Recently, we went to Lexington, Kentucky, for a bit of a couple’s retreat and 2022 planning. It’s only a few hours from Asheville, North Carolina, and was the perfect spot for our needs. We also had a few bourbon distilleries on our list!
Here’s what our itinerary looked like:
Day One
When we first got to town, it was about 5:30 pm, we stopped at The Blushery in Lexington, so I could do some shopping. I picked up two pairs of cute, beaded earrings and a teacup that says “feeling extra.”
From there, we went to dinner at J. Alexander’s at The Summit at Fritz Farm, which is one of my favorite restaurants. Nothing compares to a lemon drop martini, which comes with a sidecar, and the prime rib with mashed potatoes.
After dinner, we checked into the hotel since it was already close to 9pm.
We stayed at The Sire Hotel, which is a Tapestry by Hilton property. Our room was really nice, the bed was comfortable, and the steamy, spa shower was beyond lovely. They have a nice outdoor fire pit on property, but it was too cold both nights to sit outside and enjoy it.
Day Two
From The Sire, we walked to Luss Brown to get coffee before our day started. We sat there for a bit and did some 2022 planning and then walked back to the hotel to get ready.
We stopped at Bad Ass Coffee to grab a quick snack and another coffee to keep us full until our lunchtime stop.
We drove to Buffalo Trace first since they had Blanton’s single barrel bourbon available for the day. We got there right about 11 am, and Tray was able to get one of three remaining bottles of the single barrel bourbon. By 11:12 am, all the single barrel bourbon bottles were gone.
Next, we drove to Bardstown, Kentucky, for lunch. We had amazing burgers and fries from Bardstown Burgers. We posted up at Fresh for a bit to respond to some emails.
From Bardstown, we drove out to the Maker’s Mark Distillery. The property is so stunning, you almost feel like you’re at a distillery theme park of sorts. We went to the gift shop first, so we could dip our own bottles of bourbon in the well-known red wax used on all Maker’s Mark bottles. Then, we strolled around the property some.
From Maker’s Mark, we headed back to Lexington to get some dinner. And, The Pasta Garage did not disappoint.
Day Three
We checked out of The Sire and drove to Old School Coffee to get some work done. I had an iced vanilla latte and a bagel with cream cheese and both were really good. We spent about 2.5 hours there and had a strong enough Wi-Fi for a few video meetings.
We went back to The Summit at Fritz Farm for a quick Apple store pick up, lunch at Condado Tacos, and a I popped into LUSH to get some new bath products.
The winter weather warning moved up earlier into the day at home, so we decided not to risk it and got on the road much earlier than we planned. Overall, we had a great time in Lexington and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the area.
