FRANKFORT, Ky. — There's no other tour like it in Kentucky.
Kentucky’s Bourbon trail has more whiskey-themed tours than you can pack in a charred oak barrel, but the only tour happening on water is docked in Frankfort.
Captain Nathan Depenbrock and wife Captain Allison Depenbrock own Kentucky River Tours. The merchant mariners specialize in sharing their love of the water and the bourbon history that is synonymous with Kentucky's Capitol city.
“Those are all old stones from that distillery as well," Captain Nathan points out. There is more bourbon history ingrained in the city and along the riverfront than most realize. For instance several stone retaining walls along the Kentucky River are repurposed from some of Frankfort's earliest distilleries that have been gone for decades.
“Going through the lock and dam it also puts you right out behind Buffalo Trace Distillery. It also puts you out where the oldest part of the distillery is located," Captain Nathan says as he operates his 15-passenger leisure vessel.
The Kentucky River in Frankfort is calm with fishing boats, modest cruisers and a fair number of boat houses tied up along the waterway but for decades Captain Nathan says the river was more factor than family.
“Kids of my generation, growing up we all turned our backs to the river because it’s just this big industrial, dirty and now today with no more barges there’ been a lot of effort to really get people back on this river.”
So while Captain Depenbrock and wife Captain Allison are running their own nautical enterprise they are also looking out for their land-based neighbors, for instance several of their tours dock at Goodwood Brewery, Bourbon on Main and Buffalo Trace in Frankfort.
“COVID was very tough," Captain Nathan says. “If we can get guests coming into town for the bourbon trail...and they go have a bite to eat at one of our local restaurants or they shop in one of our local downtown shops, the more we can kind of share in our wealth the more it floats everybody’s shops for sure.”
In the wake of COVID-19, Captain Nathan says Kentucky River Tours is finding success is offering more specialized tour options for groups up to 15.