Castle & Key Distillery

We did a tour here and loved it! The grounds are historic and very beautiful. We have done about 15 distillery tours and this one is the most beautiful. Our tour guide was funny and informative. The tasting was very nice too. Their gift shop has lots of great gifts!

Did a quick tour. Epic spot. The history here is stunning. Totally worth a visit. Bourbon on point too. Make sure you get a reservation for the time you want to tour. There is a lot of stuff to view outside on your own. Make sure to see the epic water poool near the river.

3 Stars – Beautiful Grounds, Mixed Experience We visited Castle & Key Distillery while in town celebrating a friend’s 40th birthday, and while the grounds were absolutely gorgeous, our overall experience was a bit mixed. We initially came by on a Friday a few minutes before 4 PM, having checked Google beforehand, which listed the closing time as 5 PM. When we arrived, we were told the grounds actually closed at 4. When I asked about the discrepancy, the staff member I spoke with was pretty rude and curtly told me I should’ve checked the website. After we left, I did check the website, and it also showed a 5 PM closing time. I understand things change, but the attitude felt unnecessary. I guess next time we’ll just call ahead to confirm. That said, we returned the next day because we were genuinely excited to experience it—and I’m glad we did. The property is stunning, and we had a tasting booked. The bourbon itself was okay—not bad, but not particularly memorable either. Our tasting guide was very knowledgeable and shared a lot of great history and info, which we really enjoyed. We were a little disappointed that gin wasn’t included in the tasting, especially since Castle & Key is known for their gin. You had to purchase those separately at the bar. That said, my husband found a gin with a black licorice note that he really loved. Overall, this place has tons of potential—the location is beautiful, the staff is mostly friendly, and the products are well presented. But a couple of customer service issues and some unclear info knocked the experience down a notch for us. Still worth visiting if you’re in the area, but double-check times and don’t expect gin in your tasting unless you add it on.

Castle and Key is definitely worth the drive to check out. The grounds are immaculate and very scenic. Even if you’re not into bourbon, just walking around and seeing the old style architecture and beauty is worth the stop. Truly a fun experience for anyone. Will be back to hop on a tour and do some tastings.

The folks in the town had recommended we stop by Castle & Key, telling us about how stunning it is. We came, and Castle & Key ended up being one of the highlights of our bourbon trip. The place and the grounds are absolutely beautiful, and the way they left the original historical parts and incorperated them nicely into the updates, is wonderful! The gift shop is stunning, and the tasting area outside, is so well orgainzed. The place was really buzzing with activity, lots of people sitting around throughout enjoying themselves. After coming here from Woodford Reserve, it is quite the contrast from the seemingly high-end polished and pressed corporate environment, to the relaxed, casual, kick back and hang out environment here! I think that is why everyone at Castle & Key seemed so much happier!

My tour guide was Faaris and he was amazing! I've been on a few distillery tours, and no one has made the history of the place come alive like Faaris did. The sunken garden was pretty even though I visited at the end of fall/beginning of winter. The whiskey had a bite to it, and the bourbon was very smooth. I bought the bourbon as well as the hot toddy mixture (which I haven't tried yet). I like that there were some cocktail syrups as well as the spirits.

Had a wonderful visit and tour just ahead of Thanksgiving! Molly was our tour guide and did an amazing job! We were one of, if not her last, tour before she left to pursue her career **CONGRATS!!** - her absence will be noticed! The grounds are beautiful, and I can't wait to continue visiting to see the rebirth and revitalization of the rest of the property!!

Castle and Key will be the highlight of any Bourbon Trail stop. The grounds are beautiful. The facility is steeped in history and the hard work and commitment to bring the distillery back is a fantastic story. Everyone on our tour was awesome and went out of their way to answer everyone's questions and give us a great behind the scenes experience. I can't recommend Castle and Key enough to anyone looking for a distillery tour or just a neat KY getaway!

Great tasting experience with history of distillery, beautiful grounds to walk around as well.

