The focus of the visitor center is offering customers greater transparency, and connecting and educating them on the distillery's complete process of making whiskey through tours and immersive experiences, according to Bardstown.
Among the tours offered is The Main Event, a one-hour event, and Bardstown Bourbon Company's Best, a 90-minute tour featuring sensory exercises, cocktails and a personal tour from master distiller Steve Nally.
Bardstown describes the sensory exercises as the chance to examine the process, taste how bourbon ages and learn how it is used in finished products.
Mark Erwin, CEO of Bardstown, said "The team here has created an entirely unique guest experience. Our Visitors Experience reflects our core values of collaboration, innovation and transparency. We have crafted incredible tours that engage our visitors and celebrate the art and science of whiskey creation."
Bardstown is located on 100 acres of active farmland in Kentucky, and it produces custom rye, whiskey and bourbon for other brands through its Collaborative Distilling Program. The new visitor center is meant to be an extension of the company, with glass paneling, moss art walls and an open design.
Dan Callaway, director of education, experience and product development at Bardstown, said "The opening of our Visitors Experience is the seminal moment in the history of Bardstown Bourbon Company. It is our opportunity to share our modern approach and to connect with our guests. We are so very proud of our hard work and of what we have created, but at the end of the day, we want to just have fun with whiskey."
Ahead of this autumn’s visitor center grand opening, Bardstown launched two house bourbon varieties in June. The Fusion Series #1 blends two-year-old wheated and high-rye Kentucky bourbons and 11-year-old sourced Kentucky bourbon.
The Discovery Series #1 blends four Kentucky straight bourbons aged between five and 13 years and is limited edition. It also has a Collaborative Series bourbon whiskey that is finished in Phifer Pavitt Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon barrels.
Bardstown said, “We are the first NapaValley style destination on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail to combine distilling, culinary, and beverage expertise to create a modern, authentic bourbon experience.”
The Bottle & Bond Kitchen and Bar is the only full-service restaurant on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, according to Bardstown, which is surrounded by stacks and rows of Kentucky bourbon barrels. Customers can book tours in person or online on the Bardstown website.
