Where We Drink
The Old Seelbach Bar
HOTEL BAR500 S. Fourth St. · Whiskey RowMore than 240 bourbons across one of the country's longest stretches of mahogany, in the lobby where Fitzgerald drank and Capone played cards. The starting point for any drinking week in Louisville. Order an old fashioned, or try the namesake Seelbach once for the mythology.
Michter's Fort Nelson
DISTILLERY · COCKTAIL BAR801 W. Main St. · Whiskey RowThe best drinking room on Whiskey Row, on the second floor of an 1890s former hat factory. The cocktail program was built by David Wondrich, the glassware is John Jenkins crystal, and you do not need a tour ticket to drink here. Walk in, sit at the bar, order a Sazerac.
Seven
COCKTAIL BAR815 E. Market St. · NuLuA proper modern cocktail room in NuLu with a tight signature menu and the fairest rare-bourbon prices in the city. A three-thousand-square-foot speakeasy aesthetic with a private tasting parlor off the back. Trust the bartender.
The WhistlePig Vault
DISTILLERY · TASTING ROOM403 E. Market St. · NuLuA restored 1911 Louisville Security Bank, reopened in 2025 as WhistlePig's Louisville home. The preserved vault now houses the Boss Hog collection, and the signature Flying Pig cocktail arrives via a pneumatic ATM tube. Book a tasting or walk in to the Bank Lobby Bar.
Pretty Decent
COCKTAIL BAR · MEZCAL ROOM2235 Frankfort Ave. · CliftonHidden behind a plant shop in Clifton, with one of the deepest mezcal selections in the country. Owner John Douglass sources his agave directly from Oaxaca three or four times a year. The right shift of spirit on night three.
Whirling Tiger
COCKTAIL BAR · MUSIC VENUE1335 Story Ave. · ButchertownA mid-century cocktail den in front, a 300-capacity music room in back. The combination should not work and somehow does. The old fashioned list is the move; on weekend nights the back room hosts live music worth staying for.
The Pearl of Germantown
NEIGHBORHOOD BAR1151 Goss Ave. · GermantownThe best neighborhood bar in Louisville and the correct place to end a long night. A six-dollar old fashioned made correctly, a wheel of mystery pours at one end of the bar, and a bourbon list that punches well above its dive-bar framing. Open until four every night.
Where We Eat
Murray's Creole Pub
RESTAURANT1576 Bardstown Rd. · HighlandsA Creole kitchen with the soul of a British pub, from James Beard-nominated chef Lawrence Weeks, whose family cooked Creole food for generations before the title "chef" was ever extended to them. Downstairs is the pub: gumbo, yakamein, fish and chips, oysters, a house beer called Old Murray's brewed down the road. Upstairs is the Dining Room, a reservation-only tasting menu where the same heritage turns precise and seasonal. Downstairs for the night out; upstairs for the occasion.
Repeal Oak Fired Steakhouse
RESTAURANT101 W. Main St. · Whiskey RowAn oak-fired steakhouse inside Hotel Distil, on the historic site of the J.T.S. Brown warehouse. The grill is stoked daily with reclaimed bourbon barrel staves and the room is leather, brass, and original 1860s façade. Works equally well for a four-top dinner or two seats at the bar.
Pizza Lupo
RESTAURANT · COCKTAIL BAR1540 Frankfort Ave. · CliftonNeapolitan pizza, blistered and correct, with a short cocktail list that leans Italian-American without posturing. Negronis, amari, and a kitchen that pairs well with a long day of tasting. Lower key than the Whiskey Row rooms, and a good closing hand.
North of Bourbon
RESTAURANT · COCKTAIL BAR935 Goss Ave. · GermantownProper Sazeracs, proper Vieux Carrés, and great Cajun-Creole fare. Plus one of the sharpest bourbon lists in the city. Come for the cocktails and the neat pours. Stay for dinner at the bar.
Jack Fry's
RESTAURANT1007 Bardstown Rd. · HighlandsOpen since 1933, the day Prohibition ended. Dark wood, white tablecloths, jazz most nights, and a bar that runs the length of the room. The Manhattan is made right and the bourbon list is deep without being performative.
Le Relais
RESTAURANT · COCKTAIL BAR2817 Taylorsville Rd. · Bowman FieldClassic French inside the original 1929 Art Deco terminal at Bowman Field, one of the oldest continuously operating general aviation airports in America. Treat it as a cocktail room with a kitchen. Sit at the bar, order a martini, watch a Cessna touch down at golden hour.
Where We Stay
Hotel Distil
HOTEL101 W. Main St. · Whiskey RowThe right first choice for a bourbon trip. Built into the footprint of the former J.T.S. Brown distillery, with rooms that are large by Louisville standards and a basement speakeasy (The 1933 Society) for hotel guests. Repeal is the in-house steakhouse, and every distillery on Whiskey Row is on foot from here.
21c Museum Hotel Louisville
HOTEL700 W. Main St. · Whiskey RowThe original 21c, opened 2006 in restored 19th-century tobacco warehouses on Whiskey Row. A contemporary art museum on the ground floor (free, open 24 hours), a well-regarded restaurant in Proof on Main, and rooms that are quiet. Half a block from Michter's.
Where We Adventure
Formé Millinery
MILLINER · ATELIER124 N. 8th St. · Whiskey RowJenny Pfanenstiel's atelier. Seven-time Featured Milliner of the Kentucky Derby, ten-time Official Milliner of the Kentucky Derby Museum, Tory Burch Fellow. The Derby hat done correctly, by the city's most credentialed milliner.
Clayton & Crume
LEATHER WORKSHOP216 S. Shelby St. · NuLuHand-stitched leather goods made in the historic NuLu chapel where Muhammad Ali trained as a young boxer. Belt-making workshops with Maker's Mark cocktails. Stitch, the speakeasy, is on the same premises.
Muth's Candies
CONFECTIONERY630 E. Market St. · NuLuOpen since 1921. Hand-pulled bourbon balls, pulled-cream candy, and the Modjeska, a caramel-wrapped marshmallow named for the Polish actress Helena Modjeska, who reportedly visited Louisville for the 1877 Derby and became a mint julep enthusiast.
Woodford Reserve
DISTILLERY · TASTING ROOM7855 McCracken Pike, Versailles, KY · VersaillesA National Historic Landmark working continuously since 1812, in one of the most photographed stretches of the Bluegrass. The Distillery Cocktail Lounge opens onto a covered patio over Glenn's Creek and pours archival bottles you will not find at retail. About sixty minutes east of Louisville by car.
Willett Distillery
DISTILLERY · COCKTAIL BAR1869 Loretto Rd., Bardstown, KY · BardstownThe most cinematic drink in central Kentucky, on the second floor of the Willett visitor center. Family-owned, single-barrel-driven, and a James Beard Award semifinalist for Outstanding Bar in 2024. Reservations are essential and book weeks ahead. About forty-five minutes south of Louisville by car.
Where the Chapter Begins
Click through for what to drink between flights.