Roadtrip: Bourbon Edition
An early-but-not-too-early morning departure started the day, complete with quick goodbyes to a few friends and family in the morning who managed to get up. Followed by an aborted attempt to get pho at a place (Pho 777) that I'd found half an hour away on some "Best Pho in the Country" list; turns out Pho 777 was technically open, but they were doing take-out only, and that didn't seem like a fair way to experience their pho.
Settled for a quick (and very cheap) hot dog at the Cook-Out next door instead of pho, then a quick flight to Kentucky to meet up with Joel and an immediate haul over to Bulleit before they closed. Bulleit's visitor center is well done but the bar area is oddly small, and with only three choices available (bourbon, rye, and a single barrel) the visit itself didn't feel like it gave access to anything terribly unique.
Wandered downtown Louisville afterwards. Angels Envy's visitor center is unfortunately being remodeled, but they directed us over to Against the Grain not even a block down the street for a wider selection of beers and bourbons. For a brewery built-in to a ballpark, Against the Grain was surprisingly good, with a delicious slighty crispy pork belly skewer and a cracklin' fresh set of pork rinds. The alocohol selection was also perfectly appropriate for the location, with enough bourbons and rye to impress but nothing too high-end, as befits a crowd at a ballpark.
Dinner at a local Cuban place was also quite good, the lechon asado was perhaps a bit too much food given we'd just hit a brewery, but was great to hang out over food and drink that Joel doesn't get often at home.