It’s been over five years since I’ve stayed at the AC Marriott in the East Market District of Louisville (also known as Nulu), and that was an in-and-out overnighter to pick out a few barrels and get back to California quickly—no real time to explore. I was emailing with a friend from Heaven Hill before arriving and he wrote to me:

“Louisville has changed a lot, and almost every night there are retailers, buyers, restaurant groups, whiskey societies—you name it—all selecting barrels on the Bourbon Trail.”

I could see it immediately from the Bourbon-focused boutique stores (not just the bottles, but clothing, books, lifestyle, etc) to the array of new bars and restaurants lining Market Street as you head east out to Butchertown. Nulu is bustling, even on a lazy summer Sunday evening, and it’s infused with an energy that far surpasses the early rumblings I saw almost a decade ago (when I probably should have bought a house in the neighborhood).

One of the new spots I was most excited to immediately try was Feast BBQ, a heralded location for everything non-vegan. It’s been open since the beginning of 2015, but I missed it on my last trip to Louisville and I made a beeline from the hotel to the front door as soon as we dropped our bags. Bourbon slushies with Jim Beam and ginger ale to start.

Since there were two of us, we broke it down into two plates and shared: brisket, pulled pork, collard greens, potato salad, mac and cheese, beans, cole slaw, white bread and pickles.

I honestly can’t tell you which side and which meat I enjoyed more. Obviously brisket is something we don’t see much of in Los Angeles (at least of this style and quality), so that was a treat, but I think the mac and cheese might have been the most impressive thing on the table—and I’m not even a mac and cheese person.

After dinner, we walked a block over to the Taj Bar and were instantly greeted by two labradoodles who were keen to lick our faces and jump up on our chests. After getting past the welcoming committee, we pulled up a stool at the bar and began chatting with the litany of dog enthusiasts lining the counter.

This is one half of the back bar at Taj, so there’s a great selection of Bourbon and rye waiting for you as you pick your poison. We opted for Old Forester 1920 and Heaven Hill Bonded as we chatted with everyone inside.

From there we wandered over to La Bodeguita de Mima, a 1950s Cuban-themed restaurant and rum bar that also sells cigars (and has a second Venezuelan spot in the back called Señora Arepa). It’s literally next door to the Marriott and that window to the right of the front is actually my room.

I’ve never seen anything this thematically wonderful in Louisville before and this is just one of the many rooms inside what is essentially an old house with stairs and various dining rooms of splendor. Imagine a bigger, brighter, more lively version of La Descarga in LA. We drank a glass of rum before bed, pondered the idea of a cigar, but decided to play it safe and get some rest for the days ahead.

-David Driscoll