Spirit of Louisville: a celebration of Kentucky’s Bourbon City in London

Louisville lets loose at London Cocktail Week and offers readers the chance to experience Southern Hospitality for themeselves on a four-night trip to the city

Enter the Louisville competition to win a dream trip to Bourbon City (Alamy)

Louisville sure knows how to throw a party. And as London Cocktail Week (LCW) was in full swing, Louisville Tourism and whiskey brand Angel’s Envy brought the party spirit of the South over to the UK.

Anyone who’s been to Louisville knows it takes its food, drink and hosting seriously. Known for its Southern comfort food, the city offers mouth-watering dishes like the iconic “hot brown”, a sensational hot sandwich born at the historic Brown Hotel.

There’s a thriving farm-to-table movement there, and an abundance of gourmet restaurants. Local chefs and restaurants prioritise fresh, locally sourced ingredients, delivering menus that change with the seasons. The NuLu district in particular, boasts an eclectic mix of eateries, showcasing international flavours and creative fusions, with Bourbon playing a starring role in many dishes, infusing its rich, smoky notes into sauces and desserts.

And Louisville knows a thing or two about Bourbon too. Angel’s Envy is an innovative distillery with a growing reputation for pushing boundaries. Their premium whiskey has a baseline of being finely crafted in new, charred oak barrels. But they’re continuously carving out new flavours in the bourbon market.

The party was in full swing at the LCW Gothic Bar event with innovative whiskey cocktails and classic signature serves (Louisville Tourism)

While bourbon is traditionally aged in new casks, Angel’s Envy created a whiskey that finished off its ageing in port barrels, taking a leaf out of Scottish whiskey methods. This smooths out the notes with a sweet and sticky vanilla finish that washes through with cedar spices and aromatic herbs. From there, they’ve gone on to produce whiskeys with other finishes, like rum, sherry and ice cider.

Louisville and Angel’s Envy recently brought their unique flavours to London during London Cocktail Week 2023, with a lively party at the Gothic Bar in The Renaissance Hotel, King’s Cross. The joint was truly jumping as a bluegrass duo on double bass and guitar kept guests entertained, and innovative whiskey cocktails that put clever twists on the classics were served alongside delicious Southern food staples.

Win a trip for two to Louisville and take a tour of the Angel’s Envy distillery (Louisville Tourism)

For your chance to win an amazing holiday for two people to experience a real taste of Louisville and its bourbon culture, simply answer a simple question and enter your details at bourboncity.co.uk The lucky winner and their plus one will win return economy flights from London to Kentucky and 4 nights 4* or boutique hotel accommodation.