My best friend and her husband recently came to Louisville to visit. Due to the pandemic, we didn't really have plans for going out, but decided to take a walk downtown so that they could see some of the places we would have visited under normal circumstances. Outside of Evan Williams we were greeted by a super friendly employee! She offered for us to come inside for a bourbon sample and to look at their products in their gift shop. The samples got us, and we ended up purchasing a bottle of bourbon and a bottle of cider with bourbon. Both were so good! The gift shop set up is very nice, and they have a great variety of products. A lot of gift sets as well, which would be great for the upcoming holidays! I really look forward to being able to take a full tour of Evan Wiliams Bourbon Experience in the future! read more

I really didn't know what to expect with Louisville's newest destination -- maybe some pics from Evan Williams Bourbon's past, lots of pitches for its current products and then a quick swig of bourbon at the end. Wow, was I underestimating EWBE! There was some serious money spent on creating this attraction, and it was money well spent. Plus, for $12, this really is a must-do for visitors and locals. I don't want to ruin some of the surprises you'll come across during your visit, but I can say that the guided tours I've gone on have lasted about an hour. The guides have been fabulous -- funny, knowledgable and engaging. Be sure to check out the tiny artisanal distillery in EWBE that is making bourbon everyday. And happily, I came out of the EWBE a more knowledgable bourbon drinker. I'm still very much a bourbon novice, but now I can talk about how to drink bourbon and what to look for in it. There is also quite a bit of Louisville history in the tour, which I loved. One last tip: Ask your guide if you can check out the speakeasy in the basement. It's not on the normal tour but is definitely worth a looks-see. Cheers! read more

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My friend and I enjoyed our tour during our visit to Louisville. The tour guide was very informative and audio visual made for great story telling. Gift ship was great as well. read more

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I was prepared to hate this stop. I intended to make the stop just to get a stamp in my passport. You see, a few months earlier they closed (early) 5 min before we arrived. While we were on the phone with them. Yes, the weather meant people hadn't visited in significant numbers but still. We were just a few minutes away. Anyway, I was bitter and held a grudge. Then we chatted with a guest at another distillery and learned we should do the speakeasy tour. So we did. And it ended up being one of the best experiences we had. Why? 1- Great info. 2- You felt you'd gone back in time without it being hokey. 3- Best value for money paid. For $18, we had 4 tastings. One was a $150 retail red label and another was a $280 retail blue label. You have to know to ask for a speakeasy tour when you stop in (figures, right?). It's worth it. read more

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The Evan Williams Bourbon Experience is like Disneyland for grown ups! I learned about Evan Williams and made a call to get the tour and tasting. Although I have had Evan Williams bourbon before, I did not know that it was Kentucky's 1st Bourbon. The Admission was $12 for Adults, this includes a tour through the building that is audio visually interactive and interesting. You learn about the history of Evan Williams and start of Bourbon making, how it is made today and stored. You can even catch them making a batch or two. Our tour guide was great, she was friendly and knowledgeable and wanted everyone to enjoy the tour and we did. She brought us to the tasting room, where you sample small 1/2 pours of two higher quality Evan Williams Bourbons. We learned about sampling and comparing the flavors and how to drink Bourbon differently. When we arrived at the end of the tour, exiting of course through the gift shop, we went crazy buying up all the fun Evan Williams stuff. We bought bourbon mustard, bourbon maple syrup, Peppermint Chocolate Egg Nog flavored bourbon, mini bourbon bottles, bourbon balls and some bourbon toffee. We have been enjoying our souvenirs. We had a lot of fun and recommend this to all Bourbon lovers. read more

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For far too long, visitors to Louisville have had to drive well outside city limits in order to see a guided tour of a working still. This tour should immediately and rightfully earn a top spot on the to-do list of any conventioneers, as it is a drink-tastic multimedia celebration of our bourbon heritage. Hour-long tours of this new stop on Kentucky's bourbon trail are $12 and well worth it. We loved the video, which starts with a state-of-the-art historical re-imagination of Evan Williams (the bourbon Messiah) and the establishment of the city. You're then transported to the working on-site "artisanal" distillery, which Heaven Hill has set up here to show off for the masses and potentially as an experimentation (small batch) lab. (A flaw in the Heaven Hill tour in Bardstown is that there is no distilling on site there. The new place gets it right.) And naturally, it culminates in a visit to one of two beautiful period-piece tasting rooms (1890s or 1960s), a taste of a couple bourbons, and a gift shop. This is a great addition to downtown. Michter's and Angel's Envy, if you're listening, the bar has been set. (Pun intended.) read more

