Louisville Region

Today we explored the Louisville area. We stayed at the Cambia Hotel located right in the middle of the bourbon area..

Our first stop was Angles Envy.

Angels Envy Distillery

October 26th 2025

Located on Whisky Row of Louisville, this distillery was an easy walk from our hotel. We signed up for the Single Barrel Tour. The tour group was small as we walked through the distillery. We were given a short history on the man who developed the distillery. We learned that the name of the distillery came from a conversation between the owner and his son. The son exclaimed that the bourbon that evaporated from the barrels (called Angles Share) was a waste. But his father told him that the angles would envy the bourbon left behind. Hence the name.

The tour ended at a tasting room where glasses were already set up for us to taste. We tried two of the single barrel bourbons as well as one of the regular bourbons they produce. The singe barrel bourbons are a limited release. The only way to get one is to bring our cardboard coasters from the tasting with us to the shop in the building. There they would take the coater and bring a bottle for us to buy.

We enjoyed a cocktail in the bar and went to the store to buy some bourbon. Angles Envy had alway been a favorite of mine. The prices in the shop were better than anywhere Ih ave seen, so I purchased a few bottles for myself.

I would recommend taking a tour here and buying bourbon here as well.

Old Forester

October 25th 2025

It was Sunday and we had time to walk more of Whisky Row. We made one stop at Old Forester. This storefront at 119 West Main Street is the same four walls that Old Forester called home before prohibition. It has a very historic feel to it and videos display much of the history of Old Forester. It is considered Americas First Bottled Bourbon.

The bourbon was fairly good and I enjoyed most of them.

It is worth a stop in to see the history and enjoy the bourbon.

Merle’s Whisky Kitchen

After tasting, we stopped at Merle’s Whisky Kitchen. The food was great and the atmosphere was intersting. Would have liked to stay for the live music coming later in the evening.

Northern Region

Old Pogue Distillery

October 25th 2025

Today we head to the Old Pogue Distillery. Our friends own the distillery, so we do have a bias on rating it.

The Old Pogue Distillery is located just west of downtown Maysville, where six generations of the Pogue family have proudly produced Bourbon and rye whiskies using time-honored family recipes. The distillery is situated on the southern bluff of the Ohio River Valley alongside the historic 1845 Pogue family home. The Pogue Family Homestead, which serves as the distillery’s offices, displays many original pre-Prohibition artifacts and is on the National Register of Historic Places.

We had a nice visit with the master distiller and he was able to answer all our questions on the process. He shared a story where they accidentally over roasted the corn. Not wanting to waste it, he went ahead with the process and created a new bourbon. They called it “Limestone Landing”. This is a favorite of my wife. She is not a bourbon drinker, but likes this one.

We tasted it and it was actually quite good.

I ended up purchasing three bottles. One bottle of Maysville Rye, one bottle of Limestone Landing and one bottle of the Old Pogue Master Select.

A great place to sit and enjoy the Ohio River.

It is a small operation, but very intimate. I would reccommend stopping in and trying the bourbon. (buy some as well!)

Augusta Distillery

October 25th 2025

Next we did a long drive to Augusta to tour the Augusta Distillery.

The Augusta Distillery is located just blocks from the Ohio River and city center of Augusta. It occupies the old F. A. Neider Building, an old button factory dating back to 1883. Our tour began with a short presentation on the history of the building and a free Old Fashion.

After the presentation, we were given a tour of the distillery. Everything was shiny and new and they had some fun paddle wheels where the “low wine” from the first distilling come out. There is another paddle wheel where the second distilling “high wine” come out.

We were given a tasting that included “low wine”, “high wine” and two other bourbons. This is a fairly new distillery and they are still waiting to bottle their own bourbon. The tasting also included pairings with different chocolate. The “low wine” was terrible, which should be expected. The ‘high wine” was strong and did not have much flavor. The other bourbons we tried were pretty good. It was interesting how they changed when you tried different chocolates before tasting. I would recommend tasting before the chocolate, then try after the chocolate.

Bourbon Tunnel entrance into Distillery.

This distillery is set up for large part events. The reception area was large and they had a bar with bourbon slushies. We stayed for one drink. My wife had a slushie and I had an Old Fashion. this is the first Old Fashion that I had that had Orange Liquor added. It was not too bad.

I would recommend stopping in for a visit.

Central Region

Castle & Key Distillery

October 24th 2025

We began our tour in the Northern Region at the Castle & Key Distillery.

Castle & Key Distillery is located in Frankfort, Kentucky, on the grounds of the historic Old Taylor Distillery, which was built in 1887 by Colonel Edmond Haynes Taylor Jr.. After the original distillery closed in 1917 due to Prohibition and was neglected for decades, it was purchased by new owners in 2014 who began restoration. The site reopened as Castle & Key in 2018, and the company now produces bourbon, rye, gin, and vodka, with a focus on restoring Colonel Taylor's vision of a high-quality, experience-driven destination distillery. 

Lisa, Laurie, Sandy and myself.

Our friend, Pete Pogue, arranged a private tour of the distillery. Four of us took the tour. Lisa, (Pete’s wife), Laurie (high school friend of my wife), Sandy (my wife) and myself.

Halloween!

It was a beautiful fall day in October and close to Halloween. The distillery had old bourbon barrels carved like Jack-O-Lanterns throughout the grounds.

The grounds were amazingly beautiful. The buildings architecture resemble castles he had seen while traveling in Scotland, Ireland and Germany. He even incorporated a Roman Bath style cover for the spring he used for the distillery. There is also a sunken garden that he made to resemble Windsor gardens that is currently being restored. Many of the buildings and the Roman Bath Cover are still there and have been restored.

The bourbon was very good. We sampled many of the varieties they produces. We even tasted some of the gins they make.

I ended up buying one bottle of Restoration Rye bourbon and one bottle of the Harvest gin. I am a gin drinker and I really enjoyed the gins they make. They make three types of gin, Roots of Ruin Gin (a summer gin with notes of citrus and lemon), Rise Gin (a floral gin with notes of lavender and chamomile) and Harvest Gin (a fall and winter gin with notes of cedar, licorice and other earthy tones).

Harvest Gin

Restoration Rye

Next we headed out to the BlueGrass Distillery just a few miles away.

BlueGrass Distillery

Elkwood Farmhouse

Founded in 2012, Bluegrass Distillers has refined its craft by blending traditional bourbon-making techniques with innovative mash bills, distinct distillation methods, and advanced barrel finishing. The expansion to Elkwood Farm – a historic 62-acre estate in Midway, KY – marks a key milestone, adding a full “seed-to-glass” operation with a 36-inch column still, expanded bottling, and multiple barrel warehouses. Bluegrass Distillers at Elkwood Farm also offers an immersive visitor experience, inviting guests to tour the farm, explore unique production methods, enjoy tastings of their award-winning bourbons and ryes, and participate in a Bottle-Your-Own experience.

Our Tastings

We were given a short presentation on the history of the Grounds and Distillery. They provided a tasting with some unusual pointers. We were told to exhale as we sipped the bourbon. This was not very natural and was quite difficult. It was supposed to smooth out the harshness of the bourbon. It did not work. It was all very harsh and not very smooth.

Tasting Room.

Then we went for a tour of the facility. Since it is a young distillery, they are not able to bottle thier own bourbon yet. To make end meet, they bottle bourbon for other distillers in the area.

Distillery Building

I would give this distillery a pass.