Retirement Celebrations and Relaxation Retreats
Updated November 2026 · BourbonTown Tours
A retirement bourbon tour with BourbonTown Tours is a private distillery day built around the retiree: their favorite bottles, their pace and their people. It is built like any of our custom bourbon tours, at $275 to $425 per person depending on group size, plus 6% KY sales tax and a 3% booking fee. The rate covers everything except lunch and driver gratuity.
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Quick Facts
- The retiree's party travels alone, never mixed with strangers.
- Private tours run $275 to $425 per person depending on group size, plus 6% KY sales tax and a 3% booking fee.
- The rate covers everything except lunch and driver gratuity.
- Custom tours typically run three stops, and we can add or subtract on your planning call.
- Pickup is wherever the retiree's party is staying in Louisville, Bardstown or Lexington, so nobody has to drive.
- Booking: 2 to 4 months ahead suits most retirement dates; a fall or spring weekend party needs more notice.
- You must be 21 to consume alcohol, and some experiences may require all attendees to be 21.
Retirement Celebrations
Celebrate the start of a new chapter with a private day in bourbon country. You do the drinking, we do the driving.
Start with the bottle on the retiree's shelf
The fastest way to plan a retirement day is to ask what the retiree pours at home. The bottle tells us the route. A Blanton's drinker goes to Buffalo Trace in Frankfort, where Blanton's is made. A Maker's Mark fan goes to Loretto, about 30 minutes south of Bardstown, where guests can dip a bottle they buy. An Old Forester drinker gets a Louisville city day. We build the other stops inside the same cluster, so the day spends its hours at distilleries, not on the highway. If Buffalo Trace is the stop, reach out at least 10 weeks ahead. Custom tours typically run three stops, and we can add or subtract on your planning call. Name the bottle in your first message and we take it from there.
Relaxation Retreats
Take a break from the hustle and enjoy a relaxing day with your group: a private vehicle, a guide, and a day of distilleries paced to the group. Custom tours typically run three stops, and we can add or subtract on your planning call.
Wineries, Historic Towns and Other Stops
BourbonTown Tours runs private bourbon distillery tours, not winery or historic town tours, so we do not run those outings. If a winery, museum or attraction accepts visitors on your dates, book Transportation Only. Transportation Only puts our private vehicle and driver on the plan you make: SUV for 1 to 5 guests, $100 an hour. Van for 6 to 14 guests, $150 an hour. 4-hour minimum, plus 6% KY sales tax and a 3% booking fee. Billing runs from the time our vehicle leaves our garage until it returns. The winery or museum sets its own tickets, hours and prices, so confirm those with it before you book the vehicle.
What your tour includes
- Distillery tickets and tastings for the retiree and every guest
- A Bourbon Experience Coordinator who plans the trip with you
- A private vehicle and a professional guide who drives the tour, paced to the retiree
- A sit-down lunch table we reserve on the route, paid on your tab, or box lunches added to the quote
- Gift-shop bottles, including any Maker's Mark bottle the retiree dips, bought separately
A deposit reserves your date. Your quote includes the full details.
Frequently asked questions
Can a retirement tour be built around the retiree's favorite distilleries?
Yes. A retirement tour is built like any of our custom tours, around the group's interests, and there is no special retirement route. Name the retiree's favorite bottles or distilleries and we build the day inside the driving cluster that holds them: Louisville, Bardstown and beyond, Frankfort and Versailles, Lawrenceburg, or Lexington. Custom tours typically run three stops, and we can add or subtract on your planning call.
Can we keep the day relaxed?
Yes. The day is paced to the group. A tour day runs 6 to 8 hours, and that total has to absorb the drive out, the hops between stops, lunch and the drive back. Custom tours typically run three stops, and for a relaxed day we keep it there, or drop to two. For a slower day we reserve a sit-down lunch table on the route, and the meal goes on your tab.
How far ahead should we book a retirement tour?
Two to four months ahead is best. Fall and spring weekends fill first, so plan earlier for those seasons. We can sometimes build a day on a week's notice, but distillery tours may already be full. A retirement party set for Derby week should book 4 to 6 months out, and one during the Bourbon Festival in mid-September 6 months or more. If the retiree pours Blanton's and Buffalo Trace is the stop, reach out at least 10 weeks ahead. We reply the same day between 8 AM and 8 PM Eastern. Requests after 8 PM get a reply the next morning.
What if I don't drink but I still want to take the tour?
That's no problem. Non-drinkers pay the full per-person rate. The distillery tours cover how bourbon is made and the history of each place, and none of that needs a sip. A spouse or friend of the retiree who does not drink still rides along and takes every tour, and the per-person rate follows the party's headcount, not the number tasting.
How do I dress, and what can't I bring?
Closed-toe shoes are required and comfort is key. Dress for the weather twice over: you move between indoor production floors and outdoor walkways, and a rickhouse, the warehouse where barrels age, sits at whatever temperature the day outside is, hot in August and cold in January. The retiree's party may not bring firearms of any kind, and smoking is not allowed in the vehicle.
Is it customary to tip the driver?
Gratuity is customary. Driver gratuity is not included in the tour price. Everything else on the retiree's day is in the rate: distillery tickets, tasting fees, trip planning by a Bourbon Experience Coordinator, the private vehicle with a professional guide who drives the tour, and a confirmed lunch reservation.
Plan your retirement celebration in bourbon country
BourbonTown Tours has run 3,000+ private tours since 2012. Every tour is private to your group, never mixed with strangers, and covers everything except lunch and driver gratuity. Distillery tickets are included.
Private tours run $275 to $425 per person depending on group size, plus 6% KY sales tax and a 3% booking fee.