We stopped here as part of the craft trail. Dave, our tour guide, was so fun to talk to. And very knowledgeable on the history of the property. It was interesting to learn about the building having burnt down and rebuilt multiple times. We also got to see an employee quality checking each individual bottle and labeling. I absolutely love the craftsmanship that goes into the process. read more

See all

Very fun and informative tour of the bourbon making process today! It was $10, and the information and spirits you get to sample make it very worth it. Jim was our tour guide, and he was very knowledgeable of the history of this industry, and this distillery specifically. We had a great time! read more

See all

Wonderful craft distillery with a pleasant staff. Carol was a great tour guide that was very informative. Their tasting was unique with us not only tasting a bourbon and a rye, but we also tasted their vodka and rum. Worth checking out! read more

See all

Fun tour of a very small operation. The tasting was very good. The information on the distillery and the area was good. I was surprised by the barrel aged "moonshine". read more

See all

For ten bucks each we had a very entertaining tour here at this very small distillery. Marshall kept things interesting and then we got to try all of their products, from vodka to bourbon with gin and moonshine in between. Husband liked one of their moonshines enough to buy a small bottle. Everyone else swore that their vodka was super smooth but to my palate it was not. This is in the same complex as James E. Pepper, so you can hit up both places at the same time and learn about the history of it all. We also got a "prescription" for a dollar off a drink at the connected Elkhorn Tavern. Which we, of course, used :) read more

Barrel House Distilling - Distilleries Near Me - Lexington, Kentucky

See all

Had a great tour and tasting. Stuck around afterward and enjoyed the bar and atmosphere. Good people and all around good time.

Del was a fabulous guide! He had great information. His storytelling brought the history to life as we toured the facility! We had a great time with the tasting and had to buy a bottle of Dark Shine! read more

Had a great time with our guide Carol who was so sweet! Can't wait to check out their new facility once it gets built. read more

Barrel House Distilling - Distilleries Near Me - Lexington, Kentucky

Friendly... informative .... fun . Tasted almost everything they made. Great drinkable bourbon . I bought some to take home . The big surprise was there blue vodka . Delicious. read more

Great place to take visitors! Jeff, our tour guide was personable and knowledgeable. And ending the tour at Elkhorn Tavern was perfect!

We had such a nice time touring this little distillery. Jim was an excellent guide with interesting history interspersed with humor. I loved their spirits and bought two bottles. The whole thing was also an excellent value read more

When it comes to the tour, it's about an hour long, which is impressive, because you only go into 2 rooms (it's a craft distillery, not one of the big boys), but Del is the bomb tour guide. He is funny, informative and wants to answer any questions you may have. He has some great stories to share and has been in the distillery business for many years. Barrel House is about a 6 person operation, it's small, but they desire quality and want to bring the goodness of bourbon to the masses. The tour is worth the cost if you are big on learning about the bourbon process. If you are expecting some big production you'll be disappointed, this is a great distillery just stating to making a mark and win some awards, it's people that love the industry not the glitz and glamor. It's very cool seeing what they are doing and how they are going about making there name known. They have a really good store with lots of cool items, we purchased the bourbon trail field guide that shows you all the stops on the tail and a place to get a stamp at each location with information about each one, super cool. You can or course by bourbon and lots of swag and even pieces of bourbon barrels. The Elkhorn tavern (restaurant attached to the distillery) is a cool environment, but we felt the menu was lacking, so this is why we gave the review 4 stars instead of 5, there just weren't any thrilling items, to basic for our exploration of the unique. It's a great spot for sure and all the neighboring establishments are very cool is well, the complex has a lot to offer. read more

See all

Great small craft distillery that shows you how you can adapt and take an older building and make it into an inviting oasis. Great job everyone. read more

See all

This place is fabulous! The moment we walked in we were greeted and offered food and drink menus. They broke $20 so I could press a penny. We order loaded nachos and they were delicious. The tour guide was great. He walked us through the tour and tasting. We got to try a whole array of the products they make. The gift shop is onenof my fav carrying the bottle and little things I like to collect. The ONLY down side was they dont offer customized bottle, and I love to customize a bottle, but I never count off on the experience if its not offered. read more

