In Bardstown, order the Old Fashioned at Circa 1856, where the Chicken Cock tasting room serves a whole flight of them, and learn the Mint Julep at Federal Hill: My Old Kentucky Home State Park runs a $35 julep tour and class. Want to mix your own? Bardstown Bourbon Company’s hands-on Shaken & Stirred class is $55. Then eat the bourbon: glazed pork chops at the Rickhouse, bourbon BBQ ribs at the Old Talbott Tavern and brisket tacos at Scout & Scholar.
The Old Fashioned: the original cocktail
If bourbon has a house drink, it’s the Old Fashioned, and its story is older than most people think. According to Wikipedia’s history, the first known definition of a “cocktail,” in 1806, described spirits, bitters, water and sugar. That’s essentially an Old Fashioned. By the 1880s, drinkers who wanted the drink made the “old-fashioned” way were asking for it by that name; the phrase appears in 1880, and the earliest published recipe is in Theodore Proulx’s 1888 Chicago bartender’s manual.
You’ll hear in Kentucky that it was invented at Louisville’s Pendennis Club. Cocktail historian David Wondrich points out that the Chicago Daily Tribune was discussing “old fashioned cocktails” in February 1880, and says “I think it’s safe to pronounce this myth busted.” Louisville adopted it as the city’s official cocktail in 2015 anyway, and by 2020 it had been the world’s top-selling classic cocktail six years running.
The drink is simple enough to show off the whiskey: bourbon, a little sugar, bitters, a touch of water or ice, and usually an orange peel. That’s why a good bar will ask which bourbon you want in it.
Where to drink one in Bardstown
- Circa 1856 on Court Square pours an Old Fashioned flight alongside its guided Chicken Cock tastings. It’s open until 9 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, per the brand’s site.
- The Volstead Bourbon Lounge, 107 E. Flaget Ave., is Bardstown’s speakeasy-style room for handcrafted cocktails.
- The Bar at Willett serves vintage whiskey and classic cocktails at lunch, Wednesday through Saturday.
- The Old Talbott Tavern’s bar has more than 200 bourbons to choose your base from.
The Mint Julep: Kentucky’s other drink
The julep’s roots run long. The word comes from the Persian for rosewater, and early English juleps were medicine. Wikipedia’s history traces American references to 1770, and an 1803 account described “a dram of spirituous liquor that has mint steeped in it, taken by Virginians of a morning.” Kentucky senator Henry Clay is credited with introducing it to Washington at the Round Robin Bar of the Willard Hotel. Churchill Downs began promoting the julep with the Kentucky Derby in 1938, and the two have been inseparable ever since.
A proper julep is bourbon, sugar and fresh mint over a heap of crushed ice, ideally in a silver or pewter cup that frosts over. It’s a drink for a hot afternoon on a porch, which makes the setting at My Old Kentucky Home State Park hard to beat.
The julep class at My Old Kentucky Home
The park’s mint julep tour and class costs $35 per person and lasts about 75 minutes. You tour Federal Hill and the farm “as it relates to the iconic Kentucky mint julep,” then a costumed guide demonstrates how to make one and you enjoy your own. It’s booked by online form or phone, and it’s set up with motorcoach groups in mind, so ask whether individuals can join a date. The regular mansion tour, where a singing guide performs “My Old Kentucky Home,” runs hourly from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. for $18 for adults.
Cocktail classes
Bardstown Bourbon Company runs the best hands-on class in town:
| Class | Length | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shaken & Stirred | 75 minutes | $55 | Hands-on class, make 2 cocktails; no tour |
| Shaken & Stirred: Brunch | 90 minutes | $65 | Brunch cocktails plus a biscuit with house-made butters |
| Mint julep tour and class, My Old Kentucky Home | About 75 minutes | $35 | Tour plus demonstration and a julep |
Both Bardstown Bourbon Co. classes are 21+ and skip the distillery tour, so pair one with the $24 Core Four on another day. During the Kentucky Bourbon Festival, add-on cocktail workshops with a professional mixologist have run at $85, and the festival’s events page lists them each year.
Bourbon on the plate
Bardstown cooks with the local product, and a bourbon-themed dinner is easy to put together. From Bourbon Manor’s 2026 roundup and the restaurants’ own menus:
| Dish | Where |
|---|---|
| Bourbon-glazed pork chops, hand-cut steaks | The Rickhouse, Spalding Hall basement |
| Bourbon BBQ ribs, hot browns, fried chicken | Old Talbott Tavern, Court Square |
| Bourbon burger, country breakfast | Mammy’s Kitchen & Bar, 116 W. Stephen Foster Ave. |
| Bourbon brisket tacos | Scout & Scholar Brewing, 112 W. Flaget Ave. |
| Bourbon-brined pork chops, cast-iron cornbread | Toogie’s Table, Bardstown Motor Lodge |
The Rickhouse is the special-occasion choice: candlelight, brick arches and about 150 bourbons, open Tuesday through Saturday evenings. For something sweet, look for bourbon balls, the chocolate-covered Kentucky candy, and bourbon barrel cake, which My Old Kentucky Home serves on its candlelight Christmas tours. Our Kentucky foods to try page covers burgoo, beer cheese and the rest.
Pairing bourbon with food
There’s no rulebook, and anyone who hands you one is guessing. A few sensible starting points from Bardstown’s own kitchens: rich, smoky and sweet dishes (barbecue, glazed pork, brisket) stand up to bourbon’s caramel and oak, which is why they show up on so many menus here. Beyond that, ask your server or bartender what the kitchen likes with a particular pour, and taste the bourbon neat before and after a bite to notice how it changes.
To go deeper, the Kentucky Bourbon Festival has run chef-led Bourbon Culinary Sessions ($85 in 2026), including a bourbon-poached pear and bourbon chicken with chef Stephen Goodin and a barbecue-and-bourbon session with chef Chris Williams. Circa 1856 has hosted bourbon-cocktail and ice-cream pairing events for guests 21 and up.
Bringing the cocktails home
The best souvenir from a cocktail class is the technique. Both classic drinks are forgiving at home once you’ve watched them made properly. For an Old Fashioned, the old 1806 formula still holds: spirit, sugar, bitters and water, stirred over ice so it chills and dilutes a little. For a julep, bruise the mint gently rather than shredding it, pack the cup with crushed ice and give the cup time to frost.
Choose the bourbon deliberately. A bottle you bought at a Bardstown gift shop, maybe a higher-proof pour that stands up to ice, turns a home cocktail into a trip memory. Our guide to buying bourbon in Bardstown covers what to buy and how to fly it home.
A cocktail-and-dinner evening
- Start at Circa 1856 around 5 p.m. with the Old Fashioned flight.
- Walk to Volstead for a stirred classic.
- Have dinner at the Rickhouse or, for something more relaxed, the Talbott.
- Nightcap: a neat pour, now that you know which bourbon you like best.
It’s all walkable, and between noon and 9 p.m. the Bourbon Capital District lets you carry a drink between participating downtown bars in an approved cup. See bourbon bars and tasting rooms for hours, eating at the distilleries for lunch options, and date-night dinner if the evening is a special one.
