Lexington, Kentucky's The Manchester is the only hotel located in the city's Distillery District, home of James E. Pepper and Barrel House Distilling.
Kentucky is America’s most revered whiskey region, and the state’s Bourbon Trail has long been anchored by the sister cities of Louisville and Lexington. There you’ll find great food, whiskey bars, and two of the most famous horse racing grounds in the world, Churchill Downs in Louisville and Keeneland in Lexington. In recent years Louisville has seen a slew of high-profile hotel openings, including the Omni, Distil, Grady, and Moxy. Now Lexington is catching up, and June 2023 saw the debut of whiskey and equine-centric The Manchester hotel.
In real estate they say location is everything, and The Manchester is the first and only hotel within the city’s Distillery District, a 25-acre campus on the site of the historic James E. Pepper Distillery, which opened in 1879 and shuttered in 1958. After half a century of inactivity, the industrial park underwent a massive renovation and now has two working distilleries, the reborn James E. Pepper and Barrel House Distilling, both of which offer tours. There is also a craft brewery Ethereal Brewing, a cidery, Wise Bird Cider, and lots of bars, restaurants, and shops. The distillery’s original freight train station is now a live music venue surrounded by food trucks and fire pits, and now there's a place to stay in the midst of all this action.
The Manchester celebrates the region with an interior design that pays homage to the area's many historic spirits rickhouses and horse farms, with high ceilings and plenty of exposed dark wood and leather in the decor. Works by local artists are displayed throughout, many with horse racing themes. The hotel building itself is made of brick, with large windows in an industrial factory style. The main restaurant, Granddam, serves a fine dining take on classical Appalachian dishes—the kind you wished your grandma made, hence the name. Think ham and peas with local artisan country ham, deviled eggs with smoked small-farm pork belly, rabbit ravioli, and braised wild boar. It also has a patio for al fresco dining.
Signature Mint Juleps are prepared tableside with the hotel’s private cask of Castle & Key rye, rhubarb, and fresh fruit pearls. Even more unconventional is the Julep OTM, with Green River wheated bourbon, genepy, acidified rose, and thyme, topped with a fresh herb bouquet. There are several other house bourbon cocktails, including one mixed with rum, one with applejack, and one with vermouth. The whiskey list has some curated scotch and Irish selections, but the emphasis is on local labels, with notable inclusions such as Willett 8 year old Lion’s Share bourbon, Fort Hamilton Double Barrel, Bluegrass Distillers Kentucky Toasted Oak single barrel straight bourbon, and Old Pepper barrel proof straight rye. Drink prices are quite reasonable—all the signature cocktails are priced between $12-20, and similarly good buys on the list of local craft beers and ciders ($6-$9) and wines by the glass ($9-$15).
Michael Florence came here from Castle & Key Distillery to be beverage director, and the two businesses have a collaboration that includes a private barrel program, which is featured in all the hotel’s bars as well as bottles for sale in the retail shop off the lobby. The hotel is slowly rolling out an “Experience” program for guests that will include off-site distillery tours, including Castle & Key, horse farm and racetrack visits, and in-house educational bourbon tasting seminars.
In addition to Granddam, there is a grand lobby bar and an Art Deco rooftop bar and lounge, Lost Palm, celebrating the 1960s horse racing culture of South Florida, Lexington’s winter equestrian partner. In sharp contrast to the local traditions of Grandam, Lost Palm has an extensive and kitschy tiki cocktail program that’s largely rum-based, including a slate of classic punch bowls for sharing. The menu features tropically inspired dishes like seafood towers with stone crab, ceviche, jerk chicken, alligator tacos, mofongo, and stuffed plantains, all served with sweeping views of downtown Lexington.
The hotel boasts 125 guest rooms (from $175/night) with a luxurious old-school feel, blue walls—University of Kentucky blue—dark woods, richly upholstered seats, and wood and leather headboards. Ornately tiled bathrooms have oversized walk-in showers and natural artisan bath products, while suites add kitchenettes and clawfoot tubs. Walls are decorated with photos of horses, jockeys, and landscapes of the bourbon trail, alongside in-room touches like Marshall wireless speakers and horse head bookends. A cocktail cart will travel the hallways from room to room during daily happy hour, bringing drink specials right to guests’ doors.