See all

This was the second time I have taken the tour with JI'm. He is very knowledgeable and I wanted my friends my friends to take his tour. The location is excellent as well. read more

We booked a tour for a group of ladies celebrating a bachelorette party on a Saturday afternoon. Arrived early so we grabbed a drink at the (adjoining) Elkhorn tavern before beginning. We were greeted by our host, Jim and had a fantastic one hour tour of the facility. Jim was both knowledgeable and interesting, and held our attention throughout the tour. The tasting portion was a fun time! We enjoyed a sampling of all the Barrel House liquors. Jim was kind enough to take photos of (and with) our group after the tour commenced. 10/10. Highly recommend read more

Barrel House Distilling - Our excellent tour guide, Jim. - Distilleries Near Me - Lexington, Kentucky

See all

This is a craft distillery gem of Lexington in the distillery district. I have known this place since they originally opened and they have really come along way since then. Although it's very small you really do get to know the facility and get up close and personal unlike some of the larger distilleries. If you are able to get Mark as a tour guide I highly recommend him. He gives a humorous and fantastic tour of the distillery ending with a nice tasting of their products. If you like more intimate and enjoyable tours where you can easily ask questions and interact with the tour guide this is the perfect place. The distillery itself small and pretty standard but the gift shop and the adjoining Elkhorn Tavern offer a really nice atmosphere. The gift shop is full of unique bourbon and barrel related items. At the tavern you can order food and enjoy a variety of cocktails with Barrel House spirits. Barrel House is one of the stops on the Kentucky craft distillery trail and if you decide to get a passport and visit craft distilleries across the state, there are some nice incentives as you complete stops on the trail. I suggest checking this place out if you are in the area or a fan of craft distilleries in general. Oh, they also have two distillery cats to greet you! read more

See all

A great craft distillery tour. It was the first craft distillery tour that we took. It was really interesting to see the process on a smaller scale. The guide was super knowledgeable and entertaining. It was great to have the opportunity to try so many different spirits. The oak rum and the dark moonshine were favorites. read more

See all

Tasty cocktails made from the Barrel House moonshine and bourbon next door. Both the Kentucky mule and blueberry mule were great. Barrel House may want to keep this in mind for their tastings. We did the tour and tasting, which was really fun, but didn't care for the straight moonshine taste at all. In a cocktail tho? Delicious! Perhaps consider making some batch cocktails for your tastings instead of just giving it out straight? Could possibly increase more widespread appeal and sales. Just a humble idea from lil' ol' me. Major kudos to the two-man show running this whole place! read more

See all

We booked a tour for 4 pm. Carol, our tour guide, was so incredibly sweet and knowledgeable. She encouraged us to get a drink from the connecting bar for the tour. It's not a lot of walking, 2 rooms with a lot of history involved to learn all about the distillery district. There's a tasting afterward to try the different things they make! read more

This is a great small craft distillery that should not be missed. You'll also be able to visit a couple of other distilleries in the same complex. read more

Close to the end of our (L)ex-ploring day trip, we ended up in the area of our final destination of the day (The Burl for a concert later) with plenty of time still to spare. So we sauntered in to Barrel House Distilling, about an hour before they closed for the day. We didn't particularly want to do a tour so we asked if it was possible to skip it and just do the tasting. Good news! It was totally do-able. I didn't get the name of our tasting guide, but she was wonderful and quite a bit of fun! I didn't love most of their offerings, but because I love trying new and different things that doesn't much matter in the long run. They were out of retail of their Rockcastle Bourbon, so that was sad. But I liked their Big Ass Bourbon (and the chuckle-inducing name definitely helps!). The moonshines were not for me. I am a wuss who prefers the sweeter/flavored/easier to drink shines. Blame it on my northern upbringing. Whateva...I like what I like :-P The bourbons though are pretty a-ok! We received super service! Enjoyed our short tasting session immensely! The distillery is located in a strip of re-purposed factory/warehouse buildings. And while you are here, you can also visit Etheral Brewing, the Elkhorn Tavern for food and cocktails, Goodfellas pizza and an ice cream shop. On a nice, lazy day, you could easily have all your food, drink and entertainment needs met in this area alone. Certainly worth a visit! read more

