How does United States of Bourbon work?

United States of Bourbon is a digital passport designed to help you discover distilleries, explore whiskey destinations, and keep a record of the places you visit.

Explore Distilleries Browse participating distilleries across the United States. Distillery profiles can include location information, spirits produced, visitor amenities, trails, photos, social media, and other useful information when available.

Explore States & Trails Use States and Trails to discover destinations and plan where you want to explore next. A distillery may belong to a state trail as well as other featured or regional trails.

Build Your Passport When you visit an eligible distillery, you can earn a digital stamp for your Passport. Your collected stamps create a personal record of your distillery travels.

Progress Through Traveler Levels Your Traveler Level increases as you collect approved distillery stamps:

• Explorer: 0–9 stamps
• Traveler: 10–24 stamps
• Adventurer: 25–49 stamps
• Trailblazer: 50+ stamps

Complete Trails Collect stamps from every required destination on a Passport Trail to complete that trail and add the achievement to your Journal.

Earn State Ribbons A State Ribbon recognizes completion of the active Passport destinations required for that state.

Track Your Journey Your Journal brings your progress together, including stamps you've earned, states you've explored, State Ribbons, completed trails, and trails still in progress.

United States of Bourbon is intended to be both a discovery tool and a record of your travels. You don't have to complete everything—start with the distilleries and destinations that interest you and build your Passport as you explore.

How do I earn a distillery stamp?

Distillery stamps are the heart of your United States of Bourbon Passport. They create a record of the distilleries you've visited and contribute toward your Traveler Level, State Ribbons, and Trail Achievements.

Visit the Distillery

To earn a stamp, visit the distillery and check in using your mobile device. We encourage you to explore the distillery, take a tour, enjoy a tasting, and support them with a purchase when possible, but none of these activities are required to earn your Passport stamp.

Check In at the Distillery

1. Sign in to your United States of Bourbon account.
2. Find and open the distillery's profile.
3. Select Earn Stamp.
4. Choose the location check-in option and allow your device to access your current location.
5. United States of Bourbon will verify that you are at or near the distillery.
6. Once your location is verified, your stamp is earned and added to your Passport.

Your Location & Privacy

United States of Bourbon only requests your location when you choose to check in. Your location is used only to verify that you are at or near the distillery and is not stored or saved by United States of Bourbon. The Passport does not continuously track your location.

What if my location can't be verified?

Sometimes a device may be unable to provide an accurate location, location services may be unavailable, or you may choose not to grant location permission.

If your location can't be verified, you can use the photo verification option to submit proof of your visit for review.

Good photo examples include:

• A photo of you at the distillery
• A photo with the distillery's sign or another recognizable landmark
• A photo taken inside the tasting room or visitor area
• A photo from your tour or tasting experience
• Another recognizable photo from your visit

You don't have to appear in the photo, but it helps. Including yourself in the photo can make it easier for us to verify that the photo represents your visit.

What happens after I check in?

If your location is successfully verified, your stamp is earned immediately and becomes part of your Passport and Journal.

If you use photo verification instead, your submission will be reviewed before the stamp is approved.

Approved stamps count toward:

• Traveler Levels
• State progress and State Ribbons
• Passport Trail progress and Trail Achievements
• Your personal record of distilleries visited

Why would a photo submission need to be reviewed?

Manual review helps maintain the integrity of the Passport when location verification isn't available and helps ensure that stamps represent actual distillery visits.

Can I earn more than one stamp from the same distillery?

A standard distillery Passport stamp is earned once per account. You're always welcome to return to a distillery, but additional visits aren't required to keep the stamp you've already earned.

Can I add United States of Bourbon to my phone's Home Screen?

Yes! You can add United States of Bourbon to your phone's Home Screen for quick access to your Passport while you're traveling and visiting distilleries.

Once added, simply tap the United States of Bourbon icon on your Home Screen to quickly open your Passport, find distilleries, and check in during your visits.

On iPhone or iPad using Safari

1. Open the United States of Bourbon website in Safari.
2. Tap the Share button.
3. Scroll down and select Add to Home Screen.
4. Confirm the name and tap Add.

The United States of Bourbon shortcut will appear on your Home Screen.

On iPhone or iPad using Chrome

1. Open the United States of Bourbon website in Chrome.
2. Tap the Share button in Chrome.
3. Scroll through the available actions and select Add to Home Screen.
4. Confirm the name and tap Add.

The United States of Bourbon shortcut will appear on your Home Screen just like one created through Safari.

On Android using Chrome

1. Open the United States of Bourbon website in Chrome.
2. Tap the three-dot menu in the upper-right corner.
3. Select Add to Home screen or Install, depending on your device and browser version.
4. Follow the prompts to add the shortcut.

