Hermitage Farm

Located about a half an hour drive from downtown Louisville is Hermitage Farm. We do not drive, but fortunately Hermitage Farm offers a package that includes admission to the Kentucky Derby Museum, a tour of the farm, and a shuttle between the museum and farm.The tour of Hermitage Farm, an operational thoroughbred nursery, included a ride through the beautiful grounds, a visit to the barn (where we saw eight horses and a baby), lunch made of ingredients grown on the farm, and a bourbon tasting (Old Forester, Maker's Mark, Russell's Reserve). A great way to spend a sunny afternoon! [Yelp collections: Louisville/Indianapolis 2023; Louisville, KY 2023]

Visited here for a spectacular tour prior to a dinner reservation at the nearby Barn8 restaurant in late spring 2024 a few weeks prior to Derby 150. Timing was excellent leading up to the race. We arrived for the last tour of the day at 3 PM on a Sunday and were directed to a covered wagon being pulled by a tractor. We used a small set of steps to access the wagon and then took our spot on one of the long bench seats on either side. Bales of hay lined the center of the wagon and were covered with soft horse blankets. Our tour guide was fantastic and entertaining with his presentation. He welcomed our questions and was very approachable during the entire tour, which was approximately an hour, and we did not feel rushed. We toured one of the horse barns where we were able to meet and greet at least 4 horses, including thoroughbred and Lippizaner breeds. We also were able to view a video presentation, trophy room, and memorabilia, which were all very informative and interesting. We resumed the wagon tour and accessed various fields along the route out and back, which contained foals, colts, and adult horses. Gorgeous picturesque property with rolling green fields surrounded by neat black board fences and very well maintained. This was an amazing experience for me even though I have lived in this area for many decades and I learned quite a bit of history while on the tour. I look forward to returning to share the experience with family and friends and knowing the tour will continue to evolve as the seasons change and the life cycle of the horses continues. I would also rate this as one of the top 5 things someone should see if they are visiting the area for the first time and want to better understand the importance of the horse in this region.

A perfect meal, in a very rustic atmosphere. It was a work conference dinner in one of the barns. Each dish, and beverage were just perfect. highly recommend !!!

We had a great tour, which included loads of trivia and interesting info, a delicious box lunch, and a bourbon tasting. It was a fantastic day!

CORNBREAD CASUALITYSorry to report to Steve and Laura Lee, but the three of us had a pretty bad experience tonight at the Hermitage Farm, I believe was the waitpersons fault. Here is our story.We had reservations and were seated at 8:30. The table next to us were seated just after us. We placed our full dinner order at 8:50 which included cornbread as an appetizer. We enjoyed the arty decor and settling.A half an hour later the waitress informed us that they ran out of cornbread, though the table that was seated next to us had gotten and were eating their order of the cornbread. She offered Sourdough Baguettes instead, which we ordered. Forty-five minutes after we were seated I waved down the waitress and nicely asked about the bread, and she said "I thought you wanted that with your meal." We nicely said we would prefer it now, and laughed off the mistake. Like ... isn't bread normally served first thing?A full hour from being seated we had no food on the table, and still no bread. Meanwhile the table next to us about finished their meal, all other table had food and were still being served cornbread. I was really looking forward to that cornmeal : (We tried to laugh it off but it was getting annoying, we were hungry and the situation sadly embarrassing my friend who invited us. 1 1/2 hours later we got our food, somewhat tasty but served cold. Not sure if this is growing pains, or the wedding upstairs, or because we were three men sitting together with no women in our group, or if it was the weekend crush, or the fact that they want to make more money someone (greedily) overbooked without having enough food or trained waitpersons. This is for Hermitage to figure out. Sadly I will not be coming back.

We attended the bourbon tasting experience this past Saturday. The grounds were beautiful. Charlotte our host was fantastic. Such a great knowledge of bourbon, wise for someone so young . She did such a professional job and was a true joy. Thank you. We hope to be back soon. Also the bourbon selections were on point.

