It is James Bond and Diamonds Are Forever that one thinks of getting off the plane at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport, where a fluttering banner proclaims ’Welcome to Bourbon City’. In the novel, Bond finds himself in Saratoga Springs and is introduced to a drink that is “fashionable in racing circles — bourbon and branch water.” Bond is obviously not swigging vodka martinis, shaken or stirred, all the time.
Louisville is known for bourbon, the Kentucky Derby, boxing legend Muhammad Ali and of course Kentucky Fried Chicken, considering it is the final resting place of Colonel Sanders, founder of KFC.
Dinner at Paseo set the ball rolling with a cocktail-forward approach. The Paper Plane’s citrusy notes elegantly paired with the heirloom tomato toast while the Mule’s Vodka (Mr Bond would have been pleased), lime, and ginger beer offered an exquisite counterpoint to the earthiness of the black garlic Caesar. The Old Fashioned was all sugar and spice when paired with the creamy risotto.
The next day as we drove into the Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort for a tour, we were greeted by the historical water tower that has stood strong and tall since the 1700s. The buffalo icon on the water tower is a nod to the actual buffalo migration routes, or traces, that gave the distillery its name. Incidentally the buffalo mascot is called Thunder.
The tour includes stops at Old Fire Copper Distillery, Old Taylor, a restored fermenter and Warehouse C from the late 1800s with tastings along the way.
After a lunch of bourbon scalloped potatoes, mushrooms and a generous helping of bourbon butter bread pudding (talk about a liquid lunch!) we headed to Whiskey Woodcraft, where master woodcrafter Jonathan Hartman and his team give used bourbon barrels a new life by creating custom pieces.
A picture of a Buffalo Trace Distillery tour in the mash intended for media kit usage. Buffalo Trace Distillery, Louisville
A tour of Old Taylor House, gave us a sense of the history of the place. Dating to the late 1700s, it is one of the oldest buildings in Frankfort (nothing to do with the German city).
The Bourbon boat tour, the only water based distillery-related tour in the U.S., on the Kentucky River gives a sense of spirited history.
On the nine-month river journey to New Orleans, the clear whisky absorbed the colour and flavour of the barrels that were charred to sanitise, to take on the well known golden hue and smoky flavour. Dinner at The Barrel Room at the historically significant Repeal, features steaks cooked over reclaimed oak bourbon barrels.
Historical aside
Bourbon Pompeii thankfully does not feature lovers in an ashy embrace for eternity or even that poor petrified dog; instead it is the site of a whisky archaeological discovery — the remains of Colonel E.H. Taylor Jr.’s original O.F.C. (Old Fire Copper) Distillery, dating back to the 1870s. Taylor, called the father of bourbon, introduced many revolutionary practices into the making of bourbon.
A historic picture of Col. E.H. Taylor in the George Stagg Distillery office intended for media kit usage. Buffalo Trace Distillery, Louisville
The remains of the distillery were discovered in 2016 when Buffalo Trace began renovating an empty building as an event space. We were taken through the site over gantries to look at the 11,000-gallon copper-lined fermenter, among other things, by Nicolas Laracuente, also known as The Bourbon Archaeologist. Laracuente was doing his doctorate when he was invited by Buffalo Trace to have a look at the remains of the old distillery.
Racing finish
A visit to the Pin Oak Stud Farm introduced us to Kentucky’s other passion — racing. As we looked at the beautiful beasts and learnt interesting things, such as all horses have a January 1 birthday, I was again reminded of Diamonds Are Forever and the horse, Shy Smile that Bond’s friend and ex-CIA man, Felix Leiter, comes to Saratoga to investigate.
A picture of the buffalo mantel painting in Stony Point at Buffalo Trace Distillery intended for media kit usage. Buffalo Trace Distillery, Louisville
We ended the day at the aptly named The Last Refuge. The whisky bar in Louisville’s NuLu district is located in a repurposed German Methodist church from the 1880s. The pulpit, the stained glass windows, the soaring, painted ceiling and the slightly startled-looking saints, apart from the walls of bejewelled whisky bottles earns the bar its title of High Church of Bourbon.
Troubadour tales
And there is the Bob Dylan connection, as giant portraits of his 1960s strung-out look adorn the space, which is also home to Heaven’s Door, a whisky the singer and songwriter co-created in 2018.
For those curious about the ‘water of life’, a distillery tour might just be the ticket for whisky newbies like yours truly and seasoned connoisseurs alike, to uncover its origins and what makes it different from its Scottish cousin.
And if you find yourself thinking of a certain secret agent with stormy blue eyes, a cruel mouth, and an unruly comma of dark hair… that just adds to the suave quotient, bruv.
The writer was in Louisville at the invitation of Buffalo Trace Distillery
A picture of the fermenters at Buffalo Trace Distillery intended media kit usage. Buffalo Trace Distillery, Louisville
Published – February 20, 2026 06:19 pm IST
