Did a bourbon tasting and tour. Very enlightening to learn about the process and tour of barrels…read moreused. This venue is incredible and will become a solid "go-to" experience very soon. Staff was great and very knowledgeable.

Place is awesome. Have taken a few friends over the past 7 yrs for tours. Tour fell a bit short…read more Did not have the array of beer choices to try and the really sweet guy doing the tour did not teach much about what goes into Bourbon distilling or the history of it overall. Guys in the visitor shop were awesome and easygoing. I think all had a good time but I have been on a number of tours and this was more of a taste test not an actual tour.

After seeing all the rave reviews for this distillery, we decided to schedule a late-afternoon…read moretour, and I'm so glad we did! The property itself is absolutely beautiful, and our tour guide, Cristy, was incredibly knowledgeable and informative. Before we got started, she made sure to go over important safety tips, which I really appreciated. I will say, out of all the distillery tours I've been on, this one was definitely the most challenging physically. If you're bringing older adults or anyone with limited mobility, just keep in mind that there are some tight spaces, steps, and stairs throughout the tour. At the end of the tour, we were led into a speakeasy-style tasting room, which was such a neat atmosphere! Our tasting included several samples, chocolate, and an Old Fashioned. After the tasting, we were taken through to the gift shop, which had some unique souvenirs. We decided to grab a few drinks at the bar and hang out for a bit before heading out. Surprisingly, Cristy was there to greet us again and even gave us some great drink recommendations! Overall, we definitely recommend the experience! Just be mindful of the physical demands of the tour if you or someone in your group has limited mobility.

This place is way too big and touristy for a memorable tasting experience if that's your goal…read more However, the buildings are significant historically and architecturally so it's worth a visit. So big in fact that the parking lot is across the street. It was very crowded. I parked and walked over to explore the extensive grounds. Many of the buildings are old, the castle dating from 1887, with distilling at the location since 1819, with an 18 year break from the start of Prohibition, and an even longer break from 1972-2016. The site deteriorated greatly during this time until the Old Taylor site was restored and became Castle&Key. The castle and several other buildings are now fully restored, with the castle serving as the main visitor area. Inside the castle it was bustling with tourists so I left after a short wander. There are at least three places to sample spirits here: inside the castle building, in a covered bar patio outside, and a tiny stand-up bar in the patio in front of the castle. That's where I went. I chose two 1/2-ounce pours from the 10 available (bourbons, ryes, gins, and a vodka) for a reasonable $4 each and sat at a nearby table. The Restoration Rye and the standard Small Batch Bourbon were both decent but I wasn't motivated to buy a bottle. There's no cell service here but they supposedly have wifi. However it wasn't working and nobody I asked seemed to know why or for how long. Unacceptable for such a large, touristy place. As I said, the main draw is the buildings and the history behind this place. The site was striking architecturally, the old buildings of various types, from the vine-covered stone castle, metal industrial buildings with pipes running overhead, and an old rusting water tower probably no longer used, with any new buildings thoughtfully placed so as not to detract from the historical ones. And the grounds themselves were very pretty, flowers lining the walkways, some formal gardens, a rushing river overflowing a dam forming one boundary opposite the road side. Walk up the road a bit and you'll discover even more ruins. Not part of Castle&Key anymore but part of the original Old Taylor site as well. I love old ruins and found these striking. And just past these ruins is another distillery, Glenn's Creek. Check it out too but beware: it's a very different experience and may not appeal to everyone.

I've done many tours at wineries and distilleries. The Woodford Reserve "Path to Flavor" is one of…read morethe best! Before the tour starts, use the restroom and grab some water or a "neat" sample while you wait....the welcome center is just that, "welcoming!" If you park at the Welcome Center, you'll need to walk back across the street or take the black shuttle. The tour... The grounds include some very old, well-seasoned buildings, and our tour guide gave us all the details. She was personable and knowledgeable, though it was hard to hear her at times, it's worth grabbing a spot up front if you can. What's really cool is that you get to view a working distillery in progress! This isn't some museum, it's the real facility. The "Path to Flavor" is well worth the price, particularly with the informed tasting at the end. If you ever make it on the Bourbon Trail, try this place.

Took the full immersion tour and tasting on a Friday at 11:45. Had Jeremy as our guide. A small…read moregroup we were able to tour the distillery, the barrel house, and even look into the bottling area. The tasting was also very good. Our guide was great, conversational, and you could tell he was invested in us getting to know the process. Also was able to get a bottle signed by the head distiller Elizabeth McCall

This is my second time coming to BG, but our first time coming to the farm / plantation in midway…read more What a beautiful place! The 1800s era mansion is absolutely gorgeous and they have done a wonderful job at restoring it and keeping it as it was nearly 200 years ago. Everyone is always so hospitable and friendly. They have some great bourbons as well. If you're there, look for Tipsy the tuxedo cat, she's probably snoozing somewhere.

