Buffalo Trace is the best free distillery tour in Kentucky, and from Bardstown it is about 57 miles, roughly 75 minutes, to its riverside campus in Frankfort. The catch is booking: tour dates drop every Wednesday at 10 a.m. Eastern, up to eight weeks out, and fall slots go fast. Pair it with Castle & Key, a restored castle-like distillery with gardens a few miles away on McCracken Pike, and a walk past the State Capitol, which is closed inside for renovation but still makes a fine photo.
How far is Frankfort from Bardstown?
Take the Bluegrass Parkway east to Lawrenceburg, then US 127 north into Frankfort. The whole trip is about 57 miles.
| Stop | Drive from Court Square | Open |
|---|---|---|
| Buffalo Trace Distillery | about 75 minutes | Daily; Sunday from 11 a.m. |
| Kentucky State Capitol grounds | about 75 minutes | Grounds only until about 2029 |
| Castle & Key Distillery | about 80 minutes | Wednesday through Sunday |
Frankfort sits on the Kentucky River, and the last few miles in drop through wooded hills toward the water. Everything in this guide runs on Eastern Time, same as Bardstown.
Why Buffalo Trace matters to a Bardstown trip
Here is the connection most visitors miss. Buffalo Trace is owned by Sazerac, the same company that owns Barton 1792, the huge distillery on the edge of Bardstown with 29 warehouses. Barton ended public tours and closed its gift shop on June 30, 2022, and our Barton page explains why. If you wanted to see how Sazerac makes bourbon, Frankfort is now where you do it.
The distillery itself is a campus of brick warehouses, stone buildings and old industrial lanes along the river. It was named a National Historic Landmark in 2013 under its former name, the George T. Stagg Distillery. It stayed open through Prohibition making whiskey for medicinal use, and Sazerac bought it in 1992 before announcing a $200 million expansion in 2016. Its brands include Blanton’s, Col. E.H. Taylor and, through a partnership, Pappy Van Winkle. You will hear it called the oldest continuously operating distillery in America; that claim is disputed, but the “continuously” part is why the Prohibition years matter so much to its story.
The river is not always gentle. In April 2025 the Kentucky River crested at 48.24 feet at Buffalo Trace, the second-highest level in roughly 200 years of records at the site. The distillery is open for 2026.
Buffalo Trace tours and how to book
All three tours are free, per the official tour page:
| Tour | Length | What you see |
|---|---|---|
| Trace Tour | 75 minutes | The classic walk-through and a tasting |
| Old Taylor Tour | 75 minutes | E.H. Taylor Jr.’s legacy and landmarks on the campus |
| Hard Hat Tour | 105 minutes | Behind the scenes through the full process |
Reservations open on a weekly schedule: dates are released every Wednesday at 10 a.m. Eastern, and the calendar reaches up to eight weeks ahead. For a Saturday in October, that means setting a phone alarm for a Wednesday in mid-August. Our guide to booking distillery tours covers this kind of release-day scramble.
No reservation? You are not shut out. The plan-your-visit page says the gift shop pours free tastings daily without a booking. Parking is free and the lot opens at 8 a.m. Arrive 20 to 30 minutes before a tour, or 45 to 60 minutes early if you want to shop first. Anyone tasting or buying needs valid ID at check-in.
Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. The distillery closes Easter Sunday, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.
One honest tip: do not plan the trip around buying rare bottles. Pappy and the Antique Collection almost never reach the gift shop shelves. The tour is the prize.
Castle & Key: the prettiest stop of the day
Take the Old Taylor Tour at Buffalo Trace in the morning and you will hear about Col. E.H. Taylor Jr. Then drive over to see what he built. Castle & Key occupies the Old Taylor Distillery on McCracken Pike, founded by Taylor in 1887, with a castle, formal gardens and a springhouse that show up in half the photos taken on any bourbon trip. Entry to the grounds is free, and so is the Botanical Trail during open hours.
Castle & Key is open Wednesday through Saturday, 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. It is closed Monday and Tuesday, and all bars close at 4:30. Its Small Batch Bourbon is now aged a full six years. Tour prices change, and booking online has generally been cheaper than paying at the door, so reserve before you go.
The Kentucky State Capitol: grounds only for now
The Kentucky State Capitol closed to the public on August 20, 2025, for a $291.5 million renovation, and it is expected to stay closed until about 2029. The legislature now meets in a temporary facility beside the Capitol Annex. You can still walk the steps and the Capital Avenue lawns, see the memorials and the sculpture garden, and take the classic picture at the floral clock. It makes a good 30-minute stop between distilleries. Skip anything that promises an interior tour.
When to go
Castle & Key is closed Monday and Tuesday, so Wednesday through Sunday is the window for the full Frankfort day. Buffalo Trace is open every day, which makes it the natural Monday or Tuesday choice when other distilleries are dark. Fall is peak season and the tour calendar fills fastest for October Saturdays; weekday tours outside fall are much easier to get. If you have already done a standard tour elsewhere, aim for the 105-minute Hard Hat Tour, which goes behind the scenes through the full process. In a wet spring, check local news before you drive: the April 2025 flood showed how high the Kentucky River can rise.
Where to eat
Frankfort’s lunch picture changes, so plan lunch around your tour times rather than a single restaurant. The practical move on a busy day is to eat in downtown Frankfort between Buffalo Trace and Castle & Key, or to book Woodford Reserve’s Spectacle for the Senses tasting, which pairs five samples with light bites, if Woodford is on your route. Eat something real before the second tasting. Back in Bardstown, our restaurant guide covers dinner.
Build the day
A full McCracken Pike day from Bardstown runs like this: Buffalo Trace at 9 or 10 a.m., Castle & Key by early afternoon (not on a Monday or Tuesday), then Woodford Reserve in Versailles about 20 minutes down the same road, and home through Lawrenceburg. Or keep it lighter and swap Woodford for the Lawrenceburg pair, Four Roses and Wild Turkey, which are right on the way back. The round trip is about 115 miles. The day-trip routes page has the timings.
Three distilleries is the ceiling for one day, and only if someone in the car is not drinking. Kentucky’s rules for visitors and ideas for hiring a driver are on our drinking responsibly page.
