Lux Row Distillers
Lux Row Visitor Center
Short Video
Cookers
Fermenters
Still
Spirit Safe
Doubler
Lab
Barreling and Spirit Tanks
Barreling
Warehouse
Ricks in Warehouse
Tasting
Stone House Built in 1806
Gift Shop
Warehouses
Lux Row Visitor Center
Short Video
Cookers
Fermenters
Still
Spirit Safe
Doubler
Lab
Barreling and Spirit Tanks
Barreling
Warehouse
Ricks in Warehouse
Tasting
Stone House Built in 1806
Gift Shop
Warehouses
1 Lux Row
(3050 E John Rowan Blvd)
Bardstown, KY 40004
(502) 337-7420
Lux RLux Row Distillers may be the one of the newest distilleries to make its home in the “Bourbon Capital of the World”, but owner, Luxco, has had decades of experience as a non-distiller producer. Since 1958, the St. Louis based spirits company met the needs of its bourbon product lines through contract distilling. However, with the rise of bourbon’s popularity and the company’s desire to control its own production and growth, Lux Row Distillers was born. Construction on the project began in May 2016, and by January 2018, the distillery began filling barrels with its own new make. A few months later in April, the distillery began welcoming visitors to its beautiful 90-acre campus in Bardstown, the former home to Ballard farm.
The distillery is open to visitors Tuesday-Saturday from 9:30am to 4:30pm. Lux Row offers two tour experiences. First time visitors might opt for the Production Tour. This hour-long tour is given on the hour (10am-4pm) at a cost of $13 and includes a distillery walk through followed by a tasting of 4 bourbons. For the seasoned bourboner, the Premium Experience provides a more in-depth distillery tour and finishes with a tasting of 6 of Lux Row’s premium bourbons. Of course, chocolates are an added accompaniment to heighten the experiences. The cost for the Premium tour is $35 and is offered at 2:30pm Tuesday-Saturday. Visit 
luxrowdistillers.com to check availability for all tours. Reservations are best made online, as walk-in options are generally very limited.
luxrowdistillers.com to check availability for all tours. Reservations are best made online, as walk-in options are generally very limited.Our Production Tour began with a brief introductory video which provided some interesting background information. With the intro complete, our guide, Justin, started the walking portion of the tour. We headed upstairs to stop number one, the fermentation area. Lux Row started off big. There are twelve 8,000 gallon fermenters kept busy by two, 4,000 gallon mash cookers which operate around the clock. Lux Row uses a wheated bourbon mash bill (recipe) and a rye bourbon mash bill. These recipes are managed by monthly rotation. Justin gave a quick overview of the cooking and fermentation process and we got a great view of the fermenters, the grain bins, and the cookers as we made our way past the massive fermentation tanks onto our next stop.
Heading back down to the main floor, we were introduced to the workhorse of the distillery at stop number two. This workhorse was the 43 foot tall, 36 inch diameter all-copper column still made by Vendome. We learned this already well-worn metallic beauty can pump out 6 gallons of new make per minute! So at Lux Row, one 53 gallon barrel can be filled in just shy of 9 minutes. With such volume, comes the crucial element of quality control. As we made our way to stop three, Justin pointed out the distillery's onsite lab and made special mention that all distillers are trained to use the lab. Now that's some serious cross-training.
Barreling, our third stop, is a busy area at Lux Row. The distillery fills just over 90 barrels a day. On our visit this was no exception. Barrels covered much of the area except for the space occupied by the three 7,000 gallon spirit tanks which store the newly distilled and barrel-ready new make.
The final stop on the walking part of the tour led us out of the distillery and over to one of the six barrel warehouses on campus. Each houses 20,000 barrels, except for the viewing warehouse we visited. This warehouse holds only 19,200 barrels because it features a floor to ceiling open area at the entrance. This allows for a great view of the barrels lying in wait for at least another year, as the distillery plans to begin bottling their own distillate by 2022.
With the walking part of our tour completed, it was time to head back to the distillery bar for the tasting. The Production Tour comes with 4 samples, which for us were Rebel 100, Daviess County, David Nicholson Reserve, and Lux Row 12 Year Double Barrel. Justin navigated the group through each taste explaining in detail the uniqueness of the product. Chocolates are also provided with the samples to enhance the tasting experience. The tasting portion lasted about 15 minutes and concluded the tour. With the samples and the questions having dried up, visitors were encouraged to check out the gift shop. There were plenty of great options from which to choose: hats, shirts, glassware, and of course, the bourbons.
The bourbons of Lux Row and its distillery are well worth the visit. Check out Bardstown's newest piece to its lengthy distilling history while enjoying the relaxing pastoral atmosphere that was the former home of Ballard farm. And don't miss the unique and certainly unusual distillery residents. No distillery cat found here, just the peacocks, which came with the property. So come for the bourbon and the birds!
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Please note that due to COVID Distillery Hours and Tour/Tasting Availability may vary. Please contact the distillery or check their web page or social media for details before you go.
| Days of operation | Tues-Sat 9:30am-4:30pm |
Paved Drive / Lot | Paved Lot |
Motorcycle Parking | No separate parking, but lot is very large |
-Motorcycle unfriendly features | No |
Number of tours per day | Standard Tour Hours: |
Length of Tour(s) | 1 hour |
Advanced topic tours? | Yes. Visit website or call for times. |
Advanced topic tour names | Premium Experience |
Tours by owners /distillers available? | Not currently |
Number of different types of tours | 2-3 |
On-Line Tour Reservations Available | Yes. |
Advanced Reservations Recommended/Required | Yes. Due to Covid-19, tours are smaller. |
| Cost for tour(s) in $ | The Production Tour-$13 |
Tasting Included? | Yes |
| Number of samples included in tasting | 4 Production Tour /6 Premium Experience |
| Tasting Only Option? | No |
| Tasting Only Option Cost | N/A |
High-end tasting option? | Yes. Included with the Premium Tour and as upgrade with Production Tour |
High-end tasting option cost? | $35 (Premium Experience) |
Designated Driver Option | No |
Handicapped Accessible? | Yes |
| Souvenirs included with tour? | With the Premium Tour Only |
Gift shop | Yes |
On-Site bottle sales? | Yes |
| On-site food: Restaurant/Cafe/Snacks | No |
| On-site Cocktail bar | Yes, but Covid-19 has restricted access. Call for details. |
| On-site event space | Yes |
| Should I visit? (Yes, Perhaps, No) | Definitely |
| Unique Features | Beautiful campus; New state of the art distillery |
Website | https://luxrowdistillers.com/ |
Date Visited | September 2020 |
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