Kentucky is known as “the bluegrass state”, but when I think of Kentucky, I think Kentucky Derby, bourbon, KFC, and Daniel Boone. With this in mind and knowing that my friend Katherine had grown up in Louisville, I asked her for some suggestions which she and her family were happy to provide. Thank you Macways!
With just a few days in Louisville, it’s possible to check bourbon and Derby off your list but you’ll need to add in two other wonderful experiences – the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory and the Muhammed Ali Center!
We stayed at Louisville North Campground, an urban RV park, just north of Louisville (technically in Indiana). It was so close to downtown that we’d planned to park the RV for about 3 days and ride our bikes across the Big Four Bridge into Louisville each day to explore. Rain, thunder, lightning, strong winds and, on our second night, Louisville tornado sirens and a tornado touch-down in the area (closest we’ve been to one yet) had us typically driving to town instead of using the bikes. Doug did take one ride and snagged that beautiful shot of the city above!
LOUISVILLE SLUGGER MUSEUM AND FACTORY
It’s impossible to miss the gigantic baseball bat that adorns the front of the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory on Main Street. We’ve been to a few SF Giants games, and we enjoy watching the World Series, but we aren’t huge baseball fans. The point is, you don’t have to be to really enjoy this museum!
The museum explains how an 1859 J.F. Hillerich woodworking shop making bedposts, bowling pins, handrails, porch railings, and later butter churns, came to produce the Louisville Slugger in 1882 with the help of Pete Browning, a batting superstar.
The museum houses plenty of famous bats including Babe Ruth’s 1927 notched bat. Their timeline wall provides not only the history of the sport and information on key players, but also the role of the Louisville slugger in that success. Other displays include information on Jackie Robinson who broke down racial barriers through his perseverance and success, despite the racial slurs and threats he faced. You’ll learn about “Bloomer Girls”, the All American Girls Professional Baseball League, Mark McGuire, Barry Bonds, Pete Rose, Roger Maris, Ty Cobb, Joe DiMaggio and more. For the price of admission, you also get a factory tour and token mini bat to take home!
Louisville Slugger Museum
Butter churn 
Billets will become bats
MAIN STREET AND WATERFRONT SIGHTS
Austin TX coined the phrase “Keep Austin Weird” but make no mistake, Louisville is giving it a run for the money! A walk down Main Street yields wonderfully ornate and regal 19th century architecture so it’s a little jarring when out of nowhere a huge gold reproduction of Michelangelo’s “David” appears. Prior to reaching Louisville Slugger Field, we also passed a window display of horse jockey statues (don’t ask me why). There are several historic markers like the original “Galt House” which was a hotel with a long and famous history. In front of the newer Galt House Hotel we noticed a Kentucky Derby horse jockey hall of fame. The Kentucky Science Center, an interactive science museum on Main Street also looked popular with families.
Waterfront Park parallels Main Street and has great paths along the Ohio River where you can view or take a cruise on the steamboat called “Belle of Louisville” or visit the statue of Louisville founder, General George Rogers Clark, elder brother of William Clark (of Lewis and Clark fame).
In general, downtown was quiet. I don’t know if that’s because we were there in mid-April or because we visited mid-week. For this reason, it didn’t feel like the party towns of New Orleans or Nashville, despite the distilleries dotting the length of the main drag and that suited us just fine.
Various manhole covers
Derby jockey display 
General George Clark 
KENTUCKY BOURBON TRAIL
If you read our prior post (here) you know that we started our bourbon tasting at Maker’s Mark in Loretto KY. The Kentucky Bourbon Trail Welcome Center in Louisville had a Kentucky Bourbon Trail roadmap and information about the requirements for a spirit to be called “bourbon”:
We toured and tasted next at Angels Envy, a newer distiller whose unique recipe includes a final finishing of the bourbon in port wine barrels after the initial aging in the white oak barrels required of bourbon. Their claim is that it allows for a smoother finish. Their facility was designed with tours in mind, so they included simple visual graphics which were great for a beginner.
Angels Envy 
Evan Williams claims to be the oldest commercial distillery in Kentucky while Old Forester claims to be America’s first bottled bourbon. It’s all a bit confusing and since nearly all of the distillers failed during prohibition their actual ties to the original founders and recipes are a bit questionable. We did not tour Old Forester, but their gift shop was impressive.
Evan Williams was our next stop on the bourbon trail. During the tour, you learn that Mr. Williams, a Welsh immigrant, established Kentucky’s first commercial distillery in Louisville in 1783 and assumed the role of Louisville’s wharfmaster at a critical point in Louisville’s history. Their tour was my absolute favorite. They use a Hollywood-feel old town set, videos, and a knowledgeable and upbeat guide to walk patrons through the history of the distillery in relation to what was happening in the US starting in 1783. The tasting is done while seated at a nice counter bar and the guide provided us with the secret to properly tasting bourbon – the “Kentucky chew”! If you’re like me, and that first sip of bourbon is so strong that it offends the taste buds preventing you from taking a second sip, then here’s what you need to know:
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- First, take a small sip of bourbon and swish it around to coat your entire mouth. This process is called the “Kentucky chew” and you want swish about 10 times with that first sip.
- Then, before swallowing, to prevent that burning in your nostrils and those strong alcohol fumes that make you cough when swallowing, push air out as you swallow to dispel the fumes.
- Take a second small sip and do the “Kentucky chew” again, swishing about 5 times.
- Prevent the burn by pushing air out as you swallow. Viola! Your next sip will really allow you to taste and enjoy the bourbon.
A few other tips:
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- Just as aerating wine, allowing it to breathe, or changing its temperature by holding the glass in your hands can change its flavor, with bourbon adding a small amount of water and/or drinking over ice can also change its flavor so it’s good to try it different ways.
- Just like wine tasting, a palette cleanse between different bourbons can be done using water.
- Just like wine and, dare I say, maybe better- a chocolate pairing with bourbon is to die for and has become one of my favorite after dinner vices!
This trip to Kentucky, and Louisville in particular, gave me a new appreciation for bourbon. Just another great example of how travel expands your horizons!
MUHAMMAD ALI CENTER
I had a grandfather who loved boxing and his eldest daughter, my mom, really enjoyed it too so growing up I remember watching a few fights. I may have even seen a televised Ali fight, but I remember the Sugar Ray Leonard and Mike Tyson era more clearly.
Whether you know anything about boxing or not, the Muhammed Ali Center showcases the Louisville native’s boxing career and it’s easy to appreciate all that Ali achieved as an athlete. He finished his amateur career (1954-1960) with a record of 134 wins and just 7 losses. During his professional career, between 1960 and 1981, he had 56 wins and 5 losses.
They focus not only on how Ali made boxing mainstream, but how his charisma, showmanship (“float like a butterfly, sting like a bee, his hands can’t hit what his eyes can’t see”), dedication to his Islamic religion and pacifism which led to his conviction for draft evasion, and his Civil Rights activism made him an icon. In fact, the entire museum is laid out according character traits important to him.
We allotted a half day to the tour the center and enjoyed it so much that, unfortunately, we found ourselves running through the final displays, disappointed that we didn’t have a little more time.
Museum layout
In just over 2 days in Louisville, we learned quite a bit about its long history as we walked Main Street and the waterfront, drank some great bourbons, enjoyed the iconic Louisville Slugger Museum, and were inspired at the Muhammed Ali Center by the impact of just one person.
While we skipped the Kentucky Science Center, Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Derby Museum (racing season hadn’t started yet and the Macways had suggested a horse park in Lexington, which we decided to do instead), you could add one or all of these to create a wonderful long weekend getaway!
