My Old Kentucky Dinner Train
Bardstown sits surrounded by the hills and woodlands of Kentucky’s bluegrass country, and one of the best ways to experience the landscape is aboard My Old Kentucky Dinner Train. Departing from a historic depot near the center of Bardstown, this excursion combines the best of fine dining and natural sightseeing.
The dinner train consists of a pair of dining cars from the 1940s with a kitchen car in between. Trips take place during lunch and dinnertime and last two to two and a half hours. In addition to three- or four-course meals, passengers get a narrated ride through Bernheim Forest and the historic grounds of the Jim Beam distillery.
Civil War Museum
Considered by many enthusiasts to be among the most important museums of its kind in the country, Bardstown’s Civil War Museum houses Kentucky’s largest collection of Civil War artifacts. The museum focuses specifically on the western theater of the war and, in addition to weapons, uniforms and other military items, includes displays that deal with the cultural and political forces at work in the United States during the time of the Civil War.
The museum is part of a complex that also includes the Women’s Museum of the Civil War, one of the only national museums to focus on the role of women in the war, as well as the War Memorial of Mid-America and a pioneer village with about a dozen historic structures.
Bourbon Central
If your group is open to learning about and sampling bourbon, there is no better place than Bardstown to learn about Kentucky’s native spirit. The town is near the heart of Kentucky’s Bourbon Trail and has a number of distilleries large and small. Groups can take tours of the small, family-owned Willett Distillery or walk through the large, industrial Barton 1792 Distillery for an in-depth look at the bourbon production process, as well as take part in tastings at both locations.
Groups should also make time to visit the Bourbon Heritage Center at the Heaven Hill Distillery. This museum gives guests a comprehensive look at the history of bourbon in Kentucky and includes a tasting experience inside a room designed to look like the inside of a bourbon barrel. High-end connoisseur tastings are also available.
For more information contact Visit Bardstown at 800-638-4877 or go to www.visitbardstown.com.
