Great bourbon experience. Our hostess was very knowledgeable and very cheerful. The bourbon was of high quality. I really liked the blend your own option as well. Place was clean and well organized. You could watch your custom bottle being blended. Over all a highlight of our bourbon experience in Louisville. read more

Owned and operated by Hillerich & Bradsby (the originators of Louisville Slugger and still the exclusive manufacturers of the bats), the Big Bat Bourbon distillery and tasting room was rebranded to its current name (originally Barrels and Billets) on opening day of the 2026 MLB season. Even though the Louisville Slugger name and company is now owned by Wilson Sporting Goods, H&B still owns and operates the factory and museum next door. They just can't use the name for this distillery. My wife and I were in Louisville visiting, and I had prebought a combo ticket (Louisville Slugger tour and Big Bat Bourbon tasting) for $50 each adult on their website (normal cost is $35 for the tasting so saved a little money). The first tasting was at 11 am, which is when it opened (so the request to come 10 minutes early doesn't really make sense). If I had to do it over (and had more time), I would have scheduled it for after lunch. The business consists of a bar and a back room which was set-up for tasting. A bourbon mixing kit had been laid out in front of us. There was only one other group besides us, so had plenty of space. The session was led by a certified bourbon professional. We first started by ranking each of the six whiskeys by sampling them straight. This allowed us to know what our preferences were. There was also a simple website accessible from your phone, that would ask you some questions, and then suggest a combination to begin with, which is what we did. The idea was to take different amounts of 6 different types of bourbon, mix it together, to produce your own custom blend that you liked. Water was provided to rinse both our mouths and the little spoons). We had time to try six different combinations (the guide did confirm that she could not refill any of the shot glasses if we used one up). That being said, I didn't come close to using any of them up. The remaining whiskeys were all mixed together to see what it tasted like. If you liked a mix well enough, you could order that custom blend in your own customized 750ml bottle, watching it being made. My wife liked her concoction so we ordered a bottle ($55) for her. I really liked the idea of mixing your own bourbon as a party game, so bought the take home kit for $74.95, to be used later. Both were paid at the gift shop, then the custom bourbon is put in a single queue for 'manufacturing'. It was neat seeing it being made, and my wife now has a nice (drinkable) souvenir for our visit. The experience took about 90 minutes and it was a lot of fun. read more

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Price... 10/10 Service... 10/10 Experience... 10/10 This unique Louisville experience allows the guest to create their very own flavor of bourbon using a mixture of different flavors/barrels. This hour long adventure dives into the unique facets of bringing out the flavor of bourbon. Fear not, your flavor will be saved for the next two years! You can pick up your flavor for $50 a bottle. The staff are incredibly helpful. We walked in and wanted to move up our experience by 24 hours. The team was very helpful and able to accommodate us. read more

Big Bat Bourbon - Distilleries Near Me - Louisville, Kentucky

I went to Louisville with three other women...none of which are really bourbon drinkers! So, to start our bourbon experiences in town, we stopped at Barrels & Billets...and I loved that they had cocktail flights. It was a great, easy way to get the other girls started on their own bourbon journeys. It seems like the cocktails change seasonally, which is fun - I personally really enjoyed the lemon drop, but there was not a bad sip in the bunch! Additionally, I enjoyed that we were able to walk-in (while they do have more extensive experiences you should probably book in advance). read more

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If you're visiting Louisville and want a fun bourbon tasting experience, sign up for this. It's informational, fun, you get to do some bourbon sampling, and even make your own bourbon blend and buy it. Which I did and my dad's going to be getting a super cool Christmas present now. It's a fun vibe in here and they even have a bar you can sit at after doing the tasting experience, I'll for sure be back to make some more bottles! read more

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Fun experience to create your own blend. I made one to commemorate my time in Louisville and one as a gift for a friend. Go to the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory Tour next door and then go make a blend. Perfect afternoon! read more

Came here as part of the our tour at the Louisville Slugger Museum and store ( next door); what a great concept, as the Hillerich & Bradsby Co. made both ( along with other items). Boston led our bourbon tasting, complete with lecture on history, production, prohibition, taste, etc. very mmm Although not my first tour, it was informative and interesting, and Boston was engaging and fun. Personally I don't like bourbon, so I was there in support of my husband (!!) who got to enjoy my drinks. Part of this tasting is the ability to blend your own. which he did ( and purchased). They also sell tour and bourbon related clothing, stickers, etc. Great experience! read more

