Member Sign In Create Account
Login with email and password
No account yet? Register Now
This was originally published at gobourbon.
Kentucky Area
Bluegrass Tavern, Lexington, KY: While their old-fashioned cocktail is very popular, you’d be doing yourself a disservice not to try one of the 600-plus Bourbons unadulterated they currently house.
Belle’s Cocktail House, Lexington, KY
The Paddock Bar and Patio, Lexington, KY: Hovering around 100 Bourbons, the Paddock’s prices are hard to beat. $7 Basil Hayden, $7 Willett Pot Still, $10 Jefferson’s Ocean . Even the $20 for 10-Year Old Rip Van Winkle is a good deal these days.
Old Bourbon County Kitchen, Lexington, KY: 260 of their total 475 whiskies are Bourbon. They also have an astounding 70 private barrel selections to choose from.
Enoteca, Lexington, KY
Derby Café, Louisville, KY: Housed inside the Kentucky Derby Museum at the historic Churchill Downs, the Derby Café often has events that feature some of the most well-known Bourbon personalities hosted by its Bourbon Authority, author Fred Minnick.
Silver Dollar, Louisville, KY
Char’d Bourbon Kitchen and Lounge, Louisville, KY
Down One Bourbon Bar, Louisville, KY
Proof on Main, Louisville, KY
Bourbons Bistro, Louisville, KY
Doc Crows, Louisville, KY
Haymarket Whiskey Bar, Louisville, KY: This dive bar is the perfect venue if you want over 300 Bourbons to choose from. You can also wondering into their music venue in the back that plays hosts to genres from punk rock to bluegrass.
The Rick House, Bardstown, KY
The Old Talbot Tavern, Bardstown, KY: This place has poured a lot of Bourbon in Bardstown AKA the “Bourbon Capital of the World” since 1779.
Kentucky Bourbon Market Place, Bardstown, KY
Harrison Smith House, Bardstown, KY
The Miller House, Owensboro, KY: Who doesn’t love old mansions that are converted into restaurants that house 400 Bourbons?
Old Kentucky Bourbon Bar, Covington, KY
Wiseguy Lounge, Covington, KY: Great pizza, over 100 Bourbons and award-winning cocktails.
The Prohibition Bourbon Bar at Newberry Bros Coffee, Newport, KY: Over 300 Bourbons. Enough said.
Jane Barleycorn’s Market and Bar, Danville, KY
Old Owl Tavern, Harrodsburg, KY: Located in the historic Beaumont Inn, this quaint inn now boasts a prestigious James Beard Award, to complement their great Bourbon selection.
Northeast Area
Brandy Library, Manhattan, NY: Boasting over 900 bottles of spirits and 100 cocktails to choose from their legendary menu, the Brandy Library has one of the best collections of vintage and new whiskies in the world on display in the Tribeca Neighborhood.
Flatiron Room, Manhattan, NY
Maysville, Manhattan, NY
Beast of Bourbon, Brooklyn, NY
Noormans Kil, Brooklyn, NY
Al’s Wine and Whiskey Lounge, Syracuse, NY: With over 1,800 spirits total and 3-400 of those being Bourbon, it’s worth the trip to Syracuse to check them out.
Jack Rose, Washington, DC : The best whiskey collection on the Eastern side of the U.S. is a must visit for any Bourbon drinker.
Dry 85, Annapolis, MD: You might want to plan your visit to select one of their Bourbon flights on a Sunday when they serve their Bacon Brunch.
Butcher and the Rye, Pittsburg, PA
Citizen Public House, Boston, MA:
Village Whiskey, Philadelphia, PA:
McCormacks Big Whiskey Grill, Tuckahoe, VA: With over 350 Bourbons to choose from, you should be able to find what you’re looking for. Their little brother, “McCormack’s Whiskey Grill” might not be “Big” but it boasts 150 Bourbons and is located in the Richmond, Virginia area as well.
South Area
Yardbird Southern Table and Bar, Miami, FL: If we told you that one of the hottest restaurants in Miami uses Bourbon as a backbone to its menu would you believe us? Any doubters can head over to the Bourbon haven known as Yardbird to enjoy one of their Bourbon flights, or cool down with their signature drink, Blackberry Bourbon Lemonade.
Old Hickory Whiskey Bar, Pensacola, FL: With over 400 whiskies and Bourbon leading that category with over 150, Old Hickory should be added to the itinerary next time you’re on the Florida Panhandle.
The Standard Pour, Dallas, TX
Julep House, Houston, TX
Southern Art and Bourbon Bar, Atlanta, GA: It doesn’t get much better for a Bourbon aficionado to see a wall of Bourbon that reaches the high ceiling inside the lobby of the hotel they’re staying at. This bar offers that sight, along with personal select barrels of Four Roses Bourbon.
