The American Whiskey Trail is the name of a promotional program supported by the
Distilled Spirits Council of the United States
The Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS) is a national trade association representing producers and marketers of distilled spirits sold in the United States. DISCUS was formed in 1973 by the merger of three organizations (the B ...
that promotes the
distilled beverage
Liquor (or a spirit) is an alcoholic drink produced by distillation of grains, fruits, vegetable
Vegetables are parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. The original meaning is still commonly used and is ...
industry in the
U.S
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
. The Trail was first promoted to the public on September 28, 2004.
Key sites along the trail
The American Whiskey Trail consists of various historical sites – some with operating distilleries – that are open to the public for tours. Sites along the American Whiskey Trail can be visited in any order or sequence desired, although the George Washington Distillery is promoted as the "gateway" to the trail and is a common starting point.
*
Fraunces Tavern Museum in
Manhattan,
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* ...
*
Gadsby's Tavern Museum
Gadsby's Tavern is a complex of historic buildings at 134 and 138 North Royal Street at the corner of Cameron Street in the Old Town district of Alexandria, Virginia. The complex includes a c.1785 tavern, the 1792 City Tavern and Hotel, and an 1 ...
in
Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria is an independent city in the northern region of the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of downtown Washington, D.C.
In 2020, the population was 159,467. Th ...
*
George Washington Distillery Museum in
Mount Vernon, Virginia
*
Oliver Miller Homestead in
South Park, Pennsylvania
*
Oscar Getz Museum of Whiskey History in
Bardstown, Kentucky
Bardstown is a home rule-class city in Nelson County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 11,700 in the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Nelson County.
Bardstown is named for the pioneering Bard brothers. David Bard obtained a ...
* West Overton Village & Museums in
Scottdale, Pennsylvania
*
Woodville Plantation (John and Presley Neville House) in
Bridgeville, Pennsylvania
Bridgeville is a borough in Allegheny County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The population was 4,804 at the 2020 census.
Geography
Bridgeville is located along Chartiers Creek, about southwest of downtown Pittsburgh at .
According to th ...
*
Bradford House Museum in
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
,
Pennsylvania
*Allegany Museum in
Cumberland, Maryland
Cumberland is a U.S. city in and the county seat of Allegany County, Maryland. It is the primary city of the Cumberland, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 19,076. Located on the Potomac River, ...
Besides recognized historic sites, a number of operating whiskey distilleries are open to the public for tours and, in many cases, tastings. Most are located in close proximity to each other in Kentucky, although a few are located in Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Utah, and West Virginia.
*
Buffalo Trace in
Frankfort, Kentucky
*
George Dickel
George Dickel is a brand of Tennessee whisky produced in Tullahoma, in Coffee County, Tennessee. Today owned by Diageo, the modern brand was introduced in 1964, though the distillery has a longer history. Whisky production and aging takes pl ...
in
Tullahoma, Tennessee
*
Jack Daniel's in
Lynchburg, Tennessee
Lynchburg is a city in the south-central region of the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is governed by a consolidated city-county government unit whose boundaries coincide with those of Moore County. Lynchburg is best known as the location of Jack D ...
*
Jim Beam American Stillhouse in
Clermont, Kentucky
Clermont is a USGS-designated populated place (one of 32) in Bullitt County, Kentucky, United States, south of Louisville. It is an unincorporated community.
Geography
Clermont is located at (37.5547, -85.3910) and is 531 feet (162 meters) ab ...
*Jim Beam Urban Stillhouse in
Louisville, Kentucky
*
Maker's Mark in
Loretto, Kentucky
*
1792 Bourbon Distillery in
Bardstown, Kentucky
Bardstown is a home rule-class city in Nelson County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 11,700 in the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Nelson County.
Bardstown is named for the pioneering Bard brothers. David Bard obtained a ...
*
Wild Turkey
The wild turkey (''Meleagris gallopavo'') is an upland ground bird native to North America, one of two extant species of turkey and the heaviest member of the order Galliformes. It is the ancestor to the domestic turkey, which was originally d ...
in
Lawrenceburg, Kentucky
*
Woodford Reserve
Woodford Reserve is a brand of premium small batch Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey produced in Woodford County, Kentucky, by the Brown-Forman Corporation. It is made from a mixture of copper pot still spirits produced at the company's Woodford ...
in
Versailles, Kentucky
*
Wigle Whiskey in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
*
Four Roses in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky
*
Old Forester
Old Forester is a brand of Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey produced by the Brown–Forman Corporation. It has been on the market continuously for longer than any other bourbon (approximately 150 years as of 2020), and was the first bourbon so ...
in Louisville, Kentucky
*Angel's Envy in Louisville, Kentucky
*
Bulleit Frontier Whiskey Experience (
Stitzel-Weller Distillery) in Louisville, Kentucky
*
Town Branch
A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world.
Origin and use
The word "town" shares an ori ...
in Lexington, Kentucky
*O.Z. Tyler in Owensboro, Kentucky
*
High West Distillery in Wanship, Utah
*Smooth Ambler Distillery in
Maxwelton, West Virginia
Distilleries connected to the trail
In addition to sites and distilleries tied to the history of American whiskey production, the Distilled Spirits Council provides information and promotes a range of other distilleries around the country in conjunction with promotion of the American Whiskey Trail. The list includes two key rum distilleries –
Bacardi in
Catano, Puerto Rico, and
Cruzan in
St. Croix
Saint Croix; nl, Sint-Kruis; french: link=no, Sainte-Croix; Danish and no, Sankt Croix, Taino: ''Ay Ay'' ( ) is an island in the Caribbean Sea, and a county and constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands (USVI), an unincor ...
,
U.S. Virgin Islands – along with various small distilleries. Examples include Golden Moon Distillery, a
gin and
liqueur producer in
Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the ...
; Koloa Rum Company, a
rum
Rum is a liquor made by fermenting and then distilling sugarcane molasses or sugarcane juice. The distillate, a clear liquid, is usually aged in oak barrels. Rum is produced in nearly every sugar-producing region of the world, such as the Phi ...
producer in
Hawaii; Limestone Branch Distillery, a whiskey producer in
Kentucky; Black Button Distilling, a whiskey and gin producer in
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* ...
; and Tenn South Distillery and
Nelson's Green Brier Distillery, two whiskey producers in
Tennessee.
See also
*
American whiskey
American whiskey is whiskey (a distilled beverage produced from a fermented mash of cereal grain) produced in the United States. American whiskeys made from mashes with at least 51% of their named grains include bourbon whiskey, rye whiskey, ...
*
Kentucky Bourbon Trail
References
Further reading
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External links
American Whiskey Trail (official website) Distilled Spirits Council of the United States
{{Whisky
Alcohol in the United States
Drinking culture
Historic trails and roads in the United States
Whiskies of the United States
Whisky trails