Bourbon Trail Tours from Nashville (2026): The One Guided Day Trip That Handles the Drive

Last updated: 2026-09-30 · Nashville, Kentucky

A quick heads-up: this guide contains affiliate links. If you book through them, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. How we make money.

Nashville is a music city, not a bourbon city, and the Kentucky Bourbon Trail knows it. The drive north is the whole problem: 2.5 hours to Bardstown if you are lucky, up to 3.5 each way for the far flung stops, all on rural Kentucky roads after an afternoon of tastings. That is the bet the one Nashville departing tour makes, that you would rather pay someone else to drive.

Here is the honest accounting. There is exactly one guided tour from Nashville bookable on Viator right now: a private, flexible day with doorstep pickup and free cancellation. Everything else is a weekend you drive yourself.

The call: private day or steering wheel

The guided option

Mint Julep Private Nashville to the Kentucky Bourbon Trail

You pick two distilleries from a menu of ten, pickup at your Nashville location, local lunch and a Tour Leader included. From $782, free 24 hour cancellation, groups of 1 to 22. The operator has run trail tours since 2008.

Check Mint Julep Nashville availability on Viator →

A note on the missing second tour: Route Riot's Nashville Direct tour (Bulleit, Bluegrass Distillers and Woodford Reserve, 14 hours) still appears in Viator search results, but its product page currently shows as unavailable and it cannot be booked. When it was live it was the fixed route alternative, 90 minutes per stop with lunch included and a nonrefundable policy. If it returns, this comparison gets updated.

Fall weekends are the first to go. Mint Julep warns its tours can sell out 2 to 3 months ahead in April, May, June, September and October:

Check Mint Julep Nashville availability on Viator

Free 24 hour cancellation · Prices confirmed at booking

The drive, honestly

Ten hours, your two distilleries from a list of ten that covers the Bardstown cluster well, Bardstown Bourbon Co., Heaven Hill, Maker's Mark, Willett and Lux Row among them, plus local lunch with gratuity included and pickup at whatever Nashville location you choose. The $782 from price is steep for a solo traveler but it is private, just your group, and the per person math improves with company. Price varies by group size.

The operator behind it is the most credentialed on the trail: in business since 2008, 1 million guests served and 5,000 plus 5 star reviews per its listing, with 719 operator reviews on Tripadvisor. The Nashville private tour itself is a newer listing with no reviews yet on Viator. Book early for April, May, June, September and October: the listing warns those months can sell out 2 to 3 months ahead.

The weekend version you drive yourself

Planet of Hotels published the only editorial itinerary for this route, a Friday to Sunday Bardstown weekend, and it is the right shape for a DIY trip. Friday evening, Nashville to Bardstown in about 2.5 hours. Saturday, Maker's Mark in Loretto, about 25 minutes out, where the 75 minute tour includes the famous bottle dipping, then Heaven Hill in downtown Bardstown, where the 90 minute tour or the barrel fill experience comes with a rooftop deck. The Oscar Getz Museum of Whiskey History fills 45 to 60 minutes downtown. Sunday, Willett's first tour at 11am in its walking tasting format, then 2.5 hours back to Nashville.

That itinerary reveals the gap the tour fills: Buffalo Trace, the hardest ticket on the trail, does not fit a Nashville day trip at all. Its free tour releases 8 weeks out on Wednesdays at 10am EST and sells out in minutes, per the distillery. If Buffalo Trace is nonnegotiable, our best bourbon tours from Louisville comparison covers the guided days that bundle guaranteed entry from the Kentucky side.

The Jack Daniel's alternative

If the Kentucky drive sounds like too much day, the honest local alternative is Lynchburg, Tennessee. Jack Daniel's is not bourbon and it is not on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, but it is 90 minutes from Nashville and a Jack Daniel's tour from Nashville runs 7 hours from $120, per Priceline. Half the drive, half the day, a fraction of the price. It is Tennessee whiskey history, not bourbon country, and you should know which one you are signing up for.

Operator notes

Mint Julep Experiences needs no discovery. Since 2008, nearly 20 years on the trail, 1 million guests, and 5,000 plus 5 star reviews per its own listing. The Nashville private tour itself is a newer listing with no reviews yet on Viator, but the operator record behind it is the deepest on this route. Book early for April, May, June, September and October: the listing itself warns those months can sell out 2 to 3 months ahead.

This is the first Nashville article on Bourbon Pilgrim, and it seeds our Nashville coverage. If you are combining Nashville with the Kentucky side of the trail, start with our best bourbon tours from Louisville comparison, and check our Louisville trailhead guide for the Kentucky planning basics.

Frequently asked questions

Can you do a bourbon trail day trip from Nashville?

Yes. One guided tour runs the route bookable on Viator: Mint Julep's 10 hour private tour with two distilleries you choose, from $782 with free 24 hour cancellation. Route Riot's Nashville Direct tour currently shows as unavailable on Viator. Drive it yourself and Bardstown is about 2.5 hours each way, per Planet of Hotels' weekend itinerary.

How long is the drive from Nashville to the bourbon trail?

About 2.5 hours each way to Bardstown, the closest serious trail town. Shelbyville, where Bulleit's distillery sits, is roughly the same drive. Woodford Reserve in Versailles is the long end of the day, around 3 to 3.5 hours each way. That is why the guided tour runs 10 hours door to door.

Which distilleries can you visit on the Nashville bourbon tour?

Mint Julep's private tour lets you pick two from ten: Bardstown Bourbon Co., Boundary Oak, Heaven Hill, Jim Beam, Limestone Branch, Log Still, Lux Row, Maker's Mark, Preservation and Willett.

What is the cancellation policy on the Nashville bourbon tour?

Mint Julep's private Nashville tour cancels free up to 24 hours before the experience starts, per its Viator listing. There is no second guided option to compare it against right now.

Is Jack Daniel's a bourbon trail tour?

No. Jack Daniel's in Lynchburg, Tennessee makes Tennessee whiskey, not bourbon, and it is not part of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. It is a valid alternative day from Nashville though: a Jack Daniel's tour from Nashville runs 7 hours from $120, per Priceline, for a much shorter drive than Kentucky.