Old Talbott Tavern

The Old Talbott Tavern was built around 1779 as a stone stagecoach inn, a year before the settlement that became Bardstown was formally established, and is billed as the oldest western stagecoach stop still in operation and likely the oldest surviving building in Kentucky. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. Documented and traditional guests include future presidents Andrew Jackson, William Henry Harrison, and Abraham Lincoln, plus Daniel Boone, John James Audubon, Henry Clay, Queen Marie of Romania (who lunched there in 1926), and General George Patton. On March 7, 1998, an electrical fire severely damaged the roof and second floor; after a roughly $1 million community-supported restoration, the tavern reopened on November 8, 1999. Today it operates as a restaurant, bourbon bar, and bed and breakfast on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail.

Each guest room is named for a historical figure said to haunt it, and local legend attributes bullet holes in the upstairs murals to outlaw Jesse James — lore the tavern itself promotes as legend.

What to order: Bourbon — the tavern markets itself as the world's oldest bourbon bar, with an extensive Kentucky bourbon selection served in the historic barroom.