It had been more than 3 years since the Chartridge Boys' Lexington/Cincinnati trip; now several of us were heading back to the Bourbon Trail for more spirits (and beer).

Wednesday October 2. Tom, Mike, and I flew from BWI to Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport, landing in the early afternoon.

We picked up a rental vehicle. It was a beautiful sunny day, which was most welcome after more than a week of clouds and rain in Maryland. Since our Airbnb wouldn't be available for a few hours, we made the best use of our time that we could think of: we went drinking. Our first stop was Atrium Brewing, which opened in 2020. We met my friend Brian, the Stillwater Artisanal Ales brewer, who had moved to Louisville a few months earlier. We sampled many of their offerings, all of which were good:

• Steep Hill (IPA)
• Fananas Boster (12% ABV pastry stout)
• Hop Compression (imperial kellerpils) (collaboration with Stillwater Artisanal Ales)
• Fullest Sleeve (12% ABV NETIPA with vanilla wafers)
• Barrel-Aged Honest Thief (14.2% ABV BA imperial stout)
• Denny Lou (15% ABV BA imperial stout)
• Never Köln (kolsch)
• Key Lime Cheese Cake Boy (fruited sour)
• Seaside Simulation (fruited sour seltzer)

		Nora the cat.

Brian took us across the street to an artsy space that is owned by his major investor. The main floor looks like an art museum, and the basement has a bar called Rarely (because it's rarely open). It's an old, musty place that has been revamped. Brian treated us to several canned Stillwater beers (in the list below, Oude Northwest is a made-up brewery name; it's actually Stillwater).

• Oude Northwest Old Vine Zinfandel (wild ale)
• Pacific North Wild (oak-aged IPA)
• Oude Northwest Classic (wild ale)
• Rosé Gold (golden sour)
• Yacht (lager)
• Cellar Door (witbier)

We checked in at our Airbnb, which was located in the East Market District, also called NuLu (short for New Louisville). Around 7:00 we walked to Mile Wide Beer Company. I tried two beers, both of which were good.

• Kingpin (hazy IPA) (collaboration with Mirror Twin)
• Mr. Tasty (hazy IPA with vanilla and lactose)

Less than half a mile away is Gravely Brewing. My flight consisted of:

• Channel Orange (pretty good blood orange IPA)
• Debaser (good NEIPA)
• Big Dark Love (good black IPA)
• Power Chord (quite good IPA)

Tom's son Tommy, who had just driven from Maryland, met us there, and drove us to Spring Street Bar and Grill. Our friend Rich, a fellow Chartridgian, had just flown in and met us around 10:30. We all had food and I guess the others drank but I didn't because I'd had my fill.

We all returned to the Airbnb a little before midnight. Tom and Rich played some acoustic while I dozed off in a corner.

Thursday October 3. Another gorgeous sunny day. At around 9:30 Mike, Rich, and I walked to Biscuit Belly, which has 5 locations in Louisville and Lexington, for a hearty breakfast.

By the time we returned to the Airbnb, Tom and Tommy were awake. Tom hadn't slept well, so he stayed behind while the rest of us walked to Against the Grain Brewery, arriving at noon. The place opened in October 2011. We tried:

• Citra Ass Down (good IPA)
• BBL (good barrel-aged amber)
• Brown Note (good brown ale)
• Oktoberfest (decent)

We walked to Rabbit Hole Distillery, where Tom met us for a tour. They gave us an old fashioned to start, then led us through the distillery.

They have a nice bar upstairs.

The tour ended with a tasting of 4 of their bourbons.

Immediately afterward we walked to Angel's Envy Distillery for a tour, which also ended with a tasting.

Tom's cousin Bill (on right) met us about halfway through the tour.

Here is a brief video of part of the bottling line:

Afterward we had Manhattans at the bar.

Rich, me, Tom, Bill, Tommy, Mike.

After we left we rented some Bird scooters, some of which stopped working after a few blocks because of an issue with the app, so most of us walked.

We arrived at the Troll Under the Bridge Pub at 4:30 for food and beer.

About an hour later we walked/scootered to Michter's, but there was a 3-hour wait to get into the bar.

Then we walked...

...to Kentucky Peerless Distilling just before they closed at 6:00, so we couldn't drink there.

We tried scootering, again unsuccessfully for most of us due to a fraud alert on Tom's credit card, so while Mike and Tommy rode blissfully along, the rest of us walked to Goodwood Brewing and Spirits. None of the beers had good ratings so I got a half pour of their Bourbon Barrel Stout, which was pretty good.

Next we had dinner and drinks at a Cuban restaurant called La Bodeguita de Mima.

Then we stopped at a liquor store for bourbon and beer, and returned to the Airbnb.

Friday October 4. Gorgeous and sunny again. At 11:30 the 6 of us took off in the rental vehicle and headed to Bardstown. We stopped to take this photo with Bardstown written on the water tower behind us. The sun was shining directly at us. My face is contorted because I was the only one not wearing sunglasses or a hat to shield my eyes.

After arriving in town we walked around. Our first stop was a bourbon market called The Blind Pig.

Around 1:00 we got drinks at the Old Talbott Tavern.