Local Three, Atlanta, GA
Mac McGee, Decatur, GA
The Crunkleton, Chapel Hill, NC
Husk, Charelston, SC
Whiskey Kitchen, Nashville, TN: Plenty of Bourbons to pair with great Southern fare, such as the Fried Green Tomato BLT and the Southerner, a giant biscuit topped with gravy, a fried egg and cheddar cheese with fried chicken as a side option.
Patterson House, Nashville, TN
Husk, Nashville, TN: Like it’s sister spot in Charleston, S.C., Husk has an outstanding program. The Nashville location also has a list of very rare old Bourbons that patrons can sip on.
Peter Kern Library, Knoxville, TN
Dickie Brennan’s Bourbon House, New Orleans, LA: With almost 100 Bourbons to offer, this certainly is a house of Bourbon. Coupled with the service and culinary standards you expect from the Brennan name, this place is a must stop the next time you’re wondering through the French Quarter.
Kenton’s, New Orleans, LA:
Social Southern Table and Bar, Lafayette, LA
Midwest Area
Big Star, Chicago, Ill: Big Star uses a unique combination of tacos, $3 Bourbon shots and classic country music to drawl in its standing room only crowds at night. It also only carries whiskies that are American made.
Sable, Chicago, Ill
The Barrelhouse Flat, Chicago, Ill
Longman & Eagle, Chicago, Ill
Delilah’s, Chicago, Ill: Chicago has many options to find great Bourbon, but none is more iconic than Delilah’s. Since 1993, owner Mike Miller has offered a wide variety of Bourbon and music to patrons of this Bourbon Mecca.
Untitled Supper Club, Chicago, Ill
The Office, Chicago, Ill: Nestled in the downstairs of the popular and James Beard Award winning The Aviary, the office is a quaint speakeasy that carries an impressive variety of new and vintage Bourbons.
Sanctuaria, St. Louis, MO
BBQ Saloon, St. Louis, MO
J.O.B. Public House, Springfield, MO
Century Bar, Dayton, OH: No TV’s. No jukebox. Just 115 Bourbons and over 300 whiskies total to choose from while you listen to music from the 1930’s. The home of the former Kette & Sons Rye Whiskey Distillery, Century Bar also regularly holds blind tastings.
Butter Run Salon, St. Clair Shores, MI
Butcher And The Boar, Minneapolis, MN
Single Barrel, Lincoln, NE
West Area
Hard Water, San Francisco, CA: Chef Charles Phan knows his way around Bourbon Country. He’s visited Willet, Heaven Hill and Buffalo Trace Distilleries to select personal-barrels. Phan says, “The hardest part is not to drink it all.” The James Beard winning chef opened Hard Water in San Francisco, which boasts more than 200 Bourbons. The list includes seven private barrel selections and a secret 12-year-old Old Rip Van Winkle private barrel selection. Well, it’s not secret anymore.
Rickhouse San Francisco, CA:
Elixir, San Francisco, CA: Elixir owner H. Joseph Ehrmann is very well known in mixology circles and even has his own lab to conduct cocktail and bitter experiments on site. Feel free to walk in San Francisco’s second oldest bar to conduct some Bourbon research of your own.
Bourbon and Branch, San Francisco, CA
Seven Grand, Los Angeles, CA
Bosscat, Newport Beach, CA
Acme Bar & Company Berkeley, CA
Multnomah Whiskey Library, Portland, OR
The Woodsman, Portland, OR: Several vintage Bourbons to check out here, especially Very Old Old Fitzgerald. The fried chicken is also incredible.
Pope House Bourbon Lounge, Portland, OR: Consider yourself a Bourbon aficionado? Visit Pope House in Portland to prove it. By entering their “Bourbon Derby,” if you enjoy 50 of their 100 listed Bourbons you’ll receive a lucky horse shoe with your name on their “Bourbon Derby Wall of Fame,” and more importantly, 10% off your Bourbon for life.
Canon: Whiskey and Bitters Emporium, Seattle, WA: Jamie Boudreau opened Canon in 2011 with the stated aim of being just a normal neighborhood bar. “Normal” is apparently subjective, as Canon now has what Boudreau bills as the largest spirits selection in the Western Hemisphere (2,800 labels and counting), featuring more than 700 expressions of American whiskey ranging from one-of-a-kind Bourbons to bygone brands such as a bottle of Valley Forge from 1906, and another of Old Taylor from 1916.
Liberty Bar Seattle, WA
The Bluegrass Coffee and Bourbon Lounge, Arvada, CO: Want a Bourbon at 6 a.m.? For those early morning Bourbon drinkers, you can anything from Jim Beam to Michter’s 20-Year there.
Bull & Bush, Denver, CO
The Whiskey, Ft. Collins, CO
Login with a social network