Derby Bourbon & Biscuits At Farmington

On Derby Day, before you start out on your pilgrimage to Churchill Downs for the Greatest Two Minutes In Sports, why not stop by one of Louisville’s most lush antebellum homes, for some good old Kentucky Bourbon and Biscuits? Farmington Historic Plantation is just across the road from Hayfield Dundee, and is located at 3033 Bardstown Road, a block North of the Watterson Expressway (I-264).

On Saturday, May 2, 2015, from 9:00 a.m. until Noon, the good folks at Farmington Historic Plantation invite you to the inaugural Historic Homes Foundation Bourbon & Biscuits event presented by Garden & Gun. They welcome you to enjoy their Kentucky bourbon bar, mimosas and ------ Marys, as well as an assortment of Southern-style biscuits. Your Bourbon & Biscuits wristband will allow you to socialize and participate in their silent auction tent, where coffee and desserts will be available. The tickets, AVAILABLE HERE at $60 per person, are in short supply, so be sure to sign up quickly

Proceeds from the Derby Breakfast (already sold out) and Bourbon & Biscuits benefit the Historic Homes Foundation, Inc., a not-for-profit 501(c)3 charitable organization chartered in 1957 to purchase, preserve and display historic sites and to advance education, culture and the arts in Kentucky.

Farmington Historic Plantation, an 18-acre historic site, was once the center of a hemp plantation owned by John and Lucy Speed. The 14-room, Federal-style brick home is believed to be based on a design by Thomas Jefferson and has several Jeffersonian architectural features. The Farmington site was part of a military land grant given to Captain James Speed in 1780. His son, John Speed, completed Farmington on a tract of land in 1816.

Speed built the house for his wife, Lucy Gilmer Fry, daughter of Joshua Fry and granddaughter of Dr. Thomas Walker, the guardian of Thomas Jefferson. Her aunt and uncle's home in Charlottesville, Virginia was called Farmington and had an addition designed by Thomas Jefferson. Their son, Joshua Fry Speed, was an intimate, lifelong friend of Abraham Lincoln. While courting Mary Todd, Lincoln spent three weeks at Farmington in 1841 while recovering from mental and physical exhaustion.

Honest Abe, of course, won’t be able to make it this year; but there’s no reason you and your Derby guests can’t stroll around the grounds, munching some biscuits, and sipping on some fine Kentucky Bourbon.