Kentucky bourbon distilleries are pouring on the dining options

Since the days when Ouita Michel provided a sandwich menu on the deck at Woodford Reserve Distillery, food operations at distilleries have undergone a sea change.

While bourbon is still the major draw, a focus on food has become more important. Several explanations come to mind, both aesthetic and practical.

The popularity of cooking with bourbon may have influenced the distilleries to take advantage of the trend — after all, who has more bourbon than a distillery?

At the other end of the spectrum, there’s the economics involved, as it’s a way of keeping distillery guests onsite longer where they will spend more money.

But some are more nuanced in their reasoning. The Bar at Willett’s executive chef John Sleasman explains it this way, “Guests visiting Bourbon Country expect authenticity and that includes the historic embrace of hospitality.

“Food service is an opportunity for us to deliver the experience of being at home with the Kulsveen family,” he continues. “With our open concept kitchen, vintage glassware and family pictures on the wall, sharing food and drink isn’t simply a way of showcasing our whiskies. It’s a way of sharing who we are.”

James B. Beam Distilling Co.

On a recent evening, an enthusiastic group of diners licked their lips in anticipation of the four-course dinner awaiting them.

First up was a Three Grain Hoppin’ John (corn, wheat berries, rye berries, black-eyed peas and tasso ham.) That was followed by shrimp with bourbon barbecue sauce and spoonbread and beef tenderloin with crispy fingerling potatoes and brown butter demi. For dessert, there was angel food cake with strawberry/rhubarb and Chantilly cream.

It may come as a surprise to learn that this meal didn’t take place in a fancy city restaurant, but at a distillery. It was the August meeting of the James B. Beam Distilling Co.’s Clermont Supper Club where cocktails featuring Baker’s 13 complemented dishes turned out by the distillery’s onsite restaurant The Kitchen Table.

The Kitchen Table perfectly illustrates the evolution of many distilleries’ move from offering a single bourbon ball as the only source of sustenance during a tour and tasting to opening a full-service restaurant that often requires a reservation before you go.

The Kitchen Table, 522 Happy Hollow Rd, Clermont; open Tuesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., visitthekitchentable.com; 502-347-2920

Maker’s Mark Distillery

The pioneer in the distillery restaurant concept was Maker’s Mark which opened its Star Hill Provisions in 2017, serving, as they like to advertise, “premium, farm-to-table fare without the pretense.”

Located in the renovated Distiller’s Home, the restaurant offers dishes that are locally sourced and often feature produce straight from the farms of distillery employees.

The menu may be limited in scope, but it packs a powerful punch with offerings such as the Star Hill Farm Wagyu burger or Lamb Vindaloo Pie – lamb braised in a spicy curry sauce, topped with potatoes and English peas and baked in a pastry.

Desserts are a specialty here, with many opting for the Samuels Bread Pudding, a bread-and-butter concoction embellished with Bill Samuels Jr.’s Maker’s 46.

Star Hill Provisions, 3350 Burkes Spring Rd., Loretto, open 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Bardstown Bourbon Co.

Other distilleries were quick to hop on the bandwagon. Not content to park a food truck on their campus or open a snack shop, they went for the gold with top-notch chefs and certified bourbon stewards.

Bardstown Bourbon Company likes to say that if the distillery is their heart, the restaurant, Bottle & Bond Kitchen Bar, is their soul.

Here, in a rehabbed industrial-style building with huge glass windows overlooking the distillery grounds, guests can enjoy elevated comfort food to accompany their bourbon cocktails.

Your lunch may start with Kentucky Poutine (house-made fries with white cheddar cheese curds and Jake’s sausage gravy); move on to a BBLT (Benedictine/Broadbent bacon, lettuce and tomato on Sixteen Bricks sourdough), and finish with Double Chocolate Mousse Cake for the hardy appetite or a Hummingbird Cupcake for those with a more dainty one.

Bottle & Bar Kitchen & Bar, 1500 Parkway Dr., Bardstown, Monday and Tuesday 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Wednesday through Sunday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., bottleandbond.com, 502-233-4769

Willett Distillery

Sometimes diners along the Bourbon Trail have difficulty making a menu choice, but there is no question about what the star dish is at Willett Distillery’s second-floor restaurant, The Bar at Willett. Its egg salad sandwich has achieved legendary status, and if you have never tried one, rest assured – Sleasman’s version is not your mother’s egg salad sandwich.

FYI: It isn’t just the devoted patrons who love this place. Earlier this year, The Bar at Willett became a James Beard semifinalist in their Outstanding Bar category. (The judges must have had an egg salad sandwich along with their bourbon.)

If you would like to try something different on your next visit, opt for one of the signature small plates – maybe the smoked trout with radish and saltines, the Cavatelli (Italian sausage, broccoli and pine nuts), or the cheese and charcuterie plate with onion marmalade.

The Bar at Willett, 1869 Loretto Rd, Bardstown, Wednesday through Saturday 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., thebaratwillett.com, 502-507-9396

Heaven Hill Distillery

Five Brothers Bar & Kitchen at Heaven Hill Distillery offers diners a choice of a table inside the restaurant close to the stunning bar or outside on a terrace overlooking the distillery grounds. Whether you choose to dine inside (closer to the bar, after all) or al fresco (especially on a crisp fall day), the menu offers sandwiches — both traditional and open face.

In the former category, try the ultimate grilled cheese, a mouth-watering blend of four cheeses – Gouda, Swiss, Cheddar and roasted garlic cream cheese, or the traditional southern favorite, Benedictine on Texas Toast.

In the latter category, you can’t go wrong with the Salmon Croquettes, house made salmon cakes on a bed of spring greens, tomato, and red onion with Bourbon Remoulade.

Five Brothers Bar & Kitchen, 1311 Gilkey Run Rd, Bardstown, Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday 1 to 5 p.m., heavenhilldistillery.com,

Jeptha Creed Distillery

Jeptha Creed Distillery in Shelbyville might not have as extensive a menu in their Creed Café as some of the other distillery restaurants, but visitors can satisfy any hunger pangs with sophisticated snacks such as crispy Brussels sprouts, deep-fried corn kernels, mac and cheese bites, marinated olives, fried pickles and a pretzel platter, as well as their signature pizzas.

Creed Cafe, 500 Gordon Lane, Shelbyville, Thursday through Saturday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday 12 to 5 p.m., jepthacreed.com/creed-cafe/, 502-487-5007

Buffalo Trace Distillery

Next year Lexingtonians won’t have to go to Bardstown or Shelbyville to enjoy distillery dining (although it’s always worth the drive.) Buffalo Trace in Frankfort will open the John G. Carlisle Café in the spring of 2026, following a delay due to this year’s heavy rains. In case you’re wondering, Carlisle was a U.S. Congressman who was instrumental in the passage of the Bottled in Bond Act in 1897.

The 4,900-square-foot café will be located in the Elmer T. Lee Clubhouse, and will accommodate 70 people in the dining room and on an outdoor porch, and won’t require a tour reservation, although patrons must still check in at the distillery’s registration desk.

In a press release, Buffalo Trace general manager Tyler Adams said, “Offering permanent food and beverage options alongside our complimentary tours and tastings is a natural extension to the distillery’s legacy of hospitality and craftsmanship.”

This story was originally published September 9, 2025 at 4:55 AM.