Whiskeyopened a tasting room and cocktail bar called the Vault. Located on Market Street in Louisville, the location is a historic bank originally built in 1912. The venue serves as a tasting room, cocktail bar, and retail space, featuring interactive activities like dip-your-own bottle waxing. 
  • Heaven Hill Distillery opened its brand new $200 million Springs Distillery in Bardstown in September 2025. The distillery offers a behind-the-scenes Heritage Rising tour. The small-group experience begins at the Heaven Hill Bourbon Experience, includes transportation to the new distillery, behind-the-scenes access, and a guided tasting at the facility’s signature bar. The new facility features 10 fermenters, each holding over 90,000 gallons, and includes its own water pre-treatment plant that converts waste into energy and animal feed. 
  • Bourbon & Belonging  will return September 24-27, 2026. The event is a statewide series of  LGBTQ+ celebrations across bourbon spaces offering curated distillery experiences, performances, and culinary offerings. Hosted in multiple cities, the event will collaborate with brands like Old Forester and Maker’s Mark. 
  • Wenzel Distillerydebuted its newly expanded facility in July 2025. Housed in what was a Packard Automobile plant a century ago, Wenzel features comprehensive bourbon and blending experiences, a new gift shop, bar and event space. The new distillery has the capacity to produce approximately 700 barrels per year,  significantly increasing Wenzel’s production capabilities.   
  • Bluegrass Distillerscelebrated the opening of its new Elkwood Farm distillery in Midway, Kentucky. The new $8 million facility is situated on a 62-acre property, expanding production capacity by over 1,000%. The site, which includes a historic mansion and grain-to-glass operations, offers tours, tastings, pairings and cocktail workshops and will soon open an onsite cafe.Chicken Cock Whiskeyhas opened a new bar, tasting room and shop in Louisville’s NuLu neighborhood at 821 E. Market Street. This new location, which followed the June 2024 opening of their Bardstown micro-distillery and tasting room.  
  • RD1 Distillery at the Commonsopened its doors in May 2025. This $4.8 million facility in Lexington houses a bourbon bar, speakeasy, giftshop and distillery. The distillery offers a variety of immersive tasting and blending experiences. 
  • General George Stillhouse and Distillery[WK1]  opened for business in Grayson County in June 2025. The distillery  takes a “farm-to-glass” approach using locally sourced ingredients, and is a tribute to George Washington who once owned the land in which it is built.  Visitors are welcome for tours and tastings of its Founding Fox Bourbon, vodka and gin. 
  • Green River Distilling Co.opened a 4,400-square-foot tasting room on Louisville’s Whiskey Row in June 2025. The new space features a horseshoe-shaped tasting and cocktail bar, retail shop, lounge, performance stage, and a speakeasy for private events. 
  • Pursuit Spiritsopened a new bourbon experience on Whiskey Row in Louisville. The 7,600 sq ft venue at 722 W. Main St. features a barrel-picking experience, tasting rooms, a cocktail lounge, and a podcast recording room. 
  • LF Heritage Distilling Co. opened the Tasting and Blending Barn in Georgetown. The facility offers  tours and tastings.
  • Kentucky Artisan Distillerydebuted its new Clubhouse Barrel Tasting experience in January 2025  y in Oldham County. Visitors can taste five unique mash bills straight from the barrel, engage with distillers, learn about their craft, and fill their own bottle. 

For the latest information on What’s New in Kentucky Bourbon, visit https://www.kentuckytourism.com/media/whats-new-in-kentucky

 [WK1]Don’t think “&” should come before distillery.