Your group gets a private vehicle, a dedicated driver, and a full day of distillery visits you choose, with pickup from Lexington, Louisville, or anywhere in central Kentucky.
Custom Bourbon Tours is a private charter service for bachelor and bachelorette parties—your group books an entire vehicle (SUV, van, or motorcoach) and a dedicated driver for a full day of custom distillery visits in Kentucky.
Included in every tour
Not included
Every tour includes round-trip transportation from your hotel, Airbnb, or event venue in Lexington, Louisville, or central Kentucky. The driver picks you up in the morning and delivers you back after your final distillery stop—no coordinating rideshares between distilleries, no designated driver rotation, no navigation arguments. The vehicle is yours alone for the duration, not a shared coach with strangers.
Admission to three distillery tours is included in the package. You select which distilleries you want to visit when you design your tour—Maker's Mark, Woodford Reserve, Buffalo Trace, Heaven Hill, and the other destinations across the Bourbon Trail and off-trail properties. The driver coordinates tour times with each distillery's group reservation system, locks down your slots, and handles any schedule adjustments if a distillery shifts availability.
The vehicle includes a cooler stocked with ice and water. Light snacks are provided. Lunch is not included in the base package, but the driver can arrange sit-down reservations at restaurants near the distilleries or coordinate pre-ordered box lunches if your group prefers to maximize distillery time rather than a full restaurant break.
To secure your preferred distilleries and date, book well in advance—spring and fall weekends fill earliest.
The vehicle is yours for the day. Your distilleries, your playlist, your driver.
Custom Bourbon Tours runs vehicles for 2–36 passengers, and the vehicle you book depends on your final headcount. Groups of 2–6 fit in an SUV, 7–14 in a passenger van, and 15–36 in a motorcoach. You confirm your group size at the second payment, and that number determines which vehicle accommodates your party.
Which vehicle fits your headcount
The vehicle matters for comfort and cost. An SUV works for small groups who want a conversational ride between distilleries—everyone can hear the guide, and stops feel more intimate. A van accommodates groups of 8–12 without feeling cramped. A motorcoach makes sense for groups over 15, especially when the itinerary includes Bardstown or Louisville distilleries that require longer drives.
Vehicle availability depends on your tour date and how far ahead you book. Spring and fall weekends book earliest, so confirming your group size early improves your vehicle options. If your headcount shifts between booking and the final payment, let your tour concierge know—vehicle adjustments depend on availability, but we accommodate changes when possible. Booking the right size from the start avoids last-minute logistics.
Your starting city determines which distilleries you can reach in a comfortable day, and how much time you spend driving versus tasting. We route tours based on actual drive times we've logged across four seasons, not straight-line map distances.
From Louisville
Bardstown corridor, out on Highway 245 and back on Highway 150
From Lexington
Woodford Reserve and the Frankfort district, with the least time in the vehicle
Louisville groups access Bardstown's distillery cluster—Heaven Hill, Barton 1792, Maker's Mark—without fighting Interstate 65 traffic. We take Highway 245 south through Clermont instead of the highway, cutting through Nelson County's back roads where you're not stuck behind RVs every Saturday from April through October. The state repaved 245 two summers ago, but the turn onto Loretto Road still catches drivers off-guard—we slow for it so no one in back rows gets jostled mid-conversation.
First stop is Heaven Hill's Heritage Center, where we park in the north lot closest to the entrance—it's level ground, which matters when guests are carrying bags or wearing celebration outfits that aren't built for gravel. Barton 1792 follows, and their main visitor lot fills early on weekends, so we use the overflow area behind the barrel warehouse when needed—it's a longer walk, but the path is paved and your group stays together. Lunch breaks near Bardstown's courthouse square, where your guide knows which restaurants can seat groups of twelve without a two-hour wait, and which kitchens go down to one cook on Sundays.
Final stop is Maker's Mark, where we park in the upper lot if your group wants the bottle-dipping experience—the walk down to the main building is steep enough that we've had guests change their minds halfway. Highway 150 brings you back to Louisville instead of retracing the morning route on 245, and that return road has two gas stations with clean restrooms between Bardstown and the Bullitt County line if your group needs a stop.
Lexington groups reach Woodford Reserve in twenty minutes via Old Frankfort Pike—the scenic route through horse farms that doesn't add time because it avoids the Versailles bypass construction that's been running since March. From Woodford, it's thirty minutes northwest to Frankfort for Buffalo Trace or Castle & Key, then twenty-five minutes back toward Lexington for Alltech or Four Roses. We keep Castle & Key as a backup option because their grounds stay open when barrel warehouses go offline for maintenance, and we adjust your itinerary before you load the vehicle if closures change what's available.