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As a bourbon lover, this place rocked. We took the class on blending bourbons and had a ball. The bourbon was delicious and we could experiment. There is little point in listing the items in the store, but I will concentrate more on the blending experience. I'm not sure how much of that is on their website. Both the greeter and instructor were wonderful people. Greeting us was a young lady who joyfully asked if we were there for the class, tasting or to shop. A bourbon lover herself and a former advertising person, she was bubbly and full of information. In short, we got six bourbons, all of the same recipe but aged differently. There were three ways to complete your blending experience, You could fill out a survey and the app would return a recipe it thinks you would like. Or, you could use printed suggested recipes or branch out on your own creative journey. Since the do not ship, I will be back. My adults sons and I would have some fun with their "home game" kit. After they find their favorite blend, I can take their recipe back there and they will blend, on the spot, your custom blend and label it with your design on the label. The lady also introduced us to the "Urban Bourbon Trail" in the city I can see a hotel stay and other activities. Only four of us occupied a large, well, lit classroom. I liked the view of the street through the big windows. In the show room, everything was neat, well organized and clean. read more

Barrels 7 Billets is located right next door to Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory (and found out that they are owned by the same company). What brought my husband and I to this business this afternoon was a $5 coupon that we received from Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory (we were given the coupon right after our tour). And being that we are in Kentucky, we decided it would be fun to try a bourbon tasting (but the $5 coupon also works on a tour, retail items, etc). We walked in around 1:45 pm and were greeted by the 2 employees behind the table, right by the entrance. We were seated at a table. After looking over the tasting menu, we ended up choosing: Bourbon Tasting, $15 prior to tax- My husband opted to do the tasting. He picked Lucky Lumber, Timeless Timber, Night Flight and custom bourbon. You can answer 13 questions online (just scan the QR code) and then you will get a customized taster. My husband liked the lucky lumber, which is supposed to be "easy drinking" but I thought it was horrible. My husband didn't like the Timeless Timber as much and thought the wood flavor was too strong and didn't complement the bourbon well. But he did like the Night Flight and thought the smoke flavor went with the bourbon. And he also did like the customized bourbon. You also have the option of buying a bottle of your customized bourbon for $55. 4 Mini cocktail tasting $15 prior to tax- I opted for the cocktails. Surprisingly I really liked the first one, the Rise and Shine, which has coffee. I actually do not like coffee but I did like the hazelnut flavored creamer in this first cocktail and would love just a large glass of that. I also liked the next one, the gingy sour. The flavors were very nice and light. The Nutty Batter was my least favorite, which was made with the Lucky Lumber. I thought the cocktail was just too strong in flavor and didn't really enjoy any of the things mixed in it together. Marry Me Watermelon is made with their in house made vodka. I didn't like this as much but I would still probably drink a glass of this. ------------------------------ (Total= $21.20 after tax + after discount) You can get your own water. Service was friendly and the employee who poured our tasters was friendly. She checked up on us twice to make sure we were okay. There are 2 unisex restrooms. I only used one of them, in which it was clean and adequately stocked with the essentials. Overall, we had a great experience and would recommend to anyone wishing to have a bourbon tasting. You can also do a tour with a customize bourbon bottle, which is $55. read more

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My dad requested the bourbon blending class as a belated Father's Day gift and activity on a recent visit to town. So...we booked it! This is a fun, gimmicky activity. It is slightly more expensive than even the more expensive bourbon distillery tours and tastings, but the samples are bigger and there are more of them. And this is to facilitate your personal blending experience. You start with a quick (very quick) rundown of the history of bourbon, what makes a bourbon, and what bourbon you are working with. Then you are basically set free to play with your own blending recipes. Their bourbon is not my favorite and is on the lower-proof end of where bourbon comes to...but getting to blend your own, make your own flavor profile, it a lot of fun! And at the end, you can choose to have your recipe made and bottled, on site and at that moment, to buy and bring home. You get to name it yourself and the label is also personalized in real time. Certainly not for everyone and much more individual than other tours and tastings, but it is different and a lot of fun! read more

