Lifestyle Bays & Bourbon: Pairing Horse Farm and Distillery Tours June 13, 2025 Your best bet when traveling to Kentucky? Pairing a horse farm tour with a distillery visit. Kentucky’s two signature industries, horses and Bourbon, are both driven by a desire to produce the best in the world, whether it’s fast horses or quality spirits. Both industries thrive on the natural resources found here in the Bluegrass State, in particular the limestone that provides extra nutrients to our horses and a unique water for our Bourbon. Both bourbon distilleries and horse farms across Kentucky welcome visitors through tours that give a behind the scenes look at what goes in to producing the world’s best horses and Bourbon. We highly recommend planning your trip a few months in advance, as tickets are likely to sell out. Most distilleries, and all horse farms, require tickets to be purchased in advance of your arrival to the property. It is recommended to book a farm tour earlier in the day than your distillery visit when possible, and always make sure to enjoy responsibly. Don’t worry – there are even more distilleries and horse farms to visit beyond those listed below! Our friends at the Kentucky Bourbon Trail® are a vast resource for all things Bourbon, representing 60 destinations across the state. You can view all Kentucky Bourbon Trail® member distilleries here and all Horse Country touring farms here. If you’re looking for additional guidance in planning your visit, our Concierge team is here to provide insight on places to visit, stay and explore in Central Kentucky. We can be reached at [email protected] or (859) 963-1004. Castle & Key Frankfort, Kentucky Castle & Key’s storied grounds date back to the 1800’s, and are now home to stunning gardens, iconic architecture and of course, great distilled spirits. Best paired with… Closest farm – Pin Oak Stud (11 minutes // 5.7 miles) Nearby farms – Gainsborough Farm (11 minutes // 7.3 miles), Coolmore at Ashford Stud (12 minutes // 8 miles), Airdrie Stud (14 minutes // 7.4 miles) Castle & Key – photo courtesy of the Kentucky Distillers’ Association. Pin Oak Stud Training Center Gainsborough Farm Woodford Reserve Versailles, Kentucky One of Kentucky’s most well-known distilling operations, and the official Bourbon partner of the Kentucky Derby. Woodford Reserve is a National Historic Landmark, and produced its first whiskey in 1812. Best paired with… Closest farms – Gainsborough Farm (6 minutes // 2.9 miles) and Pin Oak Stud (6 minutes // 2.5 miles) Nearby farms- Coolmore at Ashford Stud (8 minutes // 3.7 miles), Airdrie Stud (11 minutes // 5.3 miles), Lane’s End Farm (12 minutes // 8.2 miles) Woodford Reserve Distillery – photo courtesy of the Kentucky Distillers’ Association. Coolmore at Ashford Stud Airdrie Stud Bluegrass Distillers at Elkwood Farm Midway, Kentucky Bluegrass Distillers at Elkwood Farm is best known as a ‘seed-to-glass’ operation, thanks to the corn grown on site at Midway’s first operating distillery in over 50 years. Best paired with… Closest farms- Resolute Racing (2 minutes // 1.7 miles) and Double Dan Horsemanship (3 minutes // 2.4 miles) Nearby farms – Three Chimneys Farm (9 minutes // 5.2 miles) Airdrie Stud (10 minutes // 6 miles), Lane’s End Farm (10 minutes // 6.5 miles) Bluegrass Distillers – photo courtesy of the Kentucky Distillers’ Association. Resolute Racing Double Dan Horsemanship Town Branch Lexington, Kentucky Lexington’s Town Branch Distillery is one of only a handful of joint brewing and distilling operations in the entire world, located just a short walk from downtown Lexington. Best paired with… Closest farms – Hallway Feeds (7 minutes // 1.8 miles) and Keeneland (14 minutes // 6 miles) Nearby farms- Jonabell Farm (15 minutes // 6.4 miles) and McPeek Racing at Magdalena Farm (16 minutes // 5.2 miles) Town Branch Distillery – photo courtesy of the Kentucky Distillers’ Association. Hallway Feeds Keeneland Lexington’s Distillery District Lexington, Kentucky A great spot for those looking to enjoy some of Lexington’s best bourbon, food and fun, the Distillery District is home to two Bourbon distilleries. James E. Pepper Distillery is a historic site, once the largest whiskey distillery in the entire country. Enjoy cocktails or a meal at the Barrel House Distilling Co.’s on-site lounge, the Elkhorn Tavern. Best paired with… Closest farms – Hallway Feeds (7 minutes // 2.2 miles), Darby Dan Farm (7 minutes // 3.7 miles) and Stonestreet Farm (8 minutes // 4.3 miles) Nearby farms- Keeneland (10 minutes // 5.5 miles) and Mill Ridge Farm (14 minutes // 6.7 miles) James E. Pepper Distillery – photo courtesy of the Kentucky Distillers’ Association. Darby Dan Farm Stonestreet Farm Hartfield & Co Paris, Kentucky When in Bourbon County… it’s hard not to have a distillery visit on your itinerary! Hartfield & Co. Distillery sources local grains for its small batch, pre-Prohibition style of Bourbon whiskey. Best paired with… Closest farms – Runnymede Farm (7 minutes // 4.1 miles) and Denali Stud (9 minutes // 5 miles) Nearby farms – BraveHearts Equine Center (16 minutes // 9.8 miles), Gainesway Farm (19 minutes // 11.8 miles) and Spendthrift Farm (19 minutes // 13 miles) Hartfield & Co. – photo courtesy of the Kentucky Distillers’ Association. Denali Stud Runnymede Farm KENTUCKY BOURBON TRAIL® AND BOURBON TRAIL™ are trademarks of the Kentucky Distillers’ Association and used with permission.
