Breeders’ Cup Travel Tips: Best Bars in Lexington

Breeders’ Cup Travel Tips: Best Bars in Lexington– Kentucky is famous for its bourbon, so during your stay in Lexington for the 2015 Breeders’ Cup, you will certainly want to check out the best local bars.

For your first stop, try out Lexington Beerworks. Granted, they are famous for beer and not bourbon, but they are worth the stop. Lexington Beerworks is an upscale beer bar with specialties that are home-brewed by the owners themselves. You can even take an onsite home brewing class. This time of year, try their pumpkin spice brew, but also be sure to taste their Alltech Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Stout. They also have a food menu with food trucks outside on occasion.

Another bar to visit is the Parlay Social Club. Try any of their signature cocktails, like My Old Kentucky Home or the Blue Margarita. The club is a Prohibition Era throwback, filled with Art Deco-inspired decor and a relaxed environment meant to foster a fun social experience. Click here for Canadian info.

For another great brewery, try The Beer Trappe. The atmosphere of The Beer Trappe is very casual, and there are plenty of drafts to choose from, including the Alpine “Captain Stout,” which has ground coffee and cocoa and is almost like a full-on dessert. Also, try the Alpine “Hoppy Birthday,” which is obviously a hoppy beer that also has fresh juice flavor bursting through, including tangerine, grapefruit, pineapple, mango, and passionfruit flavors. It is a crisp and clean-tasting draft.

Enoteca is another great stop, although it should be more than just a stop on a bar crawl; Enoteca deserves a whole night. It offers great dining, a market, a beautiful wine list and bar, and tapas. Even with high quality wines like the Allamand “H” Malbec, there is also a pretty expansive beer and bourbon list to choose from.

To get a genuine feel of downtown Lexington, stop for martinis at the Bigg Blue Martini. Located across from Rupp Arena and the iconic Triangle Park, there’s nothing better than sipping on fabulous martinis while taking in the sights and sounds of the town. Bigg Blue Martini offers an expansive list of special martinis, but one of their most beloved martinis is the Pixie Stick Martini, a perfect mixture of sweet and sour.

Finally, for a true pub experience, try the Shamrock Bar & Grille. They have all the classic pub foods and, of course, all the best beers on draft from across the ocean, including classics like Guinness and Strongbow Cider and unique picks like Country Boy Shotgun Wedding. Lexington has so much to offer by way of the bar scene, and with all the choices the city has to offer, you know you can’t go wrong with any of these local watering holes.

The Breeders’ Cup will take place at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky on Oct. 30-31. The Breeders’ Cup Festival begins on Oct. 24, 2015.