Everything about it was great! The tour, experience, gift shop, and staff made our day very special.

Castle & Key is one of those places you truly have to see to believe. We signed up for The Distillery Experience, which turned out to be a fantastic tour of the historic 1800s castle--now filled with modern distilling equipment. It's an impressive blend of old and new. Our tour guide, originally from South Philadelphia, was excellent--and yes, our group gladly filled in the song lyrics when the moment arose. It made the tour even more fun. As great as the guide and the history were, I was really there for the bourbon. At the end of the tour, we sampled several of Castle & Key's offerings. Like most tastings I've attended, the toughest part was choosing a favorite--they were all solid. Afterward, we headed to the gift shop, where my wife once again found a handful of must-have items. Castle & Key is one distillery you do not want to skip. If you miss it, you miss a lot.

People at home told us we HAD to come here while we're in town! I'm glad they did! It is an absolutely beautiful place. The buildings are old and not everything looks great. But the grounds! We walked the botanical trail and all around the place - except where we weren't allowed. It's very scenic. We didn't get drinks - the line was constantly long, plus we had a bit of a drive back to our hotel in the city. The only food came there came from food trucks. It took 45 minutes to get lunch. I wish there were other options. I'm not a fan of food trucks because they do take a long time and there were so many people trying to get some lunch. Other than the frustration of trying to get some food, it was very nice!

1) visibly awesome 2) the lady bartender was not very friendly. 3) Michy in the gift shop was unbelievably sweet, warm, and welcoming. 4) the bourbon and whiskey are mid. 5) overall very mid, but Michy is a star.

In the area and were told we needed to go here as the grounds just along Glenn's Creek. Sure enough, the grounds are so pretty even with the dismal weather. The castle is what 1st grabs your attention. It's kind of crazy that it's here in kind of the middle of nowhere. We walk in to the store and you get to see all sorts of history. You can check out the old fire places(not too sure if it's even called this when it's that big? Looks like a couple furnaces to me.) Folks working here were super nice. There was a food truck but we weren't hungry. There's a bar. A nice bathroom. We made the mistake of not planning ahead for a tour so just wandered around the grounds that are very well maintained. Very relaxing atmosphere out here and we were betting that this place would be bustling during a warmer, nice day... Fall colors were pretty!

Beautiful property, great tour from Meika. She gave us a wonderful in depth history of the property as well as the bourbon distillery. Gift shop had very unique and high end products. Areas outside to "just hang out & enjoy" was wonderful- give yourself some extra time between tours to enjoy the grounds. Overall a great experience. Having food for purchase would have made this an even more enjoyable day.

Gorgeous grounds and walking path-- nice flight of bourbon whiskey. Friendly and fast!

We love this place! It is absolutely beautiful, rustic old buildings, photogenic castle, waterfalls and botanical garden are quite lovely. The staff are friendly and engaging. The giftstore had all of the fares from the distillery, plus some Keeneland Racetrack clothing. They have a food truck and the small bar has refreshing mixed drinks and a charcuterie board for sale. The restrooms are very nice and there is a complementary iced water dispenser in the gift store which is a life saver on a super hot Kentucky day. This distillery is a nice place for a couple or a family outing as the kids will love the waterfalls, the picnic area and the lovely botanical garden. You are free to enjoy the property at no cost. There is a tasting room and you can reserve tickets for the distillery tour. This is a must see distillery, among the top most beautiful.

Took my girlfriend here for a date one afternoon. Got a chance to walk through the gardens and explore the gift shop. All of the staff were incredibly friendly and helpful. The cocktails we had there were fantastic as well.

My family and I thoroughly enjoyed our Castle & Key tour experience from start to finish. Our host, Maggie, was wonderful and really made it the great time that it was. We learned a lot, took a ton of photos (what a beautiful place!) and enjoyed some great bourbon. Would definitely recommend a visit.

