A Weekend in Louisville: Sipping Bourbon, Savoring Cuisine, and Exploring Local Gems
Embark on a memorable weekend in Louisville, Kentucky, where bourbon culture, delectable cuisine, and vibrant entertainment converge. From savoring spirits at renowned distilleries to indulging in local culinary delights, our journey offers a curated guide to experiencing the best of Derby City.
When a work trip popped up that would require me to drive 6 hours one way alone, I tried to find a way to help break it up. I landed on Drew and I stopping in Louisville for a weekend to help cut up the trip for me, and give him a chance to visit his work in Columbus and Cincinnati.
We knew we did not want to go on any tours during our trip, so we did not do too much planning ahead. We got into town around lunchtime on a Saturday and immediately headed out in search of Bourbon. Drew picked Michter's Fort Nelson Distillery, and we only had a short wait before we were seated at their tasting bar. We had such an excellent experience here, this one is a must visit, though I recommend you do plan ahead and make a reservation, just in case! From there we headed to Mussel and Burger Bar for some food. We enjoyed our burger and would definitely go back again for lunch. By the time we finished lunch we could check-in, so we headed back to do just that - we were staying at Hotel Distill which we booked with points. It was a great location and a really nice hotel experience. We took a little bit of time to freshen up and then headed back out for more drinks because we were in Louisville! The first round of drinks was a spot I would not recommend LOL but it led us to consider taking scooters over the another part of downtown (nulu) to explore and then get dinner, which WAS a good idea.
We ended up having dinner at La Bodeguita de Mima, which is a must visit in Louisville. I posted a reel review on our instagram page and am still dreaming about our experience. From there we actually went to catch the 1 seed Louisville women’s volleyball team play in the NCAA tournament, which was a super fun experience at KFC YUM Center.
The next day we woke up and had Biscuit Belly - Nulu for breakfast which I really enjoyed. Then I had to stop and try the best cookie in Louisville at Please & Thank You (their words not mine). It was pretty good! From there we decided to go rest because we were sans child and could!! We enjoyed reading on our new Kindles and then planned out the rest of the day.
At this point I needed some fruit, so we stopped for smoothie bowls (weird vibes but I got my fruit), and then we decided to grab another drink at Angels Envy. When we arrived they were doing a chocolate pairing tasting so we signed up for and enjoyed that quickly before going up to the bar for a cocktail and to keep reading our books! Another great bar to visit with plenty of space to spread out - which we enjoyed.
From there, Drew decided he needed some more food, so we stopped at Against the Grain Brewery & Public House. This stop was funny because 2017-2020 Haley would’ve been obsessed. If you like craft beer (or liked) you’d recognize some of their outlandish can label designs. Drew enjoyed the wings and we rehydrated while watching some of the Browns game and then headed on our way.
It was at this point that I asked you all on instagram to see if you’d visit the same spot twice in one visit. The majority said yes - but we were already going back to Michter's Fort Nelson Distillery by this point anyway! We enjoyed another round of drinks, their snacks (which we then had to order for home, the corn nuts were SO good), and some good conversation at the bar.
We hadn’t really planned out dinner and didn’t find anything on the list that was close enough to go to that we wanted to we elected to just have dinner at the hotel restaurant, Repeal Oak Fired Steakhouse. While this was truly a very big splurge, everything we had was excellent and I was glad to end the trip on that note.
Louisville is such a fun stop for a couples weekend getaway - there was plenty more to check out that we didn’t get to this time. I’ve added a bunch of additional recommendations I received from followers below to help you plan!
Additional Recommendations from Followers:
Meals:
La Bodeguita de Mima - Cuban
Porch Kitchen and Bar - Southern
Shirley Mae’s - fried chicken (follower noted its better to go during the day)
Jack Fry’s - best pork chop ever was touted!
Guca Mole Modern Mexican
Parlour - pizza
Wicks - pizza
The Post - pizza
Volare - italian
Grassa Gramma - italian
Sarino - italian
Whiskey / Bourbon Bar:
The Last Refuge (super cool in a church, new)
Lucky Penny - Hotel Genevieve
Other Bars:
Monnik Beer Company (also great German food)
Ten20 Craft Brewery (also great pizza here)
Bakeries:
Dessert:
Coffee:
Breakfast:
