#urbanbourbon

Louisville - Kentucky's hipster town, wanted a piece of the bourbon pie. Kentucky has promoted its Bourbon Trail for years now and has generated a lot of buzz for the state and bourbon industry. But, Louisville was getting left behind. Historically, Louisville has been the home of many distilleries - Evan Williams, Brown Forman, W.L. Weller are a few familiar names - so, the Urban Bourbon Trail was created. 

The state of Kentucky has really capitalized on the bourbon business by promoting the numerous distilleries with the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. The Kentucky Bourbon Trail gives visitors a firsthand look how "America's Native Spirit" is produced. I have visited all but one official distillery on the tour, some of them several times, and hope to complete the Kentucky Bourbon Trail soon. 

My last trip to Kentucky, instead of heading to my last stop on the Bourbon Trail (Heaven Hill Distilleries in Bardstown), I had my sights set on something different - Louisville's Urban Bourbon Trail. I figure if Lonely Planet named Louisville as a top travel destination, it was time to spend some time in Kentucky's largest city. With almost 30 bars and restaurants, I had two different days to rack up some stamps on my passport. Instead of stopping at the Louisville Visitor's Center for a printed passport, I downloaded the UrbanBourbon App on my iPhone. Right off the plane, we headed to Louisville's NuLu neighborhood, for brunch and bourbon at Harvest Restaurant. Delicious bourbon french toast at this classy farm-to-table stop on the Urban Bourbon Trail, I was a happy traveler.

Fast forward a week, I am back in Louisville and ready to continue along the Urban Bourbon Trail. After lunch at the famous Brown Hotel (birthplace of the Kentucky Hot Brown) and a Kentucky Cocktail (Maker's Mark and Ale 8 One) at their Lobby Bar, we head down to Whiskey Row. Whiskey Row is a stretch of West Main Street that had its heyday when bourbon was shipped along the river. Unfortunately, because it was early afternoon, the bars of Whiskey Row were not open for business and those establishments remain unstamped on my passport. We walked down to the Old Seelbach Bar, which is located in the hotel that inspired F.Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby", and enjoyed a flight of single barrel bourbons (Four Roses, Jefferson's, Noah's Mill) in this authentically restored, early 1900s bar.

With just 3 stamps on my Urban Bourbon Passport, I'll be back in Louisville to do some barhopping and experience more #urbanbourbon...

Emily