Three Distilleries by Bus, Then the Van Winkle Family Shop
A guided Thursday bus day from Louisville to Rabbit Hole, Bulleit and Buffalo Trace, with lunch and the Van Winkle family shop.
Mint Julep Experiences sells several fixed weekly bourbon routes out of downtown Louisville, and this is its Thursday one. A guide travels with the group by bus to three distilleries in three towns: Rabbit Hole in Louisville, Bulleit Distilling Co. in Shelbyville and Buffalo Trace in Frankfort. A fixed-menu local lunch comes along the way, and the day ends at Pappy & Company, a Louisville shop founded by the great-granddaughters of Pappy Van Winkle.
Distillery admission fees, lunch and bottled water are part of the booking. Gratuities are not.
As of October 30, 2026, the listing sells this route on Thursdays only, leaving at 8:45 AM, with dates through February 2027. Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve are blocked. New Year's Eve is on sale.
Buffalo Trace, Bulleit, Pappy & Co. and Rabbit Hole Bourbon TourMint Julep Experiences · About 9.5 hours · Thursdays from the Omni Louisvillewww.viator.comA Premium Tasting at Buffalo Trace
Buffalo Trace is the stop built around a tasting. The listing gives it an hour and describes a premium tasting of exclusive bourbons, and the operator's own route page also calls it a premium tasting. Rabbit Hole and Bulleit are the two stops sold as a tour and tasting.
The distillery posts Monday to Saturday hours of 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM and closes on Easter Sunday, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year's Day. Those closures line up with the two Thursdays the listing has blocked. One traveler on this listing describes a quick extra tasting at a small distillery next door to Buffalo Trace, a bonus that is not part of the booked route.
Tours and Tastings at Rabbit Hole and Bulleit
Rabbit Hole, on East Jefferson Street in Louisville, and Bulleit's visitor experience in Shelbyville each get 90 minutes for a tour and a tasting. The listing calls Bulleit's bourbon bold and spicy and credits Rabbit Hole with an innovative approach to bourbon-making.
One traveler on this listing put the drives between distilleries at about 45 minutes each. In a September 2026 review of this listing, another traveler reported a Bulleit tasting without the scheduled tour.
Lunch on the Road, Then the Van Winkle Family Shop
Lunch is a fixed menu at a local restaurant the listing does not name. Travelers who named this route's three distilleries in 2024 and 2025 described lunch at Limewater in Frankfort, and one reviewer of this listing called the included lunch high end. The listing's checkout has a special-requirements field, the place to flag a food allergy before the day.
The last stop is Pappy & Company on East Market Street, which the operator describes as a Pappy-themed retail boutique owned and operated by the Van Winkle family. The listing allows 30 minutes there to browse its goods. No tasting is listed at Pappy & Company; it is a shopping stop.
Who Can Book, and What to Bring
The listing's one age band covers travelers from 12 to 100, all at a single per-person rate. Tasting is for 21 and over, and the operator asks anyone who plans to drink to bring a valid ID. Its booking notes ask for closed-toe shoes and casual dress, and they allow a cooler of 12 by 12 inches or smaller, with snacks and drinks, on the bus. The vehicles are non-smoking.
Gratuities are extra, and the operator suggests 15 to 20 percent. The listing marks the day as suitable for all physical fitness levels, while the operator's FAQ describes a moderate amount of walking through distillery grounds, inside the facilities and to and from the tasting areas. The operator's public-tour page warns that some experiences involve stairs and uneven surfaces, and some venues have limited accessibility. The listing does not confirm wheelchair access for this itinerary.
🗺️ Check in at the Mint Julep Hub in the Falls City Market at the Omni Louisville Hotel, downtown, at least 15 minutes before the 8:45 AM departure. The tour leader hands out wristbands there and walks the group to the bus. The operator's FAQ gives the departure address as 210 W Liberty Street and suggests parking in the Omni garage or the Starks Garage across the street. The listing names the hub as the end point too.
For bookings through this listing, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure for a full refund.
One traveler on this listing, who called it a day of roughly ten hours, left two tips for the next group: stay hydrated, and get a full night's sleep beforehand.