See all

A great little distillery in the old James Pepper Distillery just a coupler of minutes from downtown Lexington. Take the tour and have some of their Bourbon, Gin, Moonshine, and Vodka. Go next door and have a pour of the Rock Castle limited release Bourbon. Look for Mary to give you a tour and if Jim is in, he's the owner and will sign bottles for you. read more

ONLY MY FAVORITE STOP ON THE BOURBON TRAIL. The craft bourbon trail that is. From the road, this spot looks like nothing. However, when you turn the corner, you'll find a huge parking lot with awesome, creative, hipster buildings all connected: a brewery, tiny chill bar, huge Goodfellas pizza, new ice cream shop, and this rockin' distillery. We asked for a tour and the super personal man at the counter said, "okay here's your tour: there are the spirits, here are the cups, let's try them." Haha! Why not cut to the chase?! He let us try about seven different spirits - the bourbon and rum being my favorite. There is an adorable cat and an awesome gift shop as well. Once you taste the spirits, you get a $2 off certificate for a craft cocktail next door that was INCREDIBLE. We were the only people here and had the place to ourselves. It had an awesome cabin feel, with a log fireplace warming the place up and making it smell amazing. Highly recommend. read more

See all

My husband and I had time between lunch and dinner and decided to stop in. We were visiting from St. Louis. We booked a tour online, went in and immediately felt so welcomed. The woman at the bar area was so sweet. We then went on our tour with a gentleman who made us laugh the whole time. He was so knowledgeable about the making process of Bourbon. At the end we got to have some samples, they were really strong. It was a fun afternoon activity. The atmosphere was chill and the drinks were delicious. If I go back I would try their food! read more

Barrel House Distilling - Distilleries Near Me - Lexington, Kentucky

Whew, this was a stressful place to visit. Not a single mask in sight on July 3, 2021, and there's no way all those people were vaccinated. Eek. I stopped in here specifically to get a bottle of whiskey, of course. We kinda waited awkwardly because we didn't know where to go--there was a bar, and then the little tasting room where a tour was, but we weren't part of the tour and just wanted to get a bottle. I don't know if the bar and the tasting room were connected, honestly... it seems like they must be, since the tasting room is just a little room off the bar/restaurant. But no one said anything to us when we came in the first door, into the bar. After we got into the tasting room area, someone came up to us and let us know the tour was almost over and then apparently we could get one to buy. Once the tour did end, I went to get a bottle (the bottle on their website, some special one they produce, apparently was no longer available... so it's unclear why they'd boast about it on their site when it's been sold out for months). There was a man there who totally ignored me as I stood at the non-register with a bottle clearly ready to pay, and another guy came up and checked out a person who I got in line behind. When it was my turn, the man greeted me and checked me out and all, but beyond saying hello there was nothing more--he was busy talking to other people rather than paying attention to checking me out. The whiskey was good. Strong; too strong for me. I had a glass once and that was it. Someone else finished most of the bottle, and then we left the rest at the house where we stayed in North Carolina for them to enjoy. So the whiskey is good, the service a bit questionable. read more

Great tour. Andrew was great. Proud papa did a great job with history. Loved tasting and I came home with much more than I had planned. Thanks Andrew and congratulations read more

Small distillery but best ever. I love how they ownets run the distillery, still very hands on , and less big equipment and high tech. Super cool! Plus Merideth was a fantastic tour guide! read more

See all

Quaint distillery located in downtown Lexington. Lots of good history shared about this place and how it ties into Lexington's rich bourbon past. There is an attachment bar that is a great hang out as well. read more

Barrel House Distilling - Bourbon tasting - Distilleries Near Me - Lexington, Kentucky

Great tour for a smaller place. Dale was awesome. He made the whole tour. We have done many distillery tours, most have much more to see, but are also led by a boring guide. Dale makes the whole place! read more

Had a great time here! Our tour guide was super. He was full of knowledge and even sampled with us. We learned more than we expected too. Would recommend coming here read more

Barrel House Distilling - Distilleries Near Me - Lexington, Kentucky

It's was kind of sad. Birds inside the distilling room with open mash (really), kitchen staff marched through the tour group, food left on the floor, tasting portions was chaotic and uncomfortable. Most likely would not return. John read more