Amazing! Fantastic! Delicious! I don't have the words to describe how amazing this was. We thought we were going for just a tasting, but no, it was a blending. We learned how to take different bourbons to make one bourbon. Oh it was so fantastic. I was able to create six different types, and liked five of them. The bonus, I could then buy a bottle of my creation, amazing! You must go! read more

Big Bat Bourbon - Bourbon tastings. - Distilleries Near Me - Louisville, Kentucky

We came in here on a Saturday evening with reservations at about 630. I was really excited to try here and make your own bourbon. I thought it was a very interesting and fun idea. We got to go in there and taste their own bourbons, and they were all really good. I must say. Our presenter that walked us through the history of it was fun and delightful. And we are really excited to make our own. We bought a bottle to take home to try as well and it's good, I would recommend this place read more

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Place was a lot of fun and making your own bourbon was great. Mixing the Smokey and wood flavors to create your own flavor. The folks were well versed in bourbon and fun to listen too. read more

Big Bat Bourbon - Distilleries Near Me - Louisville, Kentucky

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Fun place! It's part of the slugger museum, but with a bourbon twist. This is how it goes. You get an introduction to the history of bourbon. Then samples of different finishes and make your own bourbon mix. Super friendly staff and we totally enjoyed the experience. read more

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Barrels & Billets was very cute and the bourbon wasn't too shabby either. The real draw here seems to be customized bottles but we settled on the bar tasting experience! This included the three bourbons they offer and three cocktails made with each bourbon. It was a good deal at $25. The woman who helped us mentioned that the bar experience was new and requested feedback on the cocktails which my group really appreciated; we stan people that want honest feedback in order to improve! My favorite was the Lucky Lumber followed by the Smokin' Fastball. If you're a scotch drinker, its NOT that, but has more smoke than typical bourbon so you may enjoy it. Not a lot of seating but a fun way to spend an hour to two. read more

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I wanted to like Bourbon and Billets, but the bourbon had a noticeably harsh finish and the flavor quality didn't stand out. The presentation felt like a slide show instead of real storytelling, which took away from the experience. Being in Kentucky, the bourbon capital, I expected a high quality experience that reflected local passion and heritage. I preferred other tasting rooms in the city that offered higher quality product, more authenticity, and a clearer connection to Kentucky bourbon culture. read more

This place was awesome. As a baseball fan I had to drop by. Their location right by the Louisville Slugger museum was convenient. The staff was incredible and made the tasting a fun experience. The bourbons were smooth and tasty. The history was really cool to listen about from the staff. read more

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For bourbon aficionados, this is a fun few hours. The experience starts with a setup of 6 shot glasses filled with straight Kentucky bourbon distilled in various wood barrels. The whiskey in each shot glass has a unique flavor and we get to blend any combination into 3-4 mixes. If you hit a formula you like, they can mix it to scale and you can purchase a bottle with your custom blend and personal label. Not advanced mixology, but for novices, this is a fun few hours. read more

Big Bat Bourbon - a clock on a wall - Distilleries Near Me - Louisville, Kentucky

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Lovely distillery! While waiting for your bourbon tasting they offer these delicious flights. The experience is well worth it, and you get to have a customized bourbon at the end. read more

Big Bat Bourbon - Bourbon Flight - Distilleries Near Me - Louisville, Kentucky

After visiting the Slugger museum, you have to stop by here to do a tasting and create your own customized bottle of bourbon ! It makes for a unique memento that can be shared with friends and family, or not. Along with your customized blend, they'll also create a label to go on your bottle. Service and ambiance was also great! read more

Big Bat Bourbon - Custom Blend in progress... - Distilleries Near Me - Louisville, Kentucky

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I wanted to give 5 stars because AMY (the employee that met us at the front door) was so engaging and friendly, she made this visit memorable. She encouraged us to consider the tasting options and we opted for the 13 question questionnaire and allowed a computer to CRAFT a custom 1.5 drink. Now that was cool! The bartender, the bearded bartender, however was lackluster at best. It was clear he was not as enthusiastic as the other employees. He had to WARM UP before he became engaging. read more