Castle & Key is a beautiful distillery. The grounds are just amazing, with such great history with the grounds switching from owner to owner. The new owner has done a great job of preserving what could be preserved and utilizing the space in a wonderful fashion. The product they produce is good, with the gin having a very unique floral flavor. Our host, Aaron, was probably one of the best tour guides we've ever had, Very engaging and entertaining. We would highly recommend a trip to this distillery.

Wow what a beautiful distillery! And rich with a lot of history. We recently heard of Castle and Key and fell in love with their bourbon. Having the chance to visit the distillery was amazing!

This distillery was so cool and beautiful. The tour was amazing and the tasting was so good. Our tour guide was very enthusiastic and you could tell he loved his job. Definitely recommend this place.

We took a tour and it was very informative about the history of the property. The grounds are beautiful, and see and smelling the mash (smells like bread) was an awesome experience! Also, check out the gift shop. On the tour we tasted their bourbon, rye, along with a bourbon ball (Yum!), and a gin drink. Very much worth the cost of the tour. After our tour we enjoyed a picnic on the grounds, and would definitely recommend doing so, as well as touring the grounds.

Bar Review Only! WOW! This smaller distillery is a must visit! My group was impressed with Castle & Key Distillery from start to finish. The distillery itself was tucked away and had an old world charm to it. The grounds are well kept and mix old building architecture with modern uses. We happened in on a Sunday to try some spirit flights and honestly wished we had had time to do a tour. I got the Whiskey Tasting which came with (3) samples. My fiancé got the gin tasting as well. The Small Batch Bourbon was some of the smoothest we tried on our trip! The Rise Gin was the favorite in the bunch as well. Flights and cocktails were very moderately priced and gift shop was fully stocked with items for purchase. All staff members we encountered had a smile on their face and were super accommodating. Make Castle & Key apart of your visit list! It is well worth it!

We visited Castle and Key seeing it on a documentary and it did not disappoint. We were able to sign up for tour on the spot and it was busy. There we're releasing a 7 yr bourbon for the first time. Not knowing much about bourbon the tour was very informative and the grounds were beautiful. Many people appeared to out enjoying the afternoon. There was live music and two food trucks. Everyone we talked to, staff and patrons, were very friendly. If you are in the Lexington area and looking for a distillery to visit this would be a good choice.

Many of the distilleries have gone to larger, impersonal, gift shops and tasting rooms. Castle and Key still has that magical feeling. Small distillery, but so quaint. The people are all so helpful and so nice. We were invited to shop, or head over to grab a cocktail and bring it back to shop. Which is what we did. The grounds here are beautiful. We did not take a tour as we were short on time. But we will be back. Thank you to Seb and Matt for making our visit special.

This is probably my absolute favorite distillery to take family to. It's an amazing location, there is a nice garden walking trail, a great little bar, food trucks, and seating all around. You can walk along the creek, sip cocktails, and be part of bourbon history in Kentucky. And you can do it without paying for the tour itself I absolutely LOVE this place.

Gorgeous distillery! This distillery sat unused for 40+ years. It is so impressive what they've done to bring it back to life. And I'm so thankful they did because the grounds are so beautiful. In addition to the tour, they have plenty of outdoor seating where you can drink their product and eat food from a food truck. It is really more than a tour...it's an overall experience. You'll find yourself spending hours here on a nice day. I'll be honest with you. The tour guide wasn't the best, the food from the food truck was marginal, and I don't love their bourbon, but all of that is simply overrun by the environment they've created out here. I'd put it up there with Maker's Mark for the beauty of the surroundings. But when you add to that the bar and outdoor areas to sit you have an incredible place to go and simply get away, I highly recommend.

Beautiful distillery! We didn't do a tour, but loved the grounds, the gift shop and Husband loved his tasting of five of theirs. That way he knew which bottle to buy in the gift shop. Just be careful if you're going from place to place to not leave bourbon in a hot car for too long!