Evan Williams Bourbon Experience - Fab multimedia - Tours Near Me - Louisville, Kentucky

Neat place to visit. The staff was very nice. The second floor has a loaded gift shop with everything you could want and more. When they say grab a basket... the my are not kidding as there is so much in the gift store. read more

Evan Williams Bourbon Experience - Lobby - Tours Near Me - Louisville, Kentucky

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Not what we expected. Louisville city location 4 years old and not bottling yet. This had a great mulimedia presentation and old cities to wonder thru. Guide was great. He loved bourbon and drank a lot of the 180 dollar bottle since most sold in japan. Only compaint is that 4 pours were miniscule. At most 2 ounces combined. read more

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Loved it! I came to Louisville for work and decided to pop in this distillery before I drove to the airport on a Friday afternoon. The people that work here were all super nice; I went with the $12 prohibition tour (30 min tour) as I didn't have an hour for the other tour. While waiting for the tour to start I went upstairs and checked out the gift shop, which was really cute. I ended up buying a delicious bourbon smelling candle. After a few minutes, I went back downstairs and embarked on the prohibition tour. There was about 8 of us on the tour, and we walked downstairs into a room that resembled your grandfather's basement, very 1920s looking. The tour guide then said to one of the guys on the tour, knock on the door and ask for Jack, tell him 'so and so' sent you. So cool. Jack then let us into his fairly large "Prohibition style" bar. What a cool older guy, so friendly, and knowledgeable. He chatted about what the 1920s were like and how people used to sneak alcohol and how Bourbon was made and the tour finished with three samples. I was told we could have another free sample at the gift shop, but I had to leave after the tour. I would hang out at this beautiful wooden circular bar all day if I could, awesome bar. All in all, a fun time and I highly recommend it! read more

Evan Williams Bourbon Experience - Entrance!! - Tours Near Me - Louisville, Kentucky

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I went back because this is still my favorite tour. It was really creative, and don't forget to pay attention to the little details like the old bottles inside the display case. Additionally, they had us taste the bourbon blend called Master Blend. read more

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I've been to many breweries, wine tours and "experiences" all over the country and Evan Williams' tour definitely stands at the top of the list. The tour runs every 30 minutes and comes in at $14 -- which includes four bourbon tastings at the end of the hour-long tour. Our tour guide, Charles, was excellent and had the perfect mix of information and humor through out the tour. In addition to learning the history of the Evan Williams distillery, we also learned a lot of interesting information on the history of bourbon, the bourbon industry and the city of Louisville. All in all, super information and kept my attention the entire time. At the end of the tour, you go through a four bourbon tasting - ranging from their "low cost" bottle to the red label (which comes in around $130 a bottle). Charles walked us through each bourbon, discussing the tasting notes and information about each one is produced. Outside of the tour, the facility has a small gift shop with a lot of cute souvenirs (from magnets, to candles, to BBQ sauces and more) and Bourbons that you can take home. The bourbon district is bustling in downtown Louisville and I don't think there's any way you should visit without a stop at Evan Williams! read more

Our experience was amazing. Our tour guide, Bob, was very informative and seemed like he really really cared about our experience. He remembered where each of us were from and drew on that to expand our experience. He also remembered me say that I like rye more than bourbon typically and steered me to try some of their parent companies ryes. One was the best I've had and I ended up buying a bottle. Overall, it was a really fun experience. From learning about the way it was made to the history of Louisville and Evan Williams. I would definitely recommend and will come back whenever I'm in Louisville. read more

Evan Williams Bourbon Experience - Bar where tasting is done - Tours Near Me - Louisville, Kentucky

