Hey Everybody,

I'm heading to Louisville later this month for a bachelor party (not mine) and am looking for some recommendations.

We will have a group of 11 bourbon lovers and we want to try out some good local stuff we can't get in Colorado.

Our lodging will be near I-65 and Liberty and we'll probably be taking ride-shares around town.

Areas to avoid / check out?

Must have cuisine?

We will definitely check out the Slugger Museum and take in a horse race.

CO and KY have reciprocity but given the amount of Bourbon that will be consumed my CCW will probably stay at home, I'm also heading to DC after this trip.

Rent a car and got to Bardstown at least for a day. Heaven Hill, Wild Turkey, Makers Mark, and Willet are are all in that area.

Frankfort has Buffalo Trace.

Versailles has Woodford Reserve.

...and to see a cool restoration/repurpose Castle and Key is just down the hill.  A great place to eat is The Stave, between Woodford and Castle and Key in Millville.

You can do the Bourbon Trail tour but some distilleries like Buffalo Trace aren't on it. Some have free tours and some don't. I'd skip any bourbon that needs to be mixed with cola. Blanton's is great and very smooth, no burn. There's also Evan Williams Bourbon Experience in downtown Louisville at Fourth Street Live (trendy area for drinking but usually crowded with bros and you may wait a while for drink). If you get on trip advisor you can see a list of restaurants but in general I'd recommend the Bardstown Rd/Baxter Avenue (The Highlands area) for restaurants and Frankfort Avenue/Crescent Hill too. Downtown Louisville has some good breakfast places like Harvest on Main and Wild Eggs. Le moo is a great place for brunch. The spaghetti factory is a good, nicer dinner place. The Irish Rover is a pretty cool place. Touristy things include Kentucky Derby Museum, Louisville Slugger Museum, Glassworks glass blowing artist space, Frasier History/arms museum, Louisville Science Center, Speed Art Museum, Bernheim Forest/Arboretum, Jefferson Memorial Forest. We have some pretty nice parks if you're looking to hike and not party.

If you want to shoot, I like Open Range in Crestwood, KY the best. They have full auto, suppressed rentals and a whole lot of other rental guns. Louisville Armory aka Bluegrass Indoor is OK. Knob Creek Range is the only real outdoor range and they are safety nazis, for good reason, most of the people who shoot there flag everyone else. You'll spend half the time waiting to shoot while people check targets down range or loading mags after they give the all clear to shoot again. Sometimes it feels like you just take your guns there and have the range attendant shoot them for you because you're not trusted to handle a weapon. I like to go to Clark State Forest in IN early in the morning to shoot before anyone else is there.

Must have food locally is the KY Hot Brown. I like the ones from 119 west main street small restaurant in downtown La Grange, KY right by the railroad tracks. Royals Hot Chicken near downtown Louisville is also great. Really, there are a lot of good restaurants depending on what you want. The hole in the walls can be really great. Lots of vegetarian and ethnic, mediterranean, indian options.

I'll go ahead and say the stereotype is to avoid the West End of Louisville for the most part. That's usually where any shootings are, drugs, gangs, etc. South end isn't much better, sad to say. If you don't look like an easy target you'll be fine, maybe asked for change at worst. Police are all over the place, esp. this time of year so don't drive like an idiot. Uber and Lyft are plentiful.

Yeah, avoid I-65 and Liberty. Seriously, just keep your eyes open and you'll be fine. There's nothing west of 9th St that you want to experience.

And go to the track. You don't want to just "take in a horse race", you want to experience Churchill Downs, wander the hallways, check out the paddock, kick back a few, all while the races are going on. The place is historic and amazing.

If you're going to Versailles, be sure to stop here: http://threeboysfarmdistillery.com/ . Schedule a visit ahead of time, he's a complete bourbon mad scientist.  It's a tiny operation with some of the most amazing bourbons I've ever tasted.