I had an enjoyable visit at Bluegrass Distillers. I tried a flight of 4 bourbons, for $15. The…read morebottles range from $60 to $110 so I thought the price was reasonable for 4 1/2-ounce pours. It was actually more than I wanted (there would be more distilleries to visit that day) and I didn't even finish them. The choice of which 4 to sample was mine, assisted by the knowledgeable and patient bartender, and I chose two from their standard small-batch bourbon collection (Toasted Oak and High Rye Blue Corn) and two single-barrels from the reserves: French Oaked and Spanish Oaked. It's interesting what a difference there was between the French and Spanish oak flavors. I started at the bar where the bartender gave me a brief intro to the whiskies I'd be sampling, then moved to a comfortable seating area. I liked the room, with a mix of high tables with stools and upholstered sofa seating areas with throw rugs. Mellow jazz was playing and the walls were adorned with paintings, landscapes and citiscapes. A nice place to relax for a bit. I liked the Elkwood Reserve French Oaked very much and bought a bottle for $110. That's a lot, until you realize that at 121 proof that's equivalent to $72 at 80 proof. Funny math maybe, but that's how I justified the expense! When I got home and tried the bottle it was just as good as I remembered, so no regrets.

Pleasant location with great beers on tap and helpful staff with all your homebrew supply needs!…read morePlenty of parking. Peaceful patio to so a few beers!

Haven't had a good flavored stout in a very long time! The raspberry chocolate stout was amazing…read moreand not artificial at all. Dog friendly and had a lot of brew equipment for purchase! The candlelit flights were the best way to spend Valentine's Day. Highly recommend!

Sophia in the tasting room was Excellent! Kudos Cynthia!…read more We love Cynthia and what she has created at Equus Run Vineyards. We are already planning our next trip there. Larry

We visited Equus Run while spending the weekend in Frankfort. Will was our tour guide and was…read moreamazing - so knowledgeable and passionate about wines and the wine making process! He even let us try a Concord grape right off the vine! The grounds are beautiful. After our tour and tasting, we sat on the porch for the live music and shared a charcuterie board. The wines tended to be a little sweet for my taste but that didn't impact my experience - we got to sample 6 of the wines (our choice) and I did enjoy the Equestrian Chardonnay. It was a wonderful was to spend the afternoon!

Once I finally located the distillery, it was UP! The staff I encountered was really nice &…read moredefinitely knowledgeable. I had a 3 bourbon flight for $15. I also had the opportunity to learn about each bourbon I selected. They have beer so I sampled I couple of those as well. I enjoyed this first time experience and plan to return for an actual tour the next time I'm in Lexington, KY!!

We attended the later tour to see the sunset, unfortunately it rained lol. But it was still a great…read moretime, we were the only two and we got a complimentary cocktail made to our liking. It was nice that the tour guide took the time to see what we liked and make us a cocktail with their spirits. I think it's a very chic distillery and not many of us locals know it's here. It's worth a tour!

Great tour. Good variety of choices. Amazing mixed drinks. Must visit. Great tour guide, high…read morelevel whiskey knowledge.

What are Dark Arts? "Magic, Occult, Mystery, Experimentation, Transformation, and the Unknown."…read moreAncient symbols from alchemy abound here in the darkly sophisticated decor, the beautiful bottles, and on the menus. On the tee shirts of the sharply attired staff. Not staff; "Spirit Guides" is what they're called here. 7 symbols from alchemy have been repurposed to represent the 7 stages of whiskey-making from crop growth to bottling. The menu? It's an astounding 35 pages long, with their spirts classified by the 5 ancient elements Earth, Air, Fire, and Water, and Ether. The Dark Arts theme was played so well it didn't come across at all pretentious. It's all pseudoscientific nonsense of course but all good fun. First off, this is not primarily a distillery. They do some limited distilling but they self-identify as a "finishing house", mostly buying sprits from other distilleries and blend, apply various finishing techniques (special woods, etc.) and age them further in house. I was skeptical when a bartender at another distillery enthusiastically recommended the place as a must visit but I'm glad I did. I had a flight of 4 from their Special Annual Limited Releases section. Descriptions were intriguing. For example the Blunt Blend Volume III: "113.8 proof, 95% rye, 5% malted barley. 8 year rye finished in Armagnac and Madeira casks, built to pair with bold flavors and deeper moods. Pine, manuka honey, toasted oak, and terpene-like depth. Not subtle -- and never meant to be." I really liked all of them, especially the Ripple Rye of which I bought a bottle. 2 ounces total for $13; not bad. Prices in general were very reasonable: most around $7-10 for 1-ounce shots and $12-16 for 2 ounce. I like having a choice. Some higher-end offerings up to $50 for an ounce if you want to splurge. As for cocktails, how about the "All-Seeing Eye" from the Water section: White Port-Finished Bourbon, Chamomile-Infused Honey, Orchard Pear, Fino Cherry, Cherry Bark Vanilla & Bolivar Bitters. Or the "Nocturne Noir" from Air section: Amburana Rye, Crème de Banane, Banane du Brésil, Fresh Cold Brew. As fascinating as these all sound, I couldn't stay here and drink all day though I much wanted to. Instead, I finished with a mocktail, an "Essence Of Mercurial Bloom": Housemade Joker Syrup, Lime Juice, Lemon Juice, Soda, garnished with mint and blackberry. A perfectly balanced refreshing masterpiece. Can't decide? Try a Mystery Cocktail Dice Roll: "Roll the dice and let fate decide your next pour. Each number corresponds to a different Dark Arts cocktail." Or get a flight and let the tarot cards pick your choices. One brief visit isn't nearly enough. So many things to try. And premium experiences like the direct-from-the barrel special tastings. I'm already fantasizing about a return visit though it is 900 miles away from home!