Rickhouse Barrel Thieving at Bardstown Bourbon Company
Updated October 2026 · BourbonTown Tours
Rickhouse Barrel Thieving is a one-hour guided tasting inside a working rickhouse at Bardstown Bourbon Company. Guests taste three whiskeys pulled straight from individual barrels, compare them side by side, and finish with a pour of one of Bardstown Bourbon Company's own expressions. It is a standalone tasting, not a distillery tour, and there is no bottle to take home. Standard distillery experiences are included; premium and VIP add-ons are quoted on your planning call.
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Quick Facts
- Where: Bardstown Bourbon Company, 1500 Parkway Drive, Bardstown.
- Length: one hour, inside a working rickhouse.
- What you taste: three whiskeys drawn straight from individual barrels, then a pour of one of the distillery's own expressions.
- No distillery tour, and no bottle to take home.
- Runs Wednesday through Sunday only.
- You must be 21 to consume alcohol, and some experiences may require all attendees to be 21.
- Included in a BourbonTown Tours private tour rate.
What happens during Rickhouse Barrel Thieving
The tasting takes place in a rickhouse, the aging warehouse where barrels rest in tall racks while the whiskey matures. A guide draws whiskey from three individual barrels, and the group tastes each one as it comes out of the barrel, before any blending, filtering or bottling. Along the way the guide explains the mash bill behind each barrel, so the group hears why one barrel tastes of grain and spice and the next of caramel and oak.
Tasting barrels side by side is the clearest way to understand what the warehouse does to a whiskey. The hour ends with a toast: a pour of one of Bardstown Bourbon Company's own expressions, so the group tastes a finished bottle after three barrels that are still on their way to becoming one.
Who it suits
Groups who have already walked through a distillery, or who would rather taste than tour, get the most from it. It puts the hour into the rickhouse and the glass instead of the grain room and the stills. For a group's first distillery visit, the standard tour at Bardstown Bourbon Company, the Core Four, walks through the distillery and a rickhouse, and Rickhouse Barrel Thieving can sit alongside a standard tour at another stop the same day.
Bardstown Bourbon Company also offers Beyond the Barrel, which adds a distillery tour and the chance to buy a bottle from a featured barrel. The bottle is the guest's to buy.
About Bardstown Bourbon Company
Bardstown Bourbon Company was founded in 2014 and opened in 2016, on 100 acres on Parkway Drive in Bardstown. Its standard tour is the Core Four. It runs no tours on Monday or Tuesday, and Rickhouse Barrel Thieving runs Wednesday through Sunday only. Bottles bought in its shop cannot be shipped, so plan to carry them home. The on-site Kitchen and Bar serves lunch on tour days, and it can be the lunch stop on a Bardstown day: we book and confirm the lunch table, and the meal goes on your tab.
Building a Bardstown day around it
Bardstown Bourbon Company sits a few minutes from the town's other distilleries: Heaven Hill to Bardstown Bourbon Company is about 5 minutes, and Heaven Hill to Willett about 8. A typical shape is a production tour at Heaven Hill or Willett to open, Rickhouse Barrel Thieving next, lunch, and a third stop to close. Maker's Mark in Loretto is about 30 minutes south of Bardstown if the group wants to dip a bottle. Custom tours typically run three stops, and we can add or subtract on your planning call.
On a Sunday, plan two distilleries with a sit-down lunch, or three with a box lunch. Willett is closed on Sundays, and Heaven Hill runs 1 to 5 on Sundays, which narrows which three.
Bardstown is about 50 minutes from Louisville and about 75 minutes from Lexington. Private bourbon tours from Bardstown covers the town, and the Heaven Hill distillery guide and the Willett distillery guide cover the neighbors.
A private Bardstown day with BourbonTown Tours costs $275 to $425 per person depending on group size, plus 6% KY sales tax and a 3% booking fee; only lunch, such as a table at the on-site Kitchen and Bar, and driver gratuity sit outside it. Standard distillery experiences are included; premium and VIP add-ons are quoted on your planning call. Once your tour is confirmed, we reserve the rickhouse tasting and the day's other Bardstown stops for your exact date, and each one appears in your itinerary. The VIP experiences we can book sets out the others.
Frequently asked questions
What is Rickhouse Barrel Thieving?
Rickhouse Barrel Thieving is a one-hour guided tasting at Bardstown Bourbon Company, held inside a working rickhouse. Guests taste three whiskeys pulled straight from individual barrels, learn the mash bill behind each, and finish with a pour of one of the distillery's own expressions. It is a tasting rather than a tour, so there is no walk through the distillery and no bottle to take home.
How do we add Rickhouse Barrel Thieving to a BourbonTown Tours private tour?
Tell us when you request a quote. Standard distillery experiences are included; premium and VIP add-ons are quoted on your planning call. A private tour is $275 to $425 per person depending on group size, plus 6% KY sales tax and a 3% booking fee, and covers everything except lunch and driver gratuity. We book the tasting once your tour is confirmed and show it in your itinerary.
Which days does Rickhouse Barrel Thieving run?
Wednesday through Sunday only. Bardstown Bourbon Company runs no tours on Monday or Tuesday, so a Bardstown day early in the week needs other stops. On a Sunday, plan two distilleries with a sit-down lunch or three with a box lunch, and remember that Willett is closed on Sundays and Heaven Hill opens from 1 to 5.
Do you take a bottle home from Rickhouse Barrel Thieving?
No. Rickhouse Barrel Thieving is a tasting, and no bottle comes with it. Guests who want a bottle can buy one in the Bardstown Bourbon Company shop, and those bottles are the guest's to pay for. The shop cannot ship them, so plan to carry them. Beyond the Barrel, a separate experience there, adds a distillery tour and the chance to buy a bottle.
How far ahead should we book?
If Rickhouse Barrel Thieving is a must, ask early. 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. For a Bardstown Bourbon Company date, book Derby week 4 to 6 months out and the mid-September Bourbon Festival 6 months or more. We check availability against your dates before it goes into the plan.
Send us your dates
Tell us the dates, the headcount and that Rickhouse Barrel Thieving is on your list, and we build the Bardstown day around it.