Tuesday, May 26, 2015

Skeeball Machines?!

We slept a bit better that night (probably because we were so wiped out from the day before), then grabbed breakfast at the hotel buffet (which was really good!). The weather forecast had improved a bit so we decided that rather than heading back east, we could spend a bit more time in Kentucky. Mark called the FBO, they came to pick us up in the courtesy van, and after topping the tanks, we were back in the air.

There was a really cool view of the state capitol as we climbed out of FFT. If we had more time it would have been cool to see it on the ground...we'll just have to save it for next time!

We actually had a bit of a tailwind heading west, which made our short flight even shorter...

...and before we knew it, we could see downtown Louisville.

Final for Clark Regional (JVY). It's actually in Indiana, but it's just across the river from Louisville and had good reviews on AirNav. There were a few other planes in the area, and as we were coming in to land on Runway 18 a medivac helicopter was making an approach to Runway 14. We landed just fine and taxied up to the FBO.

I was so proud of my nice park job I took a picture of it! Haha I usually get within a few inches of having the nosewheel lined up just right, but this time I absolutely nailed it.

We tied the plane down, went inside to get things sorted out with the FBO, and Kellye gave us a ride to our hotel in Louisville. We really lucked out with great FBOs this trip! Turns out that in addition to working at the FBO, she's a military tower controller, so we had fun talking ATC with her. The hotel let us check in early, so we dropped our bags in our (very nice!) room and decided to try out Lyft to get a ride to our next stop.

I had never used Lyft (or Uber) before, but it was really easy! Within a few minutes we had a driver on the way, and a short ride through some residential and industrial areas later, we were at the Stitzel-Weller Distillery. We paid through the Lyft app and went inside.

Mmm...such a delicious display!

The distillery originally opened in 1935, was sold in 1972 and eventually closed in the early 1990's, and just reopened to the public last year.

We actually got to see some of the stills on this tour, which was pretty neat.

There were warehouses full of barrels all over the place. We got to go in this one, but they didn't let us take pictures inside...apparently their insurance company is worried that camera flashes will set the whole thing on fire.

The distillery used to have its own cooperage on site, too. It was pretty cool to see how the barrels were made; we got to play around with a couple of them.

Ooo...artsy.   :)

Toward the end of the tour we got to see Tom Bulleit's actual office. He's the founder of Bulleit Bourbon; the recipe is based on his great-great grandfather's recipe. Our tour guide said she's opened the door to his office on tours before and actually found him in there working. (Not on the day we were there, though.)

We got to taste a few things at the end: Bulleit Bourbon, Bulleit Rye, and their 10-year Bourbon. We have the rye at home (it's pretty good in an Old Fashioned), but it was fun to taste the other two. And of course, still drink the rye.   :)

After the tour we got another Lyft ride back into the city and went to Harvest for lunch.

BBQ grilled cheese, house-made chips, and a mint julep. I think I drooled on my keyboard just typing that. We wound up splitting dessert, too.

After lunch we wandered around Louisville a bit. We tried to take a tour of Evan Williams, but all the tours had sold out for the day so we settled for a walk through the gift shop.

I had to laugh at this sign...I shudder to think what their version of a bourbon burger would be!

We wandered around a bit longer, stopped in a couple shops, and eventually made our way back to the hotel for a short nap. We had dinner at Doc Crow's (really good shrimp and grits and an Old Fashioned), then decided to check out a bar that we'd overheard our tour guide from the Stitzel-Weller tour mention: Haymarket Bar. They supposedly had a good selection, and it was only a couple blocks from the hotel.

WOW. It was definitely worth the walk!

It was hard to pick, but the bartender had some good suggestions so we took his recommendations. I don't remember everything we tried, but I do know that one of the ryes Mark tried was the most rye-tasting rye I've ever had. It almost tasted like rye bread.

The bartender was fun to talk to and it wasn't too busy. I wish I had gotten pictures of the pinball machines and fun stuff scattered through the bar. It got even better, though, when we heard him tell some other patrons what was in the back room...

...skeeball machines!!! Best. Bar. Ever.

We played a few rounds of skeeball, had a few drinks, and managed to leave just as the bar was starting to fill up. We walked back to the hotel, had little sips of one of the new whiskeys that Mark had bought earlier in the day, and passed out. Time to head home in the morning!

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