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To visit distilleries outside Louisville, drive (or take a taxi or Uber or Lyft), or book one of the full-day distillery tours offered by Mint Julep Tours, starting at $179 per person. Its
various tours — which include both preset and custom options — accommodate from one to 100-plus people (using everything from private cars to buses). The preset ones generally depart at 7:45
a.m. and hit three distilleries, although none stops at Buffalo Trace or Woodford Reserve, two of the most popular distilleries. It’s easy to hit them both without a tour, however (they’re
an hour’s drive east of Louisville off Interstate 64, and just 20 minutes apart). At Buffalo Trace, in Frankfort, visitors get an in-depth lesson on the aging process, and why some brands,
such as the company’s Pappy Van Winkle, cost what they do — think supply and demand and how long they’re aged. At Woodford Reserve, in Versailles, the experience is more serious and
informative. The distillery tour is followed by an intimate tasting with a bourbon expert who guides visitors through tasting notes, such as banana or chocolate strawberry. More good stops
on the trail include Heaven Hill’s Bernheim Distillery, America’s largest independent, family-owned-and-operated bourbon distillery. It has been producing the spirit for more than 80 years.
And if you don’t mind a bit of a drive, there’s Maker’s Mark, one of the biggest names in bourbon, located 58 miles southeast of Louisville, near Loretto, Kentucky. OTHER ATTRACTIONS OLD
LOUISVILLE. Explore this historic area, with its many Queen Anne-, Romanesque- and European-style vintage homes. For a self-guided tour of these residential beauties, download the GPSmyCity:
Walks in 1K+ Cities app from iTunes or Google Play on your phone or tablet (the app also works offline). The tour takes an hour to complete and includes eight properties spread out over 1½
miles south of downtown. You can’t explore the building interiors, but their stunning exteriors still make them worth seeing. THE LOUISVILLE SLUGGER MUSEUM & FACTORY. Watch workers
make the baseball bats synonymous with this well-known company. CAVE HILL CEMETERY. Follow the solid green line to Muhammad Ali’s burial site, and a tribute mural to him with butterflies and
bees, based on his famous line, “float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.”