Top 10 Bourbon Distilleries
Bourbon is a US legal category: a whiskey made from at least 51% corn, distilled at no more than 80% ABV, aged in new charred American white oak barrels, and bottled at minimum 40% ABV with nothing added. Bourbon can legally be made anywhere in the US, but approximately 95% is produced in Kentucky. These ten distilleries cover the major Kentucky operations plus a few notable craft and out-of-state producers.
1. Buffalo Trace
Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort is the oldest continuously operating distillery in the US (established 1773). Operates multiple mashbills under Sazerac ownership. Produces the famously allocated Pappy Van Winkle, Buffalo Trace Antique Collection (BTAC), Eagle Rare, Blanton's, and Stagg.
2. Heaven Hill (Bernheim, Louisville)
Heaven Hill is the largest family-owned spirits company in the US. The Bernheim Distillery in Louisville produces the company's bourbon — Elijah Craig, Evan Williams, Henry McKenna, Old Fitzgerald, and the limited Parker's Heritage Collection. Master distiller emeritus Parker Beam is honoured annually.
3. Maker's Mark
Maker's Mark in Loretto is one of the most visually distinctive distilleries — black-shuttered buildings, hand-dipped red wax bottles. Owned by Beam Suntory. The mashbill uses red winter wheat as the secondary grain (no rye), producing the soft, sweet Maker's house style. Maker's Mark and Maker's 46 are core.
4. Woodford Reserve
Woodford Reserve at the historic Labrot & Graham distillery in Versailles is Brown-Forman's premium bourbon brand. Famously uses copper pot still triple distillation (most bourbon is column-distilled). The Distiller's Select, Double Oaked, and Master's Collection define the range.
5. Wild Turkey
Wild Turkey in Lawrenceburg, owned by Campari and led by master distiller Eddie Russell (the third generation in the role), produces the high-rye, characterful Wild Turkey 101, Rare Breed, Russell's Reserve, and Master's Keep. Among the most respected production teams in Kentucky.
6. Four Roses
Four Roses in Lawrenceburg is unusual: the only American distillery to use ten distinct bourbon recipes (two mashbills × five yeast strains) and blend across them. Master distiller Brent Elliott oversees Yellow Label, Small Batch, Single Barrel, and the annual Limited Edition releases.
7. Jim Beam (Clermont)
Jim Beam in Clermont is the world's best-selling bourbon brand. The Beam family — the longest continuous family lineage in American distilling — operates Beam Suntory's flagship bourbon facility. The white-label Jim Beam, Knob Creek, Booker's, and Basil Hayden's are the major lines.
8. Willett
Willett (also operating as Kentucky Bourbon Distillers) in Bardstown is a family-owned producer that pivoted from sourcing to distilling its own juice in 2012. The Pot Still Reserve, Family Estate Single Barrel, and rare Willett Pot Still bottles are highly collectible.
9. Michter's
Michter's Distillery in Louisville — and the Shively production site — produces small-batch and single-barrel bourbon, rye, and American whiskey. The 10 Year Old Bourbon, 20 Year Old, and 25 Year Old releases are among the most expensive American whiskeys in normal production.
10. Westland (Seattle)
Westland in Seattle is the most prominent craft American single-malt distillery — using barley rather than corn (so not technically bourbon, but defining what American distilleries are doing outside the bourbon paradigm). The American Single Malt category received TTB recognition in 2022 thanks largely to Westland's advocacy.
Where will you go first?
Kentucky's bourbon distilleries cluster in three main areas: the Bardstown corridor (Heaven Hill, Willett, Barton 1792), the Lawrenceburg group (Wild Turkey, Four Roses), and Louisville-Frankfort (Buffalo Trace, Brown-Forman, Michter's). The official Kentucky Bourbon Trail and the Kentucky Bourbon Trail Craft Tour collectively cover most. The interactive map shows the geography.