Big Bat Bourbon - This is the first distillery I have visited (and I have been to 8) that offered a flight cocktail! - Distilleries Near Me - Louisville, Kentucky

So looking for a neat tasting place? This place lets you create your own bourbon! Answer 13 questions and it will give you a personal blend. Fun! read more

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Okay this place is pretty freaking cool, I'm sad we didn't get to do the whole experience, but will definitely have to put it on our list for next time. You want in and there's a couple options - either sign up for the custom bourbon class, or go straight to the bar. The custom bourbon glass looks awesome, they bell you blend exactly what you want! The bar has a couple options - either order a flight (bourbon or cocktails), we did one of each and they were both great and super affordable. OR you can take a quiz and input the results into this really cool machine they have which will make you a glass of bourbon custom to your tastes. We didn't try this, but were definitely interested, it looked super cool. Very unique, niche spot in the perfect area on whiskey row! Would highly recommend a stop in for a cool experience, regardless of your budget or what you want to do. read more

Big Bat Bourbon - Distilleries Near Me - Louisville, Kentucky

Located on Museum Row in Downtown Louisville sits Barrels and Billets. My friend and I were killing time before Summer Beerfest at Frazier, we decided to come in here and do some exploring. The place was hopping and we were curious. The gift shop is in the front and there is a tasting room in the next. We were too late for a tour and tasting so we proceeded to go to the bar area and browsed a menu. We got a bourbon flight and a cocktail flight. The cocktail flight was actually pretty interesting. My friend liked the fruit punch one the best. And while striking up a conversation with the bar tender, I asked if they were in the bourbon trail book because I forgot my book, luckily they aren't in there, we had been told they just opened early 2022 and been signing the back of the books. We would love to come back and go on a tour and do some tastings. We appreciate the staff being very accommodating to us despite being very busy at the time of our visit. We will definitely be back. read more

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Being a bourbon nerd, as soon as I heard about Barrels and Billets I wanted to try it . So when my son had the weekend off from the Air Force, we headed over to check it out. The experience is well planned and thought out. When you enter the venue an enthusiastic greeter is there to explain how everything works. Even before you begin blending bourbons, you can answer a 13 question survey using your phone and have a custom blended bourbon made for you. The bourbon blending application did a very good job of blending a bourbon as I had described it by the answers I gave. The bourbon blending experience was a lot of Fun . I blended about 6 different bourbon profiles, one or two was good ... at least one was bad .... The presentation is a video, which while it is very well done, I prefer a person . After you get your recipe correct you can have them create a bourbon blend to your speciations, bottled and have a personalized label put on the bottle. Barrels & Billets gave me an even deeper appreciation for the master distillers that give us great bourbon barrel after barrel. read more

Big Bat Bourbon - Bourbons for blending - Distilleries Near Me - Louisville, Kentucky

My family took me to Barrel and Billets for Fathers Day. The experience was great. You get a short history of bourbon and the role Hillerich played in it. The you get to sample six different types of bourbons to get an idea of what flavor profiles you like. You then get to blend these to try and get the one that is right for you. There are recipes you can blend or go online, answer 12 questions for a blend that attempts to create a recipe to your liking. You can then buy a bottle of your blend and your own label name. read more

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Montana was an amazing host during our recent visit! Our friends visited and raved about it. We tried getting a same day tour and tasting but everything was sold out online. Motivated by the awesome referral, we decided to walk over and try our luck. To our amazement, we were welcomed for a walk in "Flight School" tasting. We learned so much about the history of bourbon, the differences between whiskey and bourbon and what baseball and Barrels and Billets have in common. We left enjoying very tasty bourbon and excellently curated cocktails - all for only $25! We'd highly recommend adding this stop to your next Louisville experience. read more

Big Bat Bourbon - Distilleries Near Me - Louisville, Kentucky

Organize your tour ahead of time for sure. The day we visited they were well staffed but they seemed to have the blahs, no one was terribly friendly or engaging. It's a great stop for a tasting and a custom bottle to take home or as a gift which we opted for. The bourbon cream is not for sale but the sample on the flight will make you want to buy it. read more