This review is based on a visit during a special event, so some areas or elements of the tour may be different for the general public. I've had the opportunity to visit many bourbon distilleries in KY and I was so impressed with this new, Heaven Hill venture! I attended a New2Lou event held at the Evan Williams Bourbon Experience this week and had a chance to do a self-guided tour (I believe this is normally with a guide), sample four products, and enjoy cocktails in their private room which is reminiscent of a speak easy. The building has been designed beautifully with so much attention to detail. The lighting is perfect, the signage and videos are informative (& attractive), and the bar spaces are roomy & comfortable. I only have two small quibbles with this attraction. The first would be that they are unable to offer the accompanying audio with all the video because of noise levels in adjacent rooms. This is quite distracting as you see the actors' mouths moving, but no sounds come out. The second is that they didn't offer their seasonal products at the bar. I wanted to try the fall, apple cider bourbon but didn't want to buy an entire bottle before tasting. I wasn't able to sample it or buy a cocktail. This seemed like a lost opportunity to get people excited about specialty flavors not often found at bars and restaurants for purchase. I'll definitely be taking out of town guests that dunt have time to venture down the bourbon trail to this convenient and lovely spot downtown! read more

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I can't believe that I hadn't reviewed the Evan Williams Bourbon Experience yet, but after now having experienced the traditional tour, the Speakeasy tour, and the History of Bourbon tour, I think that I can give a thorough evaluation of the attraction. Located in the heart of downtown Louisville behind a historic business facade, Evan Williams is really a hidden gem. Walk into the soaring lobby and you are greeted by a "bourbon" fountain, as well as a friendly employee. For my most recent visit, I did the traditional tour, and we assembled just behind the desk in the atrium. We were greeted by our knowledgeable and friendly tour guide, Devon, who led us through the building and through the history of Evan Williams and his bourbon. As someone who has visited a number of distilleries, I had always wondered how Evan Williams managed to put everything from a traditional distillery tour into a building in downtown Louisville. I was expecting some Chronicles of Narnia-style hidden feats, and while that's not quite how they do it, suffice it to say that you'll still get the full distillery experience right in the heart of downtown. If you are able, I also highly recommend the Speakeasy Tour and the History of Bourbon Tour, both of which take place within the downstairs Prohbition-era speakeasy in the building. I did the latter 4 years ago with a group and loved learning about the history of distilled beverages through the ages. And speaking of 4 years ago, the staff is just as engaging and friendly now as they were when I took that first tour. I love that this location has continued to recruit and retain exceptional employees for an experience that remains true to their brand. If you're visiting Louisville, or just wanting to try something new in your hometown, check out the Evan Williams Bourbon Experience for your escape from the ordinary! read more

As others have said, this isn't a distillery tour so don't expect to see thousands of aging barrels (they do distill one barrel a day here so I suppose it's technically a distillery in the way I made microwave lasagna so technically I cooked Italian) or have your your led by a 30 year master distiller. Instead, it is sort of a "Disney-fied" museum (minus the annoying songs and hours of waiting in line for a 5 min ride) which gives some history of bourbon and Evan Williams and shows you the basics of how bourbon is distilled. You end the tour in one of their themed bars where you sample some of their product and get a chocolate bourbon ball. We ended up in the 1890s bar with the lift up hidden compartments in the table which was fun. The tour guides aren't necessarily bourbon experts but they know their stuff and this is a fun time. This isn't a substitute for actual distillery visits on the bourbon trail but it's a fun time in Louisville and totally worth checking out. read more

Evan Williams Bourbon Experience - Thirsty? Too bad this isn't real bourbon! - Tours Near Me - Louisville, Kentucky

They have created this bourbon tour to be for tourists. They walk you through the tour with videos. I feel like you didn't get as much of the day-to-day, hands-on feel of bourbon making. Lots of good information was shared and the tasting was the best part! The tasting room area was the coolest spot and was memorable. read more

The Evan Williams tour was our last of the weekend. After going on several other tours, the videos and the historic vibe was a fun change of pace. Our tour guide Bob was enthusiastic and obviously loves his job and bourbon. He made it a great experience for everyone in our family. The four tastings were Evan Williams Black Label, Single Barrel 2010, Master Blend, and 12 years 101 proof. Our group liked the Single Barrel and the 12 years best. Bob was very knowledgeable about the bourbon. The tasting felt a little rushed, but then we got bourbon-filled chocolate on our way out, so that made me very happy. We tried to go without a reservation on Saturday afternoon, but the tours were sold out. When we had looked online that morning there were a lot of openings. We then made a reservation for the first tour on Monday morning. When we arrived, there were only nine of us scheduled for the tour, but by the time the tour started, we had a full group of about 20-24. My recommendation is to book online even if it looks like there are a lot of spaces open! We had a group of five adults. I think this would be a good tour to do with children if you need to bring them along because of the videos and interesting historical decor. The tasting room is pretty small, though they have two tables behind the bar where children could sit if allowed. read more

