Louisville 2021
In March of 2021 I found myself back in Louisville for work. It was a chance to return to the holy land of bourbon but with an unexpected twist. The world was still in the thrall of Covid and that had an effect on how the distilleries conducted their business.
After settling in to my home away from home I figured I’d walk the city and see the new attractions along Whiskey Row.
I was excited because Brown-Forman has opened the Old Forester distilling company since I was here last.
The gift shop is open and I was able to get close to the still butI’ll have to wait for an official tour.
I’m looking forward to a real tasting and tour. The facility is beautiful. Look at this old building.
I walked on down towards Evan Williams. I’d visited that place for the two different tour experiences they offer when I was here last.
I haven’t been able to get by here during normal business hours so I can’t honestly say what their hours are but I’m reasonably certain that at least their gift shop is still in operation.
On to Michter’s, which I’d been looking forward to visiting. Look at that beautiful building!
Uh oh. This doesn’t look promising:
I hope temporarily doesn’t turn into what I found when I went to the Jim Beam Urban Stillhouse. That was a sobering discovery. Last time I was there I called it Build-a-Bear for adults. It was quite a hopping place and I really enjoyed creating my own bottle. I even took my daughter and her fiancé through there when they came to visit. Pretty sad.
I had heard that Rabbit Hole is just down the street so off I went.
I was disappointed to find this, though. Basically, they’re closed until further notice, too.
The walk back was cool, though.
Hopefully we can get closer to normal when the Kentucky Derby comes around again. I’d love to treat Bella to a mint julep.
I really hope this isn’t a sign of what is to come this year. I have had such fond memories of my previous residency here in Louisville and this time around I planned to take advantage and see the things I’d missed before. I pray we can get back to normal and get the service & entertainment economy back on track. We can’t let these awesome companies just wither away to nothing. This can’t last forever, can it?
~ Freddy
