Get Premium access to all the latest content online
Subscribe and view full print editions online... Subscribe
Louisville: A Spirited Southern Classic
A city shaped by horse racing, whiskey heritage and a link to an American literary classic
Where the South begins to blur into the Midwest, on a bend in the mighty Ohio River, sits Louisville – a city that blends old-world elegance and creative swagger. Kentucky’s largest city and home to 622,000 residents, Louisville (pronounced “Loo-a-vul” to locals) is a place where the scent of aged bourbon hangs in the air and wide-brimmed hats aren’t just for show.
From its sprawling waterfront and turn-of-the-century architecture to its new wave of distilleries and restaurants, Louisville balances Southern hospitality with cosmopolitan sophistication. For travellers seeking a distinctive slice of Americana – complete with spectacle and soul – Bourbon City, as it’s known, offers something more authentic and refined.
The Kentucky Derby: A Sporting Spectacle Like No Other
Nothing encapsulates Louisville's flair quite like the Kentucky Derby, the oldest continuously held sporting event in the United States. Each spring, on the first Saturday of May, more than 150,000 spectators flock to Churchill Downs, a grand and storied racetrack that will mark its 150th birthday in 2025. Known as ‘The Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports,’ the Derby is far more than a horse race – it’s an American cultural institution, an extravagant fashion affair and a Southern culinary showcase all rolled into one.
The city comes alive with pageantry: think seersucker suits, enormous feathered hats and Mint Juleps – the iconic Derby cocktail of Bourbon, sugar water and mint – served in silver cups. Indulge in local favourites such as the Benedictine sandwich (a pale green cucumber spread creation dating back to the 1800s), the indulgent Hot Brown (a baked open-faced turkey sandwich invented at Louisville’s Brown Hotel) and the infamous Derby-Pie®, a chocolate-nut dessert that pairs beautifully with a neat pour of the city’s most famous spirit.
With a $90 million renovation of Churchill Downs and a refreshed Kentucky Derby Museum – including a new 360° film experience and a fashion-through-the-decades exhibit –now is the perfect moment to experience this great American tradition.
Bourbon City: The Spirit of Louisville
Bourbon is more than a drink in Louisville – it’s a way of life. This is, after all, Bourbon City, and there’s no better place in the world to savour this distinctly American whiskey. By federal law, bourbon must be made from at least 51 per cent corn and aged in new charred oak barrels, resulting in its rich caramel colour and nuanced notes of vanilla, spice and smoke. While bourbon is produced across Kentucky, Louisville is its urban heart, home to more than 20 distillery experiences and tasting rooms within city limits.
The city’s bourbon renaissance began just over a decade ago with the opening of the Evan Williams Bourbon Experience and has since exploded into a spirited network of sleek tasting rooms, immersive tours, bourbon-themed hotels and elegant cocktail bars. Stroll down Whiskey Row, once the epicentre of 19th-century bourbon trading, now reborn with modern venues such as the Monk’s Road Boiler House (a supper club-inspired tasting room) and Hotel Bourré Bonne, a brand new Marriott Autograph Collection property with rooftop pool and lounge. Coming soon: new tasting rooms from emerging stars like Green River Distilling Co. and Pursuit Spirits, adding to a burgeoning scene.
Gatsby’s Legacy
As The Great Gatsby – widely considered one of America's greatest novels – turns 100 in 2025, Louisville is quietly taking a bow as one of the book’s key inspirations. Author F. Scott Fitzgerald was stationed here during World War I, and legend has it that his time spent drinking among bootleggers and socialites at the Seelbach Hotel helped shape the character of Jay Gatsby himself. The novel’s tragic heroine, Daisy Buchanan, is written as a Louisville native, and her opulent wedding to Tom is set in the city – described with ‘more pomp and circumstance than Louisville ever knew before.’
Today, the Seelbach remains a glorious monument to early 20th-century Art Deco grandeur. With its marble-clad lobby and Bavarian-style Rathskeller bar, it’s easy to imagine Fitzgerald scribbling notes on a napkin while jazz spilled through the corridors. To mark the centenary, the hotel has unveiled a new Gatsby Suite, offering guests a chance to live (or at least sleep) like a literary legend. Even if you're not checking in, stop by the bar to sip a Seelbach Cocktail, a decades old Prohibition-era-inspired mix of bourbon, bitters and Champagne – a fitting tribute to the city’s literary and spirited legacy.
A Taste of the South
Whether you come for the Derby pomp, Gatsby glam or a world-class dram, Louisville proves that American tradition can still reinvent itself.
Ready to experience Bourbon City? Start your journey at bourboncity.co.uk
Sponsored by Louisville Tourism
