Valentine’s Day Gifts and Experiences to Go On in Bourbon Country!
This Valentine’s Day skipping the typical dinner and plan an exciting adventure for two! From hands-on classes with bourbon-inspired themes to progressive dinners where you leave the cooking to the best chefs in Louisville as you hop around from one destination to the next — make this Valentine’s Day an experience to remember!
Current and future Mint Julep tour options:
Bourbon Tours on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail®
You’ve done the box of chocolates, the romantic dinner, the couples cooking class — this is the year to spend Valentine’s Day tasting the best bourbon in Bourbon Country. Mint Julep Experiences offers a number of public bourbon tours along the Kentucky Bourbon Trail®. Guests will visit iconic Kentucky bourbon distilleries such as Maker’s Mark, Jim Beam, Barton 1792, Woodford Reserve, Buffalo Trace, Bulleit, Jefferson’s Reserve at Kentucky Artisan Distillery, Stitzel Weller, Jeptha Creed and Bardstown Bourbon Company. Spend the day on the Bourbon Trail with your Valentine, sampling bourbons and touring the distilleries. Each public tour includes lunch at a local Kentucky restaurant and guided transportation on a luxury bus with a bourbon expert. Public Bourbon Tours are available Thursday through Saturday. Tours range in price from $149 to $169.
Cooperage Tours
This exclusive Coopers’ Craft at the Brown-Forman Cooperage tour is only provided by Mint Julep Experiences. This up-close look at how bourbon barrels are made and the history of a cooperage will be the ultimate experience for a bourbon-loving Valentine of yours. Guests learn how the wood is prepped, watch as staves are carefully placed to form the barrel, and see the flames toast the inside to the perfect char level that helps create that iconic bourbon taste. After the experience, guests partake in a tasting of Coopers’ Craft bourbon. Tour tickets are $65.
Brew in the Lou Tours
If you and your Valentine are more craft beer lovers, then you’ll want to check out the popular Brew in the Lou beer tours! Guests visit three breweries for tours and flights of beer for tastings at each stop. Craft breweries included in the tour are Against the Grain, Great Flood and Monnik. Beer tours depart on select Thursdays and Sundays. Tour tickets are $79 per person. So ask your Valentine if they’ll “beer” your Valentine and join you on a tour!
Kentucky Derby Tours
There’s no denying the hype around the Kentucky Derby, and there’s no denying how hyped your Valentine will be when they learn they can use their Mint Julep Experience gift certificate toward a Kentucky Derby Tour. These Derby tours provide the ultimate Derby-week experience, taking guests to the horse nurseries that raced the winning thoroughbreds. The tours also ensure guests experience the best of Kentucky by visiting both Horse Country and Bourbon Country. Surprise your Valentine and start planning your Derby week with Mint Julep Experiences! Public and custom Derby-week tours offered.
Best of Kentucky Tours
Kentucky is made of two iconic industries, bourbon and horses. On Mint Julep’s Best of Kentucky Tours, guests will visit both Bourbon Country and Horse Country. You’ll visit scenic Bulleit Distilling Co. for a tour of their distilling facilities and processes, finishing with a sensory tasting of some of their most popular products. To keep with the theme, you’ll receive a horse-themed cocktail called the Mill Ridge Smash! The tour also includes a visit to the Mill Ridge Horse Farm that is known as a top thoroughbred nursery. You’ll tour the grounds and meet the horses, while learning the historic role it’s played in horse racing. The Best of Kentucky Tours are available at various times throughout the year starting in March. This tour ranges from $159 to $169.
Brunch, Bloody Mary Bar & Bourbon Tasting
Instead of reserving a dinner for two for the next date night, reserve a brunch and afternoon bourbon tasting tour. Gift a Sunday Funday adventure this Valentine’s Day and give your special someone a fun day to look forward to this spring! The Boozy Brunch & Bourbon Bonanza is a NEW food tour offered by Mint Julep this year. Starting in March, every Sunday you can sit down at Old Stone Inn for a Southern-style brunch. After brunch, you’ll hit the Bourbon Trail to partake in a BYO Bloody Mary bar at Jeptha Creed Distillery, complete with their Hot Pepper Vodka. To finish the boozy brunching, guests will head to Bulleit Distillery for a full distillery tour and sensory tasting. Tours run every Sunday starting March 8. Tour tickets start at $159.
Elevated Experiences
Mint Julep Experiences offers limited elevated experiences that give guests exclusive access to events and tours not typically available to the public. These elevated experiences include bourbon, food and horse racing experiences. If your Valentine is fan of “Secrets of Bluegrass Chefs,” enjoys a progressive Southern Supper dining experience or is fan of Heaven Hill and Evan Williams, then purchase a gift certificate and let them book an elevated experience — you’ll be “elevated” on their good list!
Custom Tours
If your Valentine is one who enjoys making their own adventure plans, gift an amount of your choosing and let them build their custom tour itinerary. Craft a single-day or multi-day adventure in Bourbon Country, Horse Country, Louisville or all three! We offer VIP Kentucky Bourbon Trail® Transportation ranging from luxury SUVs to 14-passenger transits and 23 passenger buses. Larger vehicles are available upon request. Gift an amount let your Valentine customize the itinerary.