This was fun and very informative. Our guide was extremely knowledgeable and interesting. The Bloody Mary is magnificent and I highly recommend. Warning that even the mild is pretty spicy but the taste can't be beat. Well worth the money and the time.

Absolutely beautiful grounds and wonderful Tasting Room. Be sure to check out the gift shop even if you don't take a tour.

While visiting the bourbon trail over the course of a week, my husband and I had been to a handful of distillery tours and experiences. Castle & Key was by far our favorite! The tour guide, Rich, was very knowledgeable and had a great way of presenting the history of the distillery. The premises at Castle & Key are just beautiful! And every staff member we encountered had a smile and friendly welcome. We highly recommend that you put this one on your list if you're in Kentucky.

This place is well worth the time and money. A great combination of selection and personnel makes this a very enjoyable place

My favorite Distillery so far. The Grounds and Facility are amazingly cool, straight out of a 1930's era B/W film. Our Guide during Derby 151 week, Maggie, was also top-notch. Highly recommend.

Beautiful grounds, lots of history and great spirits!! Joined Key Collective and toured last Sunday with an amazing guide. She's been there since the opening and knew her stuff! Great fun to talk about the history of America's spirit, Kentucky and great distillers of the past. This is a regular stop for us.

Went for a tasting today one of the most beautiful grounds and buildings in the distillery world. Kaleb did a great job and was very inactive with everyone.

Great tour led by Blake Taylor! Kept everyone engaged and it was a ton of fun! Best tour I've had yet!

This is a beautiful facility/grounds, with plenty of peaceful places to walk through. The bar made me one of the best drinks of the trip, and I got to enjoy it with great friends. I told myself that, if I lived nearby, I would spend some afternoons at Castle & Key.

Oh my heck. This is where I want to live. The grounds are incredible. We arrived early. Had lunch by Glenn's Creek with an amazing Old Fashioned with the Castle & Key Rye. Delicious. Our tour started at the Springhouse and Melinda was our guide and she's simply perfect. The perfect mix of informative and irreverent and hysterical. I cannot stress how amazing these grounds are. We had an amazing Paper Train (think a better Paper Plane) and Manhattan after the tour. The bar smelled like summer on a perfect day. Did I mention I want to live here? Perfect tour. The tasting is amazing. The history is fascinating. And the hospitality is beyond perfection. Book your tour now.

Such a beautiful distillery! Personally, I loved this tour, but I'm not much of a bourbon drinker. My husband who is a bourbon drinker wasn't a fan of their bourbon as they're newer in comparison to other distilleries when it comes to bourbon. However, their gin is fantastic. They had a seasonal gin when we were there that was very heavy on the botanical flavors, which I loved. For the bourbon drinkers - I'd still recommend touring this one for the E. H. Taylor history and gorgeous grounds. The tour ended with a tasting which included a bourbon ball chocolate and a hibiscus / gin cocktail. I loved this drink so much that I bought the cocktail mix in the store. You can also purchase cocktails to drink and walk the grounds - so of course I got the summer gin slushee. Overall this was a great addition to our bourbon tours.

Tasting lab and brief tour was outstanding - very, very historic. Gift shop is excellent

Castor & Key is AWESOME. We came for a tour and it was fantastic. Our tour guide, Kaylee, was knowledgeable about not only the distillery, but Kentucky and Bourbon in general. She's clearly had an education surrounding that. The venue is absolutely amazing. So gorgeous. There's a small bar with awesome drinks and you can take them to a lot of different little sitting locations on the property and just get lost in the beauty of it all and the great spirits. A wonderful way to spend a day.

Perfect stop after touring Woodford reserve as it's right down the road. We stopped without any scheduled tours or tastings. Instead we opted to go to the bar and order a bourbon tasting flight and a charcuterie board. The charcuterie board was a little steep at 20$ but honestly was good quality and the perfect bite to go with our bourbons. We sat and ate and then walked around the beautiful grounds. Although we didn't book a tour there was one going on right next to us so we got a little sneak peek. Would love to visit again!

