HAVING FUN ON THE KENTUCKY BOURBON TRAIL

 

If you love great food, cool architecture, beautiful landscaping, and a cocktail or two, the Bourbon Trail in Kentucky is for you! You do not have to love bourbon to make this trip! SO.MUCH.FUN! It was even a fun post to write!

 

Last August, we went with our dear friends down to Kentucky, staying in downtown Louisville, to take in some of the highlights of the bourbon trail. Keep in mind everything is very spread out so you will need might need 3-4 days to really soak the highlights in. Some distilleries were an hour’s drive from Louisville although there is a lot to do right downtown too.

After checking into our hotel, in downtown Louisville, our first stop was a tour and bourbon tasting at Woodford Reserve in Versailles, KY. What beautiful grounds. I will not geek you out with all the technical terms for making bourbon. Heck, I don’t even know what I’m talking about, but I do know that they put the mash to create it in these big bins which are so cool. Sometimes they’re steel sometimes they’re wood, but they are awesome! Trust me, you do not have to like bourbon to have a good time on these tours! It’s really a cool experience.

Outfit Deets:

Kimono HERE // Tank HERE // Jeans HERE // Crossbody HERE // Initial Necklace HERE // Heart Necklace HERE // Sandals HERE

On our way back to Louisville, we stopped at Castle and Key! Now that’s a beautiful property and what fun we had. We did not opt for a tour there but instead got lucky with one of the sweet volunteers there who snuck us inside and gave us a private tour! 

Cuties! Don't let go of the Bourbon, lol

Our amazing , sweet and knowledgable "tour" guide!

This place is awesome, and they also host events there like weddings. Just look how beautiful the gardens are.

Before going back to get ready for dinner, we had a reservation at

Michter’s cocktail bar. All these bourbon distilleries are so rich in history and that’s part of the charm. Look how cute this little area is where I got a kiss from Mr. Nine.

For dinner we headed to our friend’s favorite: La Bodeguita! It’s a wonderful Cuban restaurant and Rum bar! Yum!

 All Employees wearing Fedroa's. So cute!

Mr. Nine and I got up for a morning walk and snapped a few pictures like the big Louisville slugger bat in front of the museum. It’s so cool. 

Next step we headed to Brown Hotel the for the famous Louisville Hot Browns! Oh my goodness delish!

You can read about them here. Cool Story!

Then it was Evan Williams! Sweet little place! Looks like the bourbon is being poured into the glass from the 2nd floor. I love stuff like that! 

Crossbody Bag I LOVE HERE

We even got Stella a dog toy!

 

And how cool is this? We happened to be heading to Jim Beam on their 90th anniversary celebration day. August 17th, 2014! Another beautiful distillery. And the cool part, on the tour Mr. Nine and I got to make our own bottle of bourbon seal it with a thumbprint and have it engraved with the Roman numeral of our last name and the date. How fitting it was 

Knob Creek "#9!"

 Aren't our friends the cutest. They take even more photos than I do and how we appreciated it! The Tour at Jim Beam was even better than Woodford. Really fun!

And we had garnered a coveted reservation in their restaurant on the property, and it was the perfect timing because we sat in the restaurant during the only rain shower on our entire trip and by the time we came out, the sun was shining!

Going to see Churchill Downs was definitely a highlight and we got there right before the museum closed, so we snuck in to check out a few things and see some pictures. Would love to go to the actual Kentucky Derby and wear a hat someday! If you are in Louisville, you must go see it!

Dinner was at a Restaurant downtown called Proof on Main. We were still so full from our lunch at Jim Beam that we just got some wonderful cocktails and appetizers. 

My Dress HERE

Here is the really cool thing on the way back to the restrooms. You go through an amazing art gallery in the 21c Museum Hotel. We had so much fun with the interactive exhibits.

Anytime we are in a new to a city we like to just walk around and explore and how cool is it that we came upon this place with a secret Speakeasy called Hell or High Water. We did not have a reservation, but somehow we sweet talked our way in. And oh my goodness are we glad we did. It was one of the most charming speakeasies we have ever been in. The cocktails were amazing the little pie charcuterie was so good and let’s just say if you ever go there check out the wallpaper in the bathroom. It’s something all right!

Several Bottles of Bourbon Bought, a good nights sleep and a cute coffee shop in the morning and we were on the road. Fun trip!

Have you been anywhere along the Bourbon Trail??

And I will actually be back on Wednesday to join the Let's Look prompt this month.

Hope you ease into this week sweetly my friends! Cheers!

Linking up with Momfessionals and Between Naps on The Porch // Thursday Fashion Files // I Do deClaire // Hello Monday // Sunday's on Silverado // Life and Linda

xoxo