Evan Williams Bourbon Experience - Tasting 6/24/2019 - Tours Near Me - Louisville, Kentucky

We enjoyed the tour with Charles. It's clear he loves his job. It was very educational and different than any tour we have done. read more

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When deciding on a star rating for this experience, I was rather torn. I visited this venue for the first time in 2014 to attend a non-profit organization that I was volunteering at the time's Christmas party. Guests were invited to enjoy the Traditional Tour & Tasting option. If memory serves me correctly, each room focused on a specific time period that is vital to the timeline of the Evan Williams brand. There were interactive videos and exhibits scattered throughout. Each staff member I interacted was fun and ready to share their expertise of the bourbon industry. They were also eager to share a sample of the current offerings of the company. Flash forward to New Years Eve 2017- my boyfriend and I decide to attend one of the Speakeasy Tasting Experiences to cap off the year. This was his first visit, and I assumed that the Speakeasy option would be a premium choice over the Traditional Tour & Tasting. The speakeasy room is exactly what one is looking for in a speakeasy. It is located in the lower floor of the building and dimly lit with a gorgeous bar that is the central focus of the room. Our bartender was dressed in clothing appropriate for the 1800s and shared the history of the brand from that viewpoint. Personally, I love stuff like that. The entirety of this session was thirty minutes with tastings sprinkled in between facts about the bourbon we were sampling. Each guest left with a voucher to redeem in the gift shop for an Evan Williams branded glass. I am honestly uncertain as to which tour I enjoyed more, primarily due to the concept of return on investment. The Traditional Tour & Tasting costs $12 per person with a total time of one hour. This allows access to the aforementioned exhibitions and rooms. The Speakeasy Tasting Experience costs $18 per person with a total of thirty minutes. One never leaves his/her seat at the bar. The perks of the latter appears to be the delight of drinking higher shelf samples of Evan Williams and the branded glass. For locals or those that visit Louisville often, I would suggest visiting twice to partake in two rather different experiences. *Reminder: Get a stamp for your Kentucky Bourbon Trail passport in the gift shop. read more

I'm not sure how I feel about these "in the city" bourbon tours. I'm never quite sure if they are actually making the stuff at the location, or if I'm just looking at the animated Disney version. This tour leaned more on the Disney side. It was a nice experinece, the tour guide knowledgeable and fun. The challenge is there are so many really great tours, it's hard to stand out. The plus for Evan Williams is that it's right in the city, co it's convenient. read more

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It was an amazing experience! I loved being able to sample the bourbon and the whole tour and experience!

I'll admit that I wasn't originally planning to take this tour, but my out-of-town bf and I needed something to do downtown on Memorial Day and most things were closed. We found this online and figured we would go because it was reasonably priced. We just missed the 2:30 tour so we had to wait from like 2:31-3:00. I was nervous that I would get bored and not want to go by the time our tour was ready, but there was a lot of interesting stuff to look at and read both in the waiting area and in the gift shop. Noah was our tour guide and he was amazing! He was obviously working from a script (and from what I know of tour experiences it was probably pretty strict!), but he made our experience personal and conversational. He inserted his own punny jokes frequently and got our whole group groaning if not laughing! The tour was a good mix of historical facts, distilling processes, and bourbon tasting. I had a great time here and would recommend it to anyone looking for something to do in the area! read more

Our tour guide was very sweet. The tour was ok, but other distilleries blow it out of the water.

