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Kentucky bourbon is famed around the world. But have you ever wondered how they make it, and where you can taste this distinctive, barrel-aged drink? Browse this gallery, pour out a glass, and chase down the Kentucky Bourbon Trail.

▲Original copper stills at Maker's Mark Distillery. Maker's Mark has been in operation since 1954.

▲The Heaven Hill Distillery at Bardstown. Heaven Hill is a brand of Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey, with a selection of super-premium bourbon products.

▲Barrels of Wild Turkey Bourbon, Russell's Reserve Rye, American Honey, and Rare Breed on display at the Lawrenceburg Distillery.

▲A bottle of Maker's Mark Whisky. The first bottle of Maker's Mark was bottled in 1958 and featured the brand's distinctive dipped red wax seal.

▲The visitor center of Alltech Lexington Brewing and Distilling Company in Lexington.

▲The interior of Alltech Lexington Brewing and Distilling Company's visitor center.

▲The entrance sign to Four Roses Distillery, on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail.

▲Woodford Reserve Bourbon bottles on display inside the distillery's visitor center.

▲The impressive Frazier History Museum in Louisville is the official starting point of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail and the Kentucky Bourbon Trail Craft Tour.

▲Handcrafted roasted bourbon barrels are used to age coffee, a Kentucky tradition.

▲Bourbon emptying from a freshly opened barrel along the production line.

▲Newly filled Woodford Reserve bourbon barrels ready to be transported to the warehouse for aging.

▲The tour start sign at Maker's Mark Distillery in Loretto, along the Bourbon Trail.

▲Empty glass bottles lined up on the bottling line to be filled with whiskey.

▲Bottles of Jim Beam Bourbon make their way down a conveyor belt inside the bottling plant at the Jim Beam Bourbon Distillery in Clermont.

▲Very rare bottles of Belmont and Cascade Kentucky bourbon.

▲Black walnut bourbon barrel bungs are used to seal the barrel after being filled with bourbon for aging.

▲Maker's Mark bottles are filled with bourbon on the production line at the Maker's Mark Distillery plant in Loretto.

▲Examples of limited edition Pappy Van Winkle's family Reserve from the Old Rip Van Winkle Distillery in Frankfort.

▲Various bourbon whiskeys made by Jim Beam are seen on display in the T. Jeremiah Beam home at the Beam distillery in Clermont, Kentucky.

▲Shortly before sunrise, freshly filled barrels of Woodford Reserve are rolled along the barrel rail to be placed in warehouses at the Woodford Reserve Distillery, near Versailles.

▲Master Distiller Elmer T. Lee makes his rounds and partakes of some tasting at the Buffalo Trace Distillery, near Frankfort.

▲The attractive visitor center of the Woodford Reserve Distillery in Versailles.

▲The visitor center of Woodford Reserve Bourbon Distillery in Versailles. Woodford Reserve is a brand of premium small batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon.

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Touring the Woodford Reserve Distillery is to experience a Kentucky history lesson.

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The Spanish mission-style architecture of the Four Roses Distillery. Located at Lawrenceburg, the building dates back to 1910.

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The Woodford Reserve Distillery near Versailles produces Woodford Reserve, a brand of premium small batch Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey.

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The most rewarding way to get a taste for whiskey is to visit the annual Kentucky Bourbon Festival in Bardstown, the "Bourbon Capital of the World."