Welcome to Historic Bardstown, Kentucky – the “Bourbon Capital of the World”. Located in central Kentucky, Bardstown serves as the county seat for Nelson County. It is here that Bardstown earned its nickname since it is home to several of the world’s top bourbon distilleries including Heaven Hill, Maker’s Mark, and the internationally known, Jim Bean. Bardstown renowned bourbon industry has a long tradition in the area, and started at the turn of the century when local farmers found other ways to utilize their excess corn harvests – bourbon fit the bill, and has stayed ever since. Due to the high concentration of bourbon manufacturers here, Bardstown is home to the very popular annual festival, the Kentucky Bourbon Festival.

Don’t think that bourbon (or alcohol in general) is all Bardstown is about. Like a complex organism, there is so much more that characterizes this lovely community. For the fundamentalist in you, you may be pleased to know that Bardstown has a longstanding religious heritage. Bardstown is recognized as the first major base for Roman Catholicism west of the Appalachians. It was here that the stunning Basilica of St. Joseph Cathedral was erected in the early 1800’s to pay homage to that fact.

Another major attraction of Bardstown is the My Old Kentucky Home State Park. The park was named after the Stephen Foster book, ”My Old Kentucky Home" which depicted early life in Kentucky.