Decided the bourbon I love could draw me down to Louisville, So, we drove over two and half hours to get here. Heed my warning the tour may be booked and you will be asked to wait two hours for the next opening. That preparation was new to me because I concentrate and visit distilleries in these regions: Indiana, Northern Virginia and Western NY. Why not visit the mother load in Kentucky? I suppose the shear volume of visitors to the distilleries makes the process here a little more like the airlines and disney. GOOGLE+ Craft Whiskey & Distilleries read more

A redemption tour for me because I had a health-related issue last time. 5 stars automatically because the staff are all accommodating and embody that 'Southern Hospitality.' They took care of me last time and this time as well. I love that you can book tours online ahead of time. Check in was super simple since they only needed to verify my reservation with my ID. I've heard this place has the nickname of "The Disneyland of Bourbon Distilleries" since it's partially animated to show you the history and process of making the bourbon. This was the first distillery I brought my out-of-state friend to and it was very informative. After the tasting, she actually warmed up to liking bourbon and trying drinks (she's mostly a beer connoisseur). The distillery tours are the best way to get acquainted with the bourbon industry out here, so be sure to book one and get a taste of a few different bourbons. read more

Evan Williams Bourbon Experience - Tours Near Me - Louisville, Kentucky

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Fun tour! It's like the Epcot of distillery tours. Our informative guide took us through a short history of bourbon, Louisville and the distilling process. The best part was the tasting room where we got to sample four different types of bourbon. Cool way to spend some time in downtown Louisville if you are a bourbon fan. read more

So, no, I'm not the biggest Evan Williams fan. But this tour was fun! I learned a lot about Evan Williams, but also a lot about the history of Louisville and its distilleries. A very fun tour to do when you're in town! We had a great time! read more

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This was pretty cool. It's located right in downtown Louisville. We did a tour which included a tasting. You get a background on how this bourbon brand came to be and get a behind the scenes tour of the whole process. They have a couple rooms set up like bars to do the tasting in. You get four kinds to try where the market value ranges greatly so you get to really taste the differences. They have a gift shop you can browse at the end. Don't forget to get a stamp for your bourbon trail passport. Note you can bring kids because there were a ton for the tour we did which was interesting. Overall it was a good time though. read more

Evan Williams Bourbon Experience - Tours Near Me - Louisville, Kentucky

We have visited EWBE many times for tours, a murder mystery in the basement speak easy & a Blind Pig Tasting. EWBE is located on Main Street adjacent The Kentucky Center, a few blocks from The Louisville Slugger Museum, The Frazier Museum, Fourth Street Live, the Galt House, Muhammad Ali Center, KFC Yum Center & many more! The EWBE is a great place to bring your out of town guests. The gift shop offers an array of products ranging from barrel ornaments, novelty gifts, candles, apparel & of course some spirits. The displays are fantastic from flat screen televisions, themed rooms, etc. The tour guides and general employees are hospitable, knowledgeable & very professional. The EWBE is located near the Ohio River & gives you an idea of how bourbon/whisky was distilled & then placed on water vessels which were in essence the first water highways making it available to people from Ohio down to Louisiana! read more

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Their tour is one of the cheesier ones I've been on. But I'm not mad at it. I like when the guides have fun and a good sense of humor, and they certainly do. I have been here for a regular tour as well as stopping in for a special event for the First Friday Trolley Hop. For the trolley hop, they offered free tours, free samples and free food bites from the Bristol. All these things were fantastic. And for the time being, it is the only distillery tour available in the downtown area (until Angel's Envy pops up). Certainly worth a visit. read more

Evan Williams Bourbon Experience - Tours Near Me - Louisville, Kentucky

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I ran inside quickly just to purchase some Burbon I couldn't find at home (CA). They were so nice and friendly and they recommended some amazing Burbon. Then they took time to explain to me how to get the bottles home safely in my luggage. I was delightfully impressed with how great they all were. I even got a bottle signed by the distiller! Definitely recommend. read more

Absolutely great experience! What a jolly good time. Man, this place was really grand! read more

Evan Williams Bourbon Experience - Distillery - Tours Near Me - Louisville, Kentucky