Next we got a couple of flights at Bardstown's only brewpub, Scout and Scholar Brewing, which was quite busy. We sampled:

• Pleasantries (pretty good fruited sour)
• Reclaimed Reward BBA (good 10% ABV farmhouse ale)
• Crick Wader (pretty good malt liquor) (collaboration with Awry)
• Give Me a Rye-It BBA (good 10.5% ABV Belgian blonde)
• Treading Paper (good IPA)
• Y'all is in the Air (pretty good marzen)
• Give Me Three Steps (marginal Belgian blonde)
• Livin the High Rice (fairly good Japanese rice lager)

We then drove to Bardstown Bourbon Company to have lunch and drinks at their restaurant.

As we were leaving we took this photo in front of one of their rickhouses.

Then we drove to James B. Beam Distilling for drinks and live music.

We also bought stuff at their gift shop.

We returned to the Airbnb, then Ubered to Bob's Steak and Chop House, a high-class restaurant that as of this writing has 15 locations across the U.S.

The food was amazing (and expensive). Tom got us a couple of bottles of high-end wine.

The restaurant is located within the Omni Louisville Hotel. Here are some random photos from inside.

After stuffing ourselves we walked over to Fourth Street Live!, which is an entertainment district akin to Las Vegas's Fremont Street Experience. It has restaurants, music, and games.

At about 10:30 we went around the corner to a dive bar called Third Street Dive, which doesn't seem to have a website but you can read a review here. They have karaoke several nights a week, so we listened to a mixed bag of good and terrible singing.

Ceiling.	Ceiling.

We spent about an hour there, then Ubered back to the Airbnb.

Saturday October 5. Rich and Bill left early to go back to their respective homes. A little after 11:00 Mike, Tommy, and I drove to Cave Hill, a huge cemetery with 120,000 graves and 16 miles of paved roads. We saw the gravesites of Muhammad Ali, Julian Van Winkle, and Colonel Sanders. Ali is buried with his head facing east (toward Mecca) because he was a Muslim.

Tommy went to visit a friend. Mike and I met Tom at Feast BBQ, then the three of us went to Butchertown Brewing, the highest rated brewery in Louisville. It opened in 2021. The latter three beers in the following list were very expensive ($8-$10 for 5 ounces).

• Mango Colada Sour (good fruited sour)
• Banana Walnut Old Fashioned (good BBA Vienna lager)
• For Jake (good 11% ABV stout)
• Permanent Rebellion (good 12% ABV barleywine)
• Elements of Time 2024b (nice 12% ABV BBA stout) (there had previously been a 2024a version)

The brewery is situated in the Mellwood Art Center, a sort of community center with shops, event venues, art studio spaces, and more.

Next we went to Sergio's World Beers, a completely unmarked beer bar. We rang the bell, and a voice told us that someone would be with us shortly. About 10 minutes later Sergio, an older gentleman, drove up and let us in. The place, which opened in 2009, is more of a shrine than a bar, with 1800 beers from around the world (many of them Belgian) and 45 beers on tap. Sergio is a world beer traveler who is willing to make beer suggestions but will not give out samples. Brian and his girlfriend Janina, who live down the street, met us there (Sergio knows Brian, and in fact had one of his beers on tap). A little while later our friend Kurt, a fellow Chartridgian who had gone on our 2021 trip and was temporarily living in Nashville for work, drove into town and met us there too. Since there were no flights or samples I could handle only two beers:

• Toppling Goliath Double Dry-Hopped Pseudo Sue (good)
• Van Steenberge Tripel de Garre (quite good)

Back: Janina, Brian, Kurt, Sergio.

Front: Tom, Mike, me.

Tom and Kurt dropped the vehicles off at the Airbnb while Brian, Janina, Mike, and I walked to a dive bar called High Horse, arriving at 4:00. Tom and Kurt met us shortly thereafter.

We all walked to Goodwood Brewing and Spirits (where we had gone on Thursday) because there was live bluegrass music. Brian and Janina took off and the Chartridge Boys hung out for a while.

Next the four of us went to a rooftop bar called Bar Genevieve, where we encountered a group of Helen Ropers.

A little after 7:00 we followed the Helens to Garage on Market for drinks and pingpong. I talked to one of the Helens and learned that they belong to a group called Mrs. Roper Romp.

Next we went to Lou Lou on Market and drank at their patio bar.

A full day of drinking took a toll on me.

Around 10:00 we wandered into Five Iron Golf and played an hour of virtual golf. The way it works is you hit an actual golf ball, which hits a screen, which in turn shows a video simulation of where the ball would supposedly go. Tommy joined us.

We returned to the Airbnb and hung out on the porch. I crashed a little before 1:00 AM.

Sunday October 6. Yet another beautiful sunny day. Kurt drove home early. Mike and I went to Gralehaus for breakfast while Tom and Tommy rested and packed at the Airbnb. Gralehaus is a popular place, with a European vibe and good food.

We returned to the Airbnb. Tommy drove back to Maryland while Tom, Mike, and I returned the rental vehicle at the airport. Our flight was delayed, so we had plenty of time for Tom and Mike to have bloody Marys while I worked on this triplog.

We all made it back safely. It had been a great trip. Thanks for reading.