Tour Bonus Packages
For Kentucky
- The Happy Hour Special: We've scheduled our bourbon expedition on a weekend since most folks' work schedules don't permit mid-week travel. But since distillers like having weekends off too, distilleries don't guarantee their bottling lines will be running on Fridays and Saturdays. To avoid disappointment, we've added this Thursday package for tour goers set on seeing some live action bottling. This tour, which leaves from Lexington at 11 a.m. on Thursday, includes lunch and private tours of the Wild Turkey and Four Roses distilleries. . . $119.
- The Sunday Morning after Saturday Night Tour: Perhaps not surprisingly, the land from which bourbon sprung has also been fertile ground for religious movements. We'll take a peek at two of them on this Sunday tour, which ends in Lexington at 4 p.m. Our day begins at the Abbey of Gethsemani, a 65-member Trappist Monastery that was home to philosopher Thomas Merton. We'll join the monks for Eucharist, and learn how they sustain themselves through sales of cheese and bourbon fruitcake. We'll then head east through Kentucky's bluegrass region to the Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill, the nation's largest restored Shaker community, where we'll sup on traditional Shaker fare and explore the oft-misunderstood group's culinary heritage. . . $119.
- Bourbon Book Club: We've chosen a few books (and one CD) to put you in the mood for "Drink and Democracy." This set, best enjoyed while sipping your favorite bourbon, offers a thorough introduction to Kentucky and its culture. It includes:
- "How the West Was Lost: The Transformation of Kentucky from Daniel Boone to Henry Clay" by Stephen Aron
- "Bardstown: Hospitality, History and Bourbon" by Dixie Hibbs
- "The Alcoholic Republic: An American Tradition" by W.J. Rorabuagh
- "Mountain Music of Kentucky," Various Artists, compiled by Smithsonian Folkways.
. . . $99.