Morning departure hits Woodford Reserve, where we take the McCracken Pike entrance and park in the main visitor lot—it's the closest to the tasting room and has level pavement, which matters when your group is unloading celebration supplies. Buffalo Trace follows, where we use the Wilkinson Boulevard entrance and park in the north lot near the Bourbon Pompeii exhibit—the main lot closest to the gift shop fills fast on weekends, and the walk from the north side is shorter to the actual tasting-room entrance. Alltech closes the day with bourbon and beer tastings in downtown Lexington, walking distance from restaurants if your group wants to continue the celebration without getting back in the vehicle.
Total driving is shorter than Louisville routes, and Lexington's distillery concentration means we can substitute distilleries same-day if weather or road closures force a change—Highway 60 between Versailles and Frankfort floods in spring, and we take the Jett Road bypass when that happens instead of backtracking to the Bluegrass Parkway.
Not sure which route fits your group?
Share your starting city and headcount. Your tour concierge will suggest a route and lock in the distillery times.
Custom Bourbon Tours allows decorations inside your vehicle — banners, sashes, matching t-shirts, balloons (secured so they don't obstruct the driver's view). Groups bring decorations to the pickup location, and the guide helps arrange them before the first stop. The vehicle is yours for the day, so you can set up the interior however you want for photos or the ride between distilleries.
You control the music. The guide connects your phone to the vehicle's sound system at the start of the day, and whoever's running the playlist keeps it for the full tour. Most groups build a Spotify queue the night before, but you can change it on the fly.
Allowed
Not allowed
Drinking alcohol in transit is not permitted — Kentucky law prohibits open containers in moving vehicles, even private charters. You'll do all your tasting at the distilleries, where each stop includes a guided tour and a flight of 3–5 bourbons. Between stops, the cooler holds water and ice.
Distillery rules vary by property, but these restrictions apply everywhere: no outside alcohol on distillery grounds, no drinking beyond the provided tastings, and behavior that disrupts other tour groups ends the visit. Most distilleries welcome celebration groups and have seen thousands of bachelor and bachelorette parties, but they require the same conduct standards as any guest — follow the guide's instructions, stay with your group during the tour, and treat the tasting room staff professionally.
Most distilleries permit sashes and matching shirts, but Custom Bourbon Tours has found several Bardstown properties require advance notice for full costumes or large props. The team confirms decoration policies with each distillery's events coordinator when booking your group reservation, so you'll know before tour day what each stop permits.
Custom Bourbon Tours accepts payment in multiple installments. Each installment can use a different credit or debit card—the person who books can pay the deposit, another group member can cover the second payment, and a third person can handle the final installment. Contact Custom Bourbon Tours for the deposit schedule specific to your tour date.
Deposit
Paid by the person who books, on their own credit or debit card.
Second payment
Another group member can cover it on a different card. Your group size is confirmed at this step.
Final installment
A third person can handle the balance on their card.
Distillery admissions are purchased at the group size you confirm during the booking process. If your headcount drops after admissions are purchased, unused tickets do not refund—distilleries lock their group reservations at the time of purchase and do not issue refunds for no-shows.
No. Kentucky law prohibits open containers in commercial vehicles, and every distillery requires sobriety for tour admission. Custom Bourbon Tours provides a cooler with ice and water for the journey between stops.
Custom Bourbon Tours accepts payment in installments, and each installment can use a different credit or debit card. The person booking the tour can cover the deposit, another group member can handle the second payment, and a third person can take the final installment — splitting costs across the group without anyone fronting the full amount.
Custom Bourbon Tours handles groups from 2 to 36 passengers. Vehicle options include SUVs for smaller parties, 14-passenger vans for mid-size groups, and motorcoaches for larger celebrations. Your group size determines which vehicle fits best, and booking early secures the exact capacity you need.
Yes. Custom Bourbon Tours can arrange sit-down reservations at restaurants near the distilleries if you prefer a full meal break. Lunch is not included in the tour package price, but your tour concierge will coordinate timing and location to fit your distillery schedule.
Book well in advance for spring and fall weekends to secure your preferred distilleries and tour date. Spring and fall are peak bourbon tour seasons, and distillery availability tightens quickly — some distilleries limit group reservations during high-traffic periods.
Tell us your headcount, where you're staying, and the three distilleries on your list. Your tour concierge handles the reservations, the vehicle, and the route.