Why add it to your Home Screen?

Adding United States of Bourbon to your Home Screen gives you faster access while you're visiting distilleries. There's no need to search for the website each time you arrive—just tap the icon, open the distillery's profile, and check in.

Do I need to install an app?

No. United States of Bourbon works through your phone's web browser. Adding it to your Home Screen simply gives you a convenient shortcut to your Passport and the United States of Bourbon site.

Traveler Levels are based on approved distillery stamps. Explorer is 0–9 approved stamps, Traveler is 10–24, Adventurer is 25–49, and Trailblazer is 50 or more.

A State Ribbon is earned when you have an approved stamp from every active canonical distillery currently included in an active Passport trail for that state.

How do I claim my distillery?

If you are an owner, employee, or authorized representative of a distillery listed on United States of Bourbon, you can request to claim your distillery's profile.

What does claiming a distillery do?

Claiming connects your United States of Bourbon account with the distillery you represent. Once your claim has been reviewed and approved, you may be given access to manage information associated with your distillery profile.

How do I submit a claim?

1. Sign in to your United States of Bourbon account.
2. Find your distillery using Distilleries or States.
3. Open the distillery's profile.
4. Select Claim This Distillery.
5. Complete the requested information and submit your claim for review.

What happens after I submit my claim?

Claims are reviewed before access is granted. We may use the information you provide to confirm that you are authorized to represent the distillery.

Submitting a claim does not automatically provide access to the distillery profile.

Why is verification required?

Distillery profiles are part of the United States of Bourbon discovery and Passport platform. Verification helps protect distilleries from unauthorized changes and helps keep information provided to travelers accurate.

My distillery isn't listed. What should I do?

If you represent a qualifying distillery that isn't currently listed, please contact United States of Bourbon. We can review the distillery for inclusion in the platform.

Is there a cost to claim a distillery?

There is currently no charge to submit a distillery claim or maintain a claimed distillery profile on United States of Bourbon.

What if a distillery is missing from United States of Bourbon?

United States of Bourbon is continually growing, and while we work to maintain a comprehensive directory of qualifying distilleries, there may be an active distillery that we haven't added yet.

How do I report a missing distillery?

If you know of a distillery that should be included:

1. Check Distilleries or the appropriate State page to make sure it isn't already listed.
2. Use the Contact Us page to send us the distillery's name and location.
3. If available, include the distillery's official website or other information that can help us verify it.

What happens after I submit it?

We'll research the distillery and verify that it meets the requirements for inclusion before adding it to the United States of Bourbon directory and Passport.

Submitting a distillery does not guarantee that it will be added.

What if I own or represent the missing distillery?

Let us know that you're an owner, employee, or authorized representative when you contact us. Once the distillery has been reviewed and added, you can create an account and use Claim This Distillery to request access to its profile.

Why aren't distilleries added automatically?

We want the directory to be useful and trustworthy. Distilleries are reviewed before being added so we can confirm basic information, avoid duplicate or closed locations, and maintain the quality of the Passport directory.

How are distillery regions determined?

United States of Bourbon uses regions to make it easier to discover distilleries, plan trips, and explore different parts of a state.

Are the regions official designations?

Not necessarily. United States of Bourbon regions are primarily organizational and travel-planning areas used within the Passport.

Whenever practical, we use commonly recognized geographic, cultural, tourism, or locally understood regions. In other cases, boundaries may be simplified to create logical groups of distilleries that are useful to travelers.

How is a distillery assigned to a region?

Region assignments are generally based on the distillery's physical location rather than its mailing address, ownership, distribution area, or where its spirits are produced or sourced.

We consider factors such as:

• Geography and commonly recognized areas of the state
• Cities and surrounding communities
• Existing tourism or travel regions
• Practical driving and travel patterns
• The distribution of distilleries within the state

Why do some states have more regions than others?

Every state is different. States with a larger geographic area or a greater number of distilleries may benefit from several regions, while states with fewer destinations may only need one or two.

The goal isn't to divide every state the same way. It's to make exploring its distilleries easier.

Can regions change?

Yes. Regions may occasionally be adjusted as new distilleries are added, destinations close, or we find a better way to organize a state's distillery landscape.

I think a distillery is in the wrong region. What should I do?

Please Contact Us and let us know. We welcome corrections and local knowledge that can help make United States of Bourbon more accurate and useful.

Regions are intended as a discovery and trip-planning tool—not as a statement about official geographic boundaries.

Distillery profiles are built from available and verified information. Some destinations may have additional photos, spirits, visit details, or partner-supplied information while other profiles are still being expanded.