Stopped by for a tasting and to check out this iconic distillery. The space is very cool as they refurbished some of the old machinery/buildings. The grounds are sprawled about in the area and they have some gorgeous architecture mixed along the forest/waterways. The staff was very friendly and we loved trying flights and cocktails before moving on. They also feature a lot of great clothing (Barbour), candles, bourbon and plants in their gift shop. Worth a visit!

The grounds themselves are amazing. Beautiful place for a stroll and great history of Castle & Key Distillery. The tour we took was very educational on the process of making Bourbon and the different types they offer, including Gin and Vodka.

Excellent tour. Our tour guide Aaron was knowledgeable and thoughtful. Lovely grounds. Fantastic gift shop. Would highly recommend others to visit. This place is of great historical value to those who love bourbon and its story.

Beautiful historic property and guide Kaleb was extremely knowledgeable of the whole process. Clear spirits are as tasty as their whiskey.

An absolute must on the Bourbon Trail. Beautiful grounds and authentically preserved history, and knowledgeable guides. The botantical gardens, waterfall, laboratory, original manufacturing equipment and so much history of E.H. Taylor who was very progressive, made this particularly memorable. Grab yourself a cocktail before starting your tour. C&K are also distillers of vodka and gin. This week's special was "This Barbie Likes Gin", which was a clever pun, and nice to see some feminine energy in such a male dominated field. Our private guide was Antony, a charming young man with endless knowledge and patience to answer all our questions. Our tasting took place in the longest rickhouse in the world, which was like stepping into a portal back in time. Siphoning the Bourbon strait from one of the barrels for a tasting was yet another highlight of the tour. Castle & Key offered a "Bourbon Belles and Whiskey Women" book of distillers who are women along with their cocktail recipes. I appreciate this representation and inclusiveness in a business that has largely ignored the history and contribution of minorities and women.

Maggie was our tour guide and did a wonderful job. She detailed the history of Castle & Key and had a great perspective of where the Distillery was headed in the future. A unique and must-see experience.

Not impressed, the bartender lacked any personality, the old fashion was pre mixed and came out of a tap. Had I known that I would not have ordered it. My friend got one of the flights of different bourbons and gins and they all tasted of flowers. Def not what any of us wanted.

Our tour guide Molly had a very entertaining presentation, full of bourbon process info and historical facts about Castle and Key. The campus was very beautiful. We are looking forward to some of the restoration projects Molly described. The entire staff were very pleasant and friendly.

This is a beautiful, unique spot! The current owners restored the old Taylor Distillery, and it is worth a stop - especially on a nice day. The grounds are beautiful, and the buildings are lovi gly restored! I didn't have time for a tour, but I would probably do one if I get back here. Just grabbed an Old Fashioned and enjoyed the grounds.

Bourbon is incredible. Grounds are beautiful. Plenty of places to sit, enjoy a drink from the bar and take in the magnificent scenery. Chris, our tour guide, was amazing. He was very knowledgeable. He and the other employees were friendly and really seemed to enjoy working at Castle & Key. We even saw the owner walking around. It was a fantastic experience.

Trying to get here before they closed the bar but just missed it. We did get to walk around and check out the place thought. So cool with so much history. Everyone was so friendly. We will be back.

This place is beautiful! It's worth the trip just to see it. I found the bourbon to be harsh. The drinks at the bar are all pre-mixed and tasted like it. I found the bar tender to be kind of snotty and blamed everything on long lines. I felt rushed, didn't find the gift shop people to be particularly friendly either. Not my favorite.

Gorgeous distillery with botanical gardens, waters and lots of places to sit and be in nature as you partake in a cocktail.

I'm not a bourbon fan but my husband is . I loved the architecture and grounds . They even had a really good Oktoberfest beer for me while my husband did a tasting . We sat along the river and loved the whole setting . The service as great and the staff very friendly and helpful .