Shake Up Your Weekend With a Bourbon-Themed Stay in Louisville

Words by Paige Townley 

Louisville is a city known for many things, but perhaps most prominently for its bourbon. The city has been shaped by its favorite spirit, as has many of its offerings and experiences. From unique attractions to delicious menus and even special accommodations, bourbon plays a part in almost all aspects of life in Louisville. Plan a bourbon-themed weekend to remember this fall in Bourbon City.

Stay

Soak up the Bourbon experience for the very moment you arrive by checking in at one of Louisville’s Bourbon-themed accommodations. Situated in the Old Louisville neighborhood, Bourbon Inn is a restored Victorian mansion that highlights the city’s Bourbon heritage with Bourbon-themed décor, culinary offerings, and, of course, cocktails. Or, to be immersed even more in Louisville’s Bourbon scene, reserve a room at Hotel Distil. An Autograph Collection boutique hotel, Hotel Distil is located on Louisville’s Whiskey Row and served as the original location and barrel house for J.T.S. Brown and Sons. The venue still features the original 1860’s era façade, and it hosts a nightly toast to celebrate the repeal of Prohibition.

Eat & Drink

No visit to Louisville is complete without eating and drinking your way through Louisville’s Urban Bourbon Trail. The Trail features a prominent collection of bars and restaurants known for their wide variety of whiskies and Bourbon-infused cuisine. Stops on the Trail include everything from historic hotels that once served Al Capone and F. Scott Fitzgerald to bars that have at last 60 different bourbon varieties available at their bar. Other must-visit spots include Justins’ House of Bourbon, which houses one of the most diverse collections of bourbon, whiskey, and rye for sale in the world, and Trouble Bar, which is known by locals at the “Rainbow Palace of Whiskey Dreams.”

Play

The Frazier History Museum is the starting point of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, and for good reason: it is the go-to spot to learn all about the history of bourbon and even allows visitors to craft their very own Old Fashioned, the officially cocktail of Louisville. The Kentucky Derby Museum’s Bourbon & Bridles Tour combines bourbon with another one of the state’s favorite pastimes, the Kentucky Derby, which takes visitors through a tour of Churchill Downs to learn about horse racing and bourbon. Top of the day with a drive out to Hermitage Farm, just 20 minutes from downtown Louisville, to check out its picturesque estate that serves as a working thoroughbred farm and farm-to-table restaurant. In addition to its Bourbon Bar & Lounge that serves up bourbons from every distillery on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, Hermitage Farm also offers flights of select bourbons in Barn-6, one of their active horse barns.

Ready to pack your bags and make the trek to Louisville? Visit www.gotolouisville.com to learn more.