For my 40th birthday, I went to Kentucky with my fiancé, Ali. Our destinations were some world-class distilleries and the beautiful city of Lexington. I already wrote an article about the first part of our trip; this one will look at the rich brewery, bar, and restaurant scene of Lexington. And, because we can’t just eat and drink the whole time, I will also tell you about some parks and recreation options.

Dive Bars & Barcades: Why Arcadium is a Lexington Staple

We had the advantage that our accommodation was located right by two Lexington staples: Al’s Bar and Arcadium. Both are situated right at the intersection of North Limestone and 6th Street.

Arcadium is a cozy little barcade with a great selection of draft beers, vintage arcade machines, and fun cocktails. I’m always surprised to see a bar serving Underberg, but the bartender said he loves it. However, he also mentioned he loves Malört, so I’m not sure I can trust his judgment! Al’s Bar underwent a major modernization a couple of years ago. It “elevated” from a trashy dive bar to a still trashy, but much cleaner-looking, dive bar. We arrived at a time when we probably should have just gone to bed. The place was fairly quiet, but they were doing karaoke. I tried my luck with a German song, and surprisingly, they served Underberg here too!

The Best German Beer in Kentucky? A Swabian Reviews Blue Stallion Brewery

West 6th is only a 10-minute walk from the first two bars (and only 11 minutes from our front door). West 6th has been around since 2012 and has expanded aggressively across Kentucky, with its flagship location on West 6th Street in Lexington. I recommend trying any of their core beers, including their IPA. I can also vouch for the food, which comes from Smithtown Seafood—they share the entrance with the brewery.

Blue Stallion is another 15-minute walk further. This place leans heavily into German-style beers, and I have to tell you, they do a fantastic job with their Hefeweizen. It stood out even more than the last time I was there; it is probably my favorite wheat beer brewed in the US! I was very surprised to see the flag of the city of Schorndorf hanging there, which is only 25 minutes away from my hometown, Weilheim an der Teck. I am still wondering if it’s a coincidence or if that flag ended up there for a specific reason. We didn’t try the food, but the pizza smelled amazing.

Exploring the Lexington Distillery District: Pizza, Ice Cream, and Ethereal Brewing

Lexington is surprisingly walkable if you have the patience. We walked to the Distillery District, Lexington’s historic industrial area. While there aren’t many active distilleries left in this specific pocket, the area has been massively revitalized over the last 15 years and now houses many restaurants and businesses.

During our visit, we grabbed a beer at Ethereal, pizza from Goodfellas, ice cream from Crank & Boom, and finished with a beer at The Burl Brew. Ethereal and Crank & Boom were both fantastic—I highly recommend them. The pizza at Goodfellas was also great; it famously earned a 0.0 from Dave Portnoy in a “one-bite” review, but don’t let that deter you!

The only downer was The Burl Brew. Even though they weren’t very busy, we had to wait forever to be served, and the staff didn’t seem interested in selling us more drinks. While I understand that there might be bad service nights, this experience just left a sour taste.

Cajun Comfort in Chevy Chase: Bourbon n’ Toulouse & The Iconic Chevy Chase Inn

One food highlight can be found in the Chevy Chase District: Bourbon n’ Toulouse. They serve comforting Cajun kitchen staples like Gumbo, Jambalaya, and my favorite, Chicken Étouffée. The Étouffée was so good that Ali decided she had to try to recreate it at home. Luckily, we found a 10-year-old YouTube video featuring the owners, and she managed to get dangerously close to the original recipe. Stay tuned for that!

Another famous spot nearby is the Chevy Chase Inn. With a rubber chicken attached to the door and stickers and signs covering every surface, this place is a total vibe. They were also the first place I’ve ever seen with one of those “bottoms-up” magnetic draft machines where the glass fills from the bottom. When you are in the area, you definitely need to “check-Inn.”

Guinness & Ghost Stories: Visiting McCarthy’s and Molly Brooke’s Irish Pubs

Allegedly, McCarthy’s sells the most Guinness in the entire state of Kentucky. Watching how many “Irish Car Bombs” they served during our single pint made me believe it. It’s a very vibrant, loud place. On the quieter side (mostly because we arrived very early) was Molly Brooke’s. The bartender let us try some of his new house liquors, and I had my first-ever peanut butter whiskey (Skrewball). Overall, a great experience!

Winter Birding in Lexington: Finding the Fox Sparrow at The Arboretum

After two days of visiting distilleries and not having much luck with birding, we started our Saturday on a healthy note by visiting The Arboretum and Jacobson Park.

While the birds in Michigan still seem to be on winter break, the birds at The Arboretum were in full spring mode. We could hear them calling for mates, marking territories, and fighting for the best nesting sites. A pleasant surprise was a “lifer” for me: the Fox Sparrow. We chose Jacobson Park for its large lake, but otherwise, the park is fairly bland this time of year—mostly just a large, grey lawn with some trees. We did stay for a while, however, to watch the silly gooses enjoying the finally unfrozen water.

Verdict

With a few exceptions, I would come back here and do everything exactly the same. This was my second time visiting Lexington, but Ali lived here for quite some time, so it felt like a “local” tour. It’s only a 5.5 to 6-hour drive from Southeast Michigan.

For our next trip south, we are planning to visit Dogslaughter Falls and Mammoth Cave National Park. Have you ever been to Lexington? Let us know which other places we need to visit in or out of the city!

