Kentucky Bourbon Trail Gets Starting Line in Louisville

May 9, 2013 – While Heaven Hill’s new Evan Williams Bourbon Experience won’t open in downtown Louisville until this fall, it’s already become the starting point for the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. The visitor attraction has become the 8th stop on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, and will be the first in Louisville.

“This has kind of been the missing link and something we’ve been waiting for for years to happen,” Kentucky Distillers Association President Eric Gregory told WhiskyCast’s Mark Gillespie in a phone interview.

“A lot of people use Louisville as the jumping-off point for their Kentucky Bourbon Trail adventure because they’ve got a lot of things to offer there. They’ve got great restaurants, great hotels, and a lot of other amenities and attractions like the Louisville Slugger Museum and so much more, so to have a Kentucky Bourbon Trail distillery stop right in the middle of downtown Louisville on Whiskey Row to offer an immersive experience is just fantastic – we couldn’t be prouder today.”  

At a news conference in Louisville today, Mayor Greg Fischer noted the historical importance of Louisville in Bourbon history. “Bourbon is important to Louisville, and Louisville is important to Bourbon”, he said at the ceremony in front of the Evan Williams Bourbon Experience, which is located on the “Whiskey Row” section of West Main Street. The Heaven Hill attraction will include an artisanal distillery and Bourbon educational experience for tourists.

Until now, the nearest stop on the Bourbon Trail to Louisville was the Jim Beam Distillery in Clermont, about 30 miles south of the city. The Trail includes seven distilleries between Clermont and Lawrenceburg, home to Four Roses and Wild Turkey. More than 500,000 tourists visited the Bourbon Trail’s stops during 2012.

Links: Kentucky Bourbon Trail | Evan Williams