This is definitely the place to go for an ultimate "Bourbon Experience." We stopped in and were lucky to make it for a tour that was starting. They offer two types of tours, we took a traditional one but will definitely be back for the speakeasy one someday. The traditional tour includes some bourbon history, a tour of how it is made and a tasting in a beautiful vintage bar setting. The tour guides were very informative, took their time and you could really tell they enjoyed their job. I believe one of them said it was his 5th day on the job, but if he hadn't told us that you never would've been able to tell they did a great job! The tasting didn't feel rushed at all like some places do. We were sat at a bar and slowly went through how to correctly nose and taste the bourbon, and told all about each bottle. Gift shop has a variety of great memorabilia that is reasonably priced including bar ware, shirts and cocktail recipe books. Definitely make this tour your first priority while participating in the Urban Bourbon Trail. read more

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Speakeasy experience was great! The "bartender" was very knowledgeable and takes his job very seriously so be on time and be respectful! You will learn a lot! Great value for the price!! read more

Evan Williams is probably one of the best urban distillery experiences we've had in Louisville. I'm partial to the distilleries outside of town with beautiful landscapes and outdoor tours, so I was pleasantly surprised with our experience at Evan Williams! The tour was easy to book online, $15 a person for adults, which is about average for distillery tours. The front lobby has a great photo spot and the rest of the tour did not disappoint on exciting visuals! You "walked through time" and got to see Old Louisville storefronts, and the tour ends at a Madmen esque style bar which was the perfect spot for a tasting! You also got to taste with chocolate bourbon balls! I always appreciate chocolate with my bourbon tastings! If we are entertaining guests from out of town and didn't want to drive out to one of the further distilleries, we'd definitely choose Evan Williams again! read more

The Bourbon is some of the best in Kentucky. Being the first stop on the Bourbon Trail you can't ask for a better start. My wife and I drove from Michigan, we walked in after the last tour started and they where just about to close up. That's when Tamara our Bourbon Angel saw the disappointment in my face and asked if the two of us would like our own private tour and special tasting. She is so awesome to stay on her own time and do that for us, but she insisted. Not to be rude of course I said yes. After our unrushed afterhour tasting, Tamara didn't pressure me to buy anything either,but how could I not. Hats off to Tamara and Evan Williams, they really set the bar high for all to follow. Seriously Highly Recomended. Watch for my other Bourbon Trail reviews see how they did comparingly read more

Evan Williams was one of the stops on our list in visiting all the distilleries in the area. As we walked in, the tour was about to start. Instead of holding up the tour group for us to pay, the lady was nice and told us we could pay for our tour at the end of the tour. The tour included a short film and then a bunch of staged scenes in separate rooms. It was a unique and interesting. We were then led into a tasting bar area which was pretty cool. Our tasting shots were already set up for us so all we had to do was taste! After an hour of the tour, we were released into the gift shop. The staff here was very friendly and their gift shop had a lot of cool things. I was able to buy a bunch of souvenirs to take home to friends that they enjoyed. I'd definitely recommend stopping in here for a visit. read more

Kudos to this bourbon tour experience for being the first one in downtown Louisville and starting a new trend for the industry. The tour starts with a couple of Disney-like videos (not animated, just reminded us of a little Disney cheesiness) with history of Evan Williams, a bourbon, and the Ohio River. The distillery onsite does produce bourbon, on a limited basis, so we saw a little work in progress, but that was not the focus of the tour. There was a chance to take new make of whiskey during the tour. We ended in a 60s-themed tasting room for sips of 4 bourbons topped off with a little chocolate. The gift shop seemed to have the biggest selection and variety of items across multiple price points. This was our second visit to Evan Williams - we have probably saturated ourselves on this one, but it is worth a visit if you have never been. read more

I missed the last tour as I flew in today, only here tonight and flying out after an audit tomorrow. Been up at 3 am the last two days, but pushed to try and squeeze in some history about the city. God bless Dianne. She asked me what time I could come back and I told her, so she asked someone else if they could give me an overview. THAT is the kind of customer service that is not something anyone does much of today. She made an exemplary impression of your facility by making my trip worthwhile through such actions. Definitely a memory I will cherish. Thank you so much .. made this work trip so worth it to me. And God bless Dianne! read more

Wow!! This was WAY better than expected!! Everything about this place was fantastic! The speakeasy tasting was so fun and cool, the staff at the front desk were so welcoming and helpful, the gift shop was great and the bar upstairs had some incredible cocktails with a super nice and very knowledgeable bartender to boot! Don't miss this one, you won't be disappointed!! read more