Don’t forget to check out my distillery post as well! Or maybe how about a Sauerbraten recipe? 🥨🦉

Kentucky is widely known for its Bourbon Trail and its rich Appalachian bluegrass music culture. On my birthday trip to Lexington, Kentucky, Ali and I visited the Castle & Key Distillery—just half an hour away from downtown Lexington, in Frankfort—and the Maker’s Mark distillery, for which you have to go out of your way to reach.

I would not be the Schnitzelbirder if I were not looking for birds while being in Kentucky; of course, the stars of this post are the distilleries themselves. I will let you know what our experience was, what we liked and didn’t like, and which was our favorite.

This is the first part of my 40th birthday trip report. While this focuses on the distilleries, I am focusing more on the rich brewery and restaurant scene of Lexington in the second part– and of course I visited a park to look for birds.

Road Trip from Michigan: A Stop at Alcove by MadTree

Leaving the cold winter weather in Michigan at 7 in the morning on Thursday, we had a brief stop in Cincinnati for a beer and some snacks at the Alcove by MadTree. At 2 pm, we arrived at our first real destination: the Castle & Key Distillery.

Review: Visiting the Historic Castle & Key Distillery in Frankfort

Castle & Key is both a very old and a very new distillery. It underwent several closures, changes of ownership, salvaging, and neglect since its first opening in 1887. Under current ownership, the distillery sold its first bourbon in 2022, eight years after the purchase.

Birding at the Distillery: Black Vultures in Kentucky

The Castle & Key Tour Experience

After we checked in for our tour, we met our guide, Ana, and one of the distillers and future tour guide, Charlie. Ana gave us a more detailed rundown on the history of the place and led us through the holy halls of this literal castle. We learned a lot about why the place is what it is, and what huge effort had to go into the restoration; we also learned a bit about bourbon.

The tour concluded with a tasting of three different bourbons, a hot toddy, and a bourbon ball. About the bourbon, I can only say: you have to try it yourself. We liked their Wheated Bourbon and left with a bottle.

The Verdict: It was a very informative tour in a picturesque setting. We really liked how personal everything felt with a group of only 10 people and basically two guides. We saw the fermentation tanks and the still itself, but the tour skipped a lot of buildings which would have been interesting to see from the inside.

Ana and Charlie did a great job overall! We can only recommend visiting Castle & Key and doing one of their tours!

castleandkey.com – 4445 McCracken Pike, Frankfort, KY 40601

Maker’s Mark Distillery Tour: Wax-Dipped Bottles and Cedar Tanks

The next morning we had to get up early; unfortunately, I deemed a 10 am distillery visit a good idea. Since the distillery itself is a bit further away from Lexington, we got up at 7 to have enough time to grab breakfast at Great Bagel: a 5 out of 5 breakfast!

Maker’s Mark is one of the more prominent bourbons on a normal supermarket shelf. Their bottles are known for their distinct shape and the wax coating around the neck/cap. Maker’s Mark has been around since 1953 and is now making bourbon in its third generation.

Navigating to Loretto: Meeting Whiskey Jean

The road Google sent us on to Maker’s Mark was anything but the normal way to get there. Consequently, when we arrived, we didn’t see the sign for visitor parking and ended up at the employee parking. But we finally made it to the right lot and check-in building, which is also the home of the local cat, Whiskey Jean.

Exploring the Grounds of Maker’s Mark: Carolina Wrens and Common Grackles

Once the staff called our tour, our guide Chris led us through the distillery estate. When he was giving his initial history rundown, I got a little sidetracked by the Common Grackles and Carolina Wrens announcing the arrival of spring, but I am pretty sure he did a good job.

After a brief history lesson, we went to the fermenter tanks and the still. The tanks you visit during the tour are some really old, fancy cedar tanks. Maker’s Mark has a small, old-school printer and label cutter on its property; every tour visitor got to take an original unused label as a souvenir.

We also walked through one of the barrel storages, the place where they close the barrels, and the bottling (and waxing) facility. Overall, it was a very complete tour where we could see every step from the fermenter tank to putting the bottles into shipping boxes. The conclusion of the tour was again a small tasting: we got to taste four of their current bourbons.

The Verdict: This tour did not leave out anything and was professional from start to finish. But this is also the first critique I have: the groups were bigger, there were several tours going on at the same time, and everything was on a schedule. When our guide said we only had the tasting room for another few minutes, it did not feel like the intimate experience of Castle & Key, but we did see everything I was missing on their tour.

makersmark.com – 3350 Burkes Spg Rd, Loretto, KY 40037

Comparison: Castle & Key vs. Maker’s Mark Distillery Tours

Both tours complemented each other perfectly. It was also a lot of fun and unique to dip my own bottle into the wax; likewise, talking to Charlie at the end of the tour and having him personally thank us was a highlight.

If I had to choose only one tour to go on for a weekend trip, I would go to Castle & Key; however, if there are no constraints, I would definitely come back for Maker’s Mark again as well!

What distillery should we visit on our next trip to Kentucky? And what is your favorite one? Let me know in the comments! 🥨🦉

All that bourbon tasting made me crave a hearty German meal. If you’re heading home to cook, my Swabian Goulash is the perfect pairing for a Kentucky bourbon nightcap.