While in Louisville for the 2021 ARBA Rabbit Convention my daughter, granddaughter and I took a tour of Hermitage Farm. We chose the 1:00 pm tour to be sure we had time in the morning to feed and care for the animals and then make the drive to the farm. It turned out to be a good choice as we ended up being the only people on that tour and had our excellent guide, Charlotte to ourselves. Charlotte was knowledgeable, engaging and friendly. After touring the gardens and greenhouse we chose to have our box lunch on the patio of the stunning Barn8 Restaurant, after first checking out the stunning interiors of the restaurant and the shop. Neither the lunch nor the interior disappointed. It was so impressive to see how the history and character of the barn was kept, while providing all the features and services you expect from dining out. The creativity of the design and use of the building was exceptional! After an excellent lunch my daughter and granddaughter checked out the loft area, which was being prepared for an afternoon wedding. Their pictures made me wish I'd joined them! Next up was our Bourbon tasting. We were lucky enough to be be one of the first to experience this in a new setting- one of the barns complete with a couple equine residents that entertained my granddaughter while her mom and I learned about Bourbon. This part of the tour had not been a major focus for myself but I was pleasantly surprised at how informative and enjoyable it was. Again, Charlotte excelled! Reluctantly we moved on from this beautiful location, and were joined by a late arriving couple. From here we walked to the Stud Barn, past the Main house ( where they were also preparing for the wedding) as Charlotte filled us in on more history of the property and it's prior and current residents. The Stud barn does not disappoint and we greatly enjoyed the tour of the Carriages, with an audio-visual component as well, then moved on to meet some of the horses in residence. The time to interact and enjoy the horses was a major part of why I had chosen this tour especially for my granddaughter and daughter as they are both riders and horse owners themselves. The animals and the setting were magical. The barn exudes an ambiance we totally embraced. Finishing up with a visit to the Trophy Room we learned so much about the horses and history of the Farm, as well as current happenings around the place. Overall it was not only highly satisfying, it went way beyond our expectations. Even the drive to get there was part of the experience with the beautiful fields and landscapes we passed. I hope to find an opportunity to return at some point to experience some of the many other aspects the Farm has to offer. The main house is available to rent and I can only imagine how magical this place would be to wander and experience for longer!

Absolutely spectacular venue! I was a guest of monogram appliances and we had dinner at this location! If I had to book a hotel for a group of people I'd come here instead and stay! A lot of thought went into the tasteful decor and the contemporary art collection adds a nice EdgeLoved it!

I am reviewing the Hermitage Farm and not the event venue. I attended the Hermitage Classic this past weekend. It is an interesting equine combined driving event. The 3 day event showcases dressage, marathon and cones. It was completely enthralling even though it was hot, hot, hot! Friday was driven dressage which I missed due to not a lot of promotion or at least I did not know it was a 3 day competition until arriving. I would have loved to have seen the driven dressage competition. The event listing on FB stated it was a Saturday event BUT after attending Saturday I returned for the cones competition on Sunday. The farm is beautiful and well maintained. The courses which were set up for the competitions were elaborate and interesting. The horses came from all over the world to compete. The neat thing about this competition was the beautiful array of vehicles pulled by magnificent ponies and horses. It is a formal event with every hair in place so to speak. The horses are meticulously groomed. The harnesses are polished to near-mirror brilliance. The drivers wear the most interesting clothing which is ironed to crisp perfection. Each driving vehicle - and I am not sure if we can call these carts or wagons, neither seems appropriate for the elegance of the vehicles - looks like it came from years past although these are specifically designed to endure the rigorous marathon competition which goes through tight obstacle courses and over woods and even through ponds set up with obstacles. It was truly very interesting for me and I think any horse lover would appreciate the connection these drivers have with their equine athletes. It was breathtaking and quite an educational day. There were VIP areas set up with cocktails, shade and fabulous picnic baskets of food. I tried to find out about VIP tickets but had no success. This event seems to be geared to the competitors and hopefully will become more mainstream in the near future. It is now perpetually on my event calendar. Next year's competition will be held in Lexington with 2019 returning to Hermitage Farm which by the way has a $30 million dollar project underway which will turn this piece of heaven on earth into a food, bourbon and horse destination which will draw visitors from around the world. And I cannot end this review without mentioning Louisville's own Steve Wilson, owner of Hermitage Farm who is an Olympic level athlete in the sport and 3-time United States Equestrian Federation Pair Horse Driving National Champion! This is probably the longest review I have ever penned. If you stayed with me til the end I just want to say thanks!!!