Day One

Start at the Jim Beam American Stillhouse in Clermont, Ky., with a 75-minute guided look at bourbon's journey from natural well water through mashing, distilling, and barreling ($8 per person).Next, head southeast on KY-245 for 15 miles to Bardstown (the bourbon capital of the world), where residents have been making bourbon since 1776. Every September it hosts the annual Kentucky Bourbon Festival This small town is home to Barton 1792 Distillery (complimentary tours and tastings) and the Bourbon Heritage Center , part of Heaven Hill Distilleries, which is the largest independent family-owned distillery in America and offers trolley and behind-the-scene tours ($5 to $25 per person). Willett Distillery is here, too (tour with tasting, $7), as is the Getz Museum of Whiskey History, a collection of American whiskey artifacts dating from pre-Colonial days (free admission). With so much going on in Bardstown, it's a good place to stop for the night. The historic Chapeze House offers accommodations, complete with a multicourse bourbon dinner hosted by owners "The Colonel" and Margaret Sue.