Jim Beam Distillery Tour, Events & Tastings (2023 Updated)

Last Updated on August 21, 2023 by Lydia Martin

The Jim Beam brand, founded in 1795, is one of the oldest bourbon brands in the US. It’s home to over 125 different labels and variations of bourbon and North American whiskey. 

The place offers an informative and interactive tour if you’re interested in seeing the behind-the-scenes of what makes the brand special.

Let’s look at the Jim Beam Distillery Tour so you know what to expect. 

About The Jim Beam Distillery Tour

Jim Beam has two distilleries: the Jim Beam American Stillhouse, located in the rolling foothills of Clermont, Kentucky, and the Jim Beam Urban Stillhouse in downtown Louisville, Kentucky. 

The Jim Beam Bourbon Distillery Tour is conducted in the Clermont distillery.

This 90-minute guided tour is your chance to experience the distilling expertise of James B. Beam Distilling Co and discover how the Beam family has been making Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey for over two centuries. 

The tour ends with a guided tasting in one of their newly-built tasting rooms, where you’ll have the opportunity to experience genuine Kentucky-style bourbons. The bartenders will also build you cocktails at the nearby American Outpost bar. 

You can also visit the Gift Shop for souvenirs. 

What’s It About 

Location

The James B. Beam Distilling C is located at 568 Happy Hollow Road, Clermont, KY. 

Hours

This bourbon distillery tour is available every 90 minutes from Wednesday to Sunday (Mondays and Tuesdays excluded) 

Tours start as early as 9:00 am, with the last scheduled at 3:30 pm. You may view the calendar on their official website to check availability 

Distillery Events

The Jim Beam Distillery is part of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, a yearly event to promote the local distilleries in Kentucky, the world’s bourbon capital. 

The Kentucky Bourbon Trail lets you tour over 40 distilleries in 90 minutes. There is also no right or wrong way to go around the birthplace of bourbon — every Bourbon Trail journey is personalized, depending on how you want to go about it. 

Read: Jim Beam Collector Bottles

Jim Beam Distillery Tour Features 

The tour features an exclusive, behind-the-barrel journey at all your favorite Beam Bourbons, starting from the brand’s history.

This tour gives you a backstage pass to your favorite Jim Beam Kentucky Bourbon, starting from the natural limestone water, locally-sourced grains to the special yeast that Jim Beam himself kept within the family.

You’ll also see the hardest-working still in America that make some of their labels, including Basil Hayden and Knob Creek, in action. 

Of course, the bourbon production process isn’t just about the fermentation and distillation — you’ll also get to visit their historic Warehouse F, where the magic of maturation happens. [1] 

Guests who are fans of Knob Creek Bourbon are in luck — they’ll get to walk their bottling line and purchase a Single Barrel bottle, with the opportunity to become a Beam family distiller and customize the label themselves. 

The tour ends with a trip to the Jim Beam American Outpost bar, where you’ll taste bourbon from Jim Beam, Knob Creek, and Basil Hayden, and get bourbon cocktails. 

If you’re not in a hurry, you can also pull up a chair at Fred’s Smokehouse, a bourbon-inspired cafe near the area. 

Other Things To Consider

• The bourbon tour is only available to guests 21 years old (legal drinking age) and above. 
• Only 24 attendees are allowed per tour schedule, with each tour lasting for 90 minutes. 
• Military with valid IDs are granted free admission. 
• If you wish to cancel your reservation for whatever reason, you may do so for up to 24 hours to get a full refund. Cancellations of tours done less than 24 hours before the scheduled tour will not be refunded. 

FAQs 

How long is the Jim Beam distillery tour?

The Jim Beam Tour lasts 90 minutes or 1.5 hours. This gives guests plenty of time for a full tour around their distillery and sampling some of their bourbons. 

How many Jim Beam distilleries are there?

Jim Beam has two distilleries: the Jim Beam American Stillhouse located in Clermont, Kentucky, and the Jim Beam Urban Stillhouse located in Louisville, Kentucky. 

How much does the Jim Beam distillery tour cost?

The Jim Beam standard distillery tour costs around $22 plus tax and fees.

Key Takeaways  

The Jim Beam American Stillhouse Tour is one of the best bourbon experiences we’ve been to, as it’s a pretty immersive tour from start to finish. 

If you’re a fan of Jim Beam brands or just eager to learn more about fermenting, distilling, maturing, and bottling bourbon, this is a great place to go.

The tour begins with sharing the company’s history, getting to know their raw materials, and seeing their stills in action. It finishes with a Kentucky bourbon-tasting experience in their newly-built tasting room. 

So if that sounds interesting, this hands-on experience is highly recommended. 

Reference: 

1. https://www.britannica.com/topic/distilled-spirit/Maturation-blending-and-packaging