I've done all but one stop on the Bourbon Trail so I decided to check out some of the Craft Bourbon Trail. Barrel House gives you such a better idea of what it takes to even begin to be in this industry. They're creative and have some inspired product. I was sad to find the bourbon sold out because it was nice and sweet! I'll be sure to check back when in town again. Great friendly people who just want to share the love of bourbon! read more

Barrel House Distilling - Distilleries Near Me - Lexington, Kentucky

See all

If heaven made Vodka it would be called Pure Blue. I stopped in during a visit to my sister. Came in looking for Bourbon and left with Vodka and Moonshine too. The kitty was cute, the people that are running it are awesome and friendly. I didn't have time for the tour. But next time I will! I enjoy a good smooth Vodka. Pure Blue is it!! Now I just need to get a bigger bottle to NY. Enjoying it now as I write this review! Will be back soon, as I also wanna enjoy the libations at the adjacent Elkhorn Tavern. Great product! Barrel House Distillery is on my radar. read more

See all

We took a tour of the distillery and it was thorough and informative, and the tasting pours were generous.

So I did bourbon Rangar relay 2021. The barrel house was one of the distilleries there to share samples. I loved it so much we went to their actual distillery and bought a bottle thank you for supporting us runners read more

This was my first stop on the Kentucky Bourbon "Craft Tour"...by surprise. I had heard of the Bourbon Trail but didn't know until visiting the Barrel House that there is a whole community of small batch distilleries in Kentucky. There is even a nice passport that you can pick up & after collecting all 10 stamps you will receive a commemorative julep cup. Our visit: We walk in, there are 4 people in the tiny establishment, and 1 super friendly guy Chad leading all of the operations. We are kindly asked if we want a FREE tour and told to hang tight until he wrapped things up with the group before us. Perfect, this gave us plenty of time to browse through all of the books, sauces, mixes, chocolates and other goodies while we're waiting in the gift shop. The tour was great! After visiting large scale distilleries it was neat to see the inner workings & bottling methods of a small scale operation. The tour took under 10 minutes. Perfect for those who don't want to spend a lot of time on a tour but want to learn about the distilling process. Tasting: It was also FREE but you could upgrade and receive a free glass and a few additional tastings for $5. With the free tasting you could try their vodka, 2 types of moonshine and oak barrel aged rum. With the upgrade we were also able to try the RockCastle (Straight Bourbon Whiskey) and the Apple Pie Moonshine. I was very impressed with the Oak Rum, the RockCastle and I just loved the Apple Pie Moonshine (recipe on their website http://barrelhousedistillery.com/devil-john-moonshine/). I'm personally giving this review 5 stars because Chad our guide made the experience so much fun. This is a guy that loves what he does and is very passionate about distilling. He has a million dollar smile and energy that could turn any frown upside down. If you don't have fun, laugh or smile while he is sharing about the Barrel House then you must not like puppies or kittens. read more

See all

This is a neat distillery. We wanted to check out the bourbon distilleries in the area and this popped up in our search. However, the place is so new that their bourbon is still aging in barrels and isn't ready yet. They do have rum, vodka and moonshine available now for tasting and purchase. We came on a Saturday afternoon and we were the only ones in the place which was pretty cool. We got a private tour of the facility (free) which took all of 5 minutes as this is a tiny operation. We were able to sample all the liquors that are currently available (also free). read more

This is a very cool little place. The tours are free and the operation is really small, so if you want to see how a distillery works without having to walk very far, this place is perfect. It's past this abandoned building with a gravel lot and only a portapotty as a restroom. Some people would be skeeved out by this, but for me, it only added to the charm of a place that makes moonshine and hand fills and labels all their products. The corn vodka is incredibly smooth and just a little sweet. Probably not the best for a Bloody Mary, but perfect as a mixer with juice or even alone with a little ice. The rum is oak barreled and potent. It is very dark in color and you can taste the oak. Their bourbon will be available for tasting spring 2015, so I think we will have to make a return trip. Purchase from them and leave a big tip! This would be a five-star review if they could afford an indoor restroom. :-) read more

With many Distilleries closed this was a great find! Brian helped us understand the various Kentucky Bourbons. We are from Arizona so while in Kentucky Bourbon is "our drink". read more