Big Bat Bourbon - Sampler - Distilleries Near Me - Louisville, Kentucky

What a fun birthday gift. My daughter took me here so we could blend our own bourbon. Instructions were easy, host was friendly, knowledgeable and fun. The blending class is one fee $35 and then you can buy your own bottle of a blend you created for an additional money. They create your own custom label too. A little pricy when I don't care for bourbon, but my daughter said I had to have it as a memento. But we had such a fun time. Don't forget to tip the host. read more

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We came here while in town and tried the $25 tasting. Bourbon tasting plus 3 cocktail tasting with their bourbons. I thought that was a great deal for the amount of liquor you are drinking. We should have ate beforehand but that's another story We had Montana for our tasting and she was fantastic!! She really knew her history and bourbons. Highly recommend you request her if you're going. The tasting was great and my favorite bourbon on hand was the lead off. You also have the option to make your own bourbon for a fee. The room isn't that big if you are there on a weekend. They do have a private room, but of course you have to book that in advance. You stand at the bar area for the tasting so just be aware of that. The bar area does have an outlet to charge your phone. So I thought that was a plus because my phone was dying. Parking was on the street and down the road if you drive, but we walked from our hotel. Overall we had a great experience and would definitely come again! read more

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Sounded like a fun idea, and it really is, but the bourbon was garbage and the woman behind the counter was not at all welcoming or friendly. She really made us feel lije we were putting her out by being there. As for the tastings, both of us could only smell and taste what we could only describe as plastic. Any flavor that did come through was just a cheap flavored bourbon vibe. Not good. I would definitely not recommend it read more

A fun introduction into Bourbon. You get a brief history on Bourbon, taste samples designed to illustrate flavor profiles, and then blend your own! It isn't high quality Bourbon (of which Louisville and Kentucky have plenty) but it gives you an idea of how "wood" impacts the flavor. I wanted a good Bourbon for my Old Fashioneds and I nailed it! This isn't for the Bourbon Connoisseur, it's for those looking to have fun while getting an introduction to Bourbon. It is next door to (and common ownership with) Louisville Slugger. It is a convenient way to check two items off the "Louisville tourism list." read more

Montana was an awesome guide for our whiskey making experience! She was a lot of fun and proud of Kentucky Bourbon. Very patient with 4 guys from LA! Such an individual experience to try and make your own whiskey blend. I barely touched the Smoked oak and I thought I made a nasty peated scotch whisky. This experience confirmed what I love about bourbon and what I truly dislike in my glass. They will keep the recipe you create so you can order more bottles later. Rachel at the counter also was a great host. read more

Very fun experience with a significant other or group of friends! We did the custom recipe experience. They walk you through each sample and give suggestions of profiles that taste best together. At the end we were able to create our own unique bottles to take home. Unique idea! read more

Big Bat Bourbon - Bourbon tasting & creating flight - Distilleries Near Me - Louisville, Kentucky

Touring the factory was great- the time you wait beforehand is the best part though- getting to look at memorabilia from years ago was great. Also, making your own blend of bourbon was a cool really experience. read more

Stopped in before eating some lunch and was greeted by Teagan. Since I hadn't eaten, we asked her for a recommendation, which she gave without hesitation, Mussel and Burger Bar. Great recommendation. After lunch, she was great at answering questions and did a great job with the flight I tried. I'm fairly new to bourbon, but I did enjoy trying their brand. I'd come by if I'm ever in Louisville again. read more

What a wonderful experience for our birthday boy Steve. I love Louisville and it fits next to the Slugger Museum very well!! My friends enjoyed themselves to the mostest and went to Slugger store next store as well!! Thank you thank you thank you read more

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The experience was great. There was an introduction about bourbon and whiskey but the fun came in the mixing. There is a tray with 6 bourbons and water. They have you taste each one individually and then you have 15 minutes to play around with different mixes. You can purchase your personalized bottle for $50 which is reasonable for a solid bottle of whiskey. read more

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What a fun time. Very different from most tasting I've did. You walk through a history lesson, custom sampling and can make your own special bourbon at the end. Fun. Ami with an "I" is awesome. read more

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Drinks are extremely tasty. The staff is very attentive and willing to inform you of what they've got going on. It's like wooden distillery. It's different, interesting, and welcoming all at the same time. You've got liquors and bats just like the name states. A very chill, and relaxed atmosphere. A must visit when in the area. read more