How to keep a budget on the Bourbon Trail Tour

How to keep a budget on the bourbon trail? This can be challenging! There are so many bourbon distilleries to pick from. To pick which distillery you want to experience is based on your taste, the availability, the cost and the location. All these went into how I picked the distilleries we went to on our Bourbon Trail Tour.

To set a budget you will need to look at the list below:

• Lodging-Find a place that is central. This will help as distilleries are spread out.
• Bourbon Tours-Pick the ones that interest you and fit your budget.
• Gifts-Are you picking up bourbon accessories?
• Bourbon-Can you afford that $70 bottle or is the $29 Bottle and Bond a better price?
• Food-If breakfast is included in your lodging, what are you willing to pay for your other meals?

How I laid out my Bourbon Tours

I had 4 full days to spend in Louisville, Kentucky. I didn’t want to have 4 days of ‘heavy’ bourbon tours. One reason was, that’s a lot of bourbon to drink. Another reason was the tours would blend together in my mind. Lastly, I was on a vacation. Which is why I like to have lighter days mixed throughout. This also allowed for some flexibility.

4 Day Itinerary

• Day 1-Heavy
• Day 2-Light
• Day 3-Heavy
• Day 4-Medium

Lodging:

We stayed at the Inn of Woodhaven. We enjoyed the large rooms, the quiet spaces, the fantastic breakfast and the Victorian charm. It was also in the right place for us.

How this place helped to build my itinerary to save money on gas.

I went to the distilleries that were close. As you can see, the map gave me my 3 days of bourbon tours.

Day 1

From the Inn of Woodhaven in Louisville it was a 52 minute drive to Heaven Hill with a short drive to Willett.

Day 2

Itt took 52 minutes to get to Woodford Reserve.

day 3

Michter’s, Old Forester and Angels’ Envy were all located in the city of Louisville. The drive to the City was 13 minutes.

Day 4

It took 52 minutes to get to Buffalo Trace. From there it took an hour and 16 minutes to get to Maker’s Mark.

Keeping on budget: Building my 4 Day Itinerary

After figuring out the groupings of Bourbon Tours based on location, I began making reservations. To do this I paid attention to the following things:

• What are the days and times the tours are available?
• What is the travel time from distillery to distillery?
• What is the cost for each one you want to see?

Tour Reservation availability and costs

I provide the popular bourbon distillery sites for your convenience. These are not all of the distilleries!

Heaven Hill Distillery $25-$40 Tour experiences range from 45 – 90 minutes. Operations Monday – Thursday: 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Friday and Saturday: 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Sunday: 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Willett Distillery $23.32-$26.50 Difference in price is for military personal. Tour Experience is 1 hour 15 minutes. Operations Monday-Saturday from 10:00 am-5:30 pm.

Maker Mark’s Distillery $26-$200 Tour experiences range from 45 minutes to 2 hours. Operations all 7 days from 9:30 am- 5:00 pm with last tour at 3:30.

Buffalo Trace Complimentary (Free) Tour experiences range from 45-90 minutes. Operation Mon-Sat 9:00am-5:00pm Sunday 11:00am-5:00pm Book at least 3 months in advance.

Old Forester $16-$32 Dependent on your age and military experience. They offer one tour experience. Operation Tuesday-Saturday from 10:00 am -5:00 pm Book 3 months in advance.

Michter’s $25-$100 Tour experiences ranging from 1 to 2 hours. Operation Sunday: 12:30 pm-7:00 pm
Monday- Saturday 10:00 am-7:00 pm

Angel Envy $25-$145 Tour experiences ranging from 30 minutes to 1 hour. Book 3 months in advance. Operations Monday-Wednesday 10:00 am -5:00 pm Friday and Saturday 10:00 am-8:00 pm Sunday 12:30 pm-5:30 pm Last tour is one hour before close.

Woodford Reserve $25-$500 Tour experiences ranging from 45 minutes to 2 hours. Book 3 months in advance. Operations Monday-Saturday: 9:00 am – 5:00 pm Sunday: 12:00 pm-4:30 pm

Four Roses $16-$45 Tour experiences ranging from 30 minutes to 1 1/2 hours. Operations Wednesday – Saturday 9:00 am – 4:00 pm Sunday 12:00 pm – 4:00 pm

The gift stores and all that bourbon!

This is an important place to watch your budget!

gift stores

The gift stores offer their bourbon, glasses, clothing and other things. Some gift shops are small while others are rather large. My favorite gift store was Buffalo Trace. Their gift store is extensive.

I bought a Glenclair glass with the name of the distillery on it from each distillery I went to. In hind sight, I would buy the smallest glass with the distillery name etched into the glass. Why? The glasses with the distillery name printed on the glass will eventually wash off. Why small? Small glasses look full with less bourbon.

Most of them have their gift shop online. If there is something you want, check out the price before you go.

bourbon

You really need to show self control here. ABSOLUTELY know what you want to get before you go! Standing in the gift shop is where you can get swept up in the moment and buy more bottles than you wanted. Some tips in picking bourbon:

• Know what bottles you will see in their store so you aren’t surprised. This will help in the self control aspect.
• Buy the ones you can’t get at your local liquor store. I highly recommend this one!
• You can check out their prices on their website

Food

Breakfast

When traveling, I always look for lodgings that provide a breakfast. That helps with the budget.

lunch

You will enjoy your bourbon tasting on a full stomach rather than an empty one. I do want to warn you that places to eat are hard to find near some of the distilleries. In order to make sure you get your lunch you will can either:

• Find a place to eat each day on you itinerary. This way, you will be able to get a lunch. With all of the bourbon tastings, you are going to need to eat!
• Bring snacks, protein and fruit, with you on your trip. This way if you can’t find a place, because you didn’t look ahead of time, you can eat something.

dinner

The cost for this is all up to you. If you are staying in an Airbnb, you can make your meals, which will help with cost.

The Final Budget (Before any impulse buying)

Add up the costs:

Hotel + Bourbon tours + bourbon + gifts + food = your budget

too high

Make adjustments that fit your preferences.

• Vacation less days: This will cut down on everything- food and rentals
• Just visit the distillery instead of doing a bourbon tour
• Find cheaper lodgings

My Take Aways

• Know what bourbon you want. We bought WAY more than we initially wanted
• Know where to eat lunch ahead of time. We were very hungry many days.
• Buy bourbon glasses with the distillery name etched into the glass
• Buy small bourbon glasses

We had a great time on the Bourbon Trail. It was interesting to learn how each distillery has a different approach on making bourbon.

Check out my other Bourbon Trail tips here.

The Bourbon Trail: The best itinerary for bourbon enthusiasts

Have you gone on the Bourbon Trail? What was your experience in controlling yourself in purchasing bourbon? Share your thoughts with me!