Where to drink in....

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Where to drink in....

Unread postby bourbonv » Sat Feb 04, 2006 11:06 am

.... Louisville

Parshooter has made a request for a list of places to drink with the best bourbon selections. I thought I would get the ball rolling with a partial list for Louisville. This city has many great bars and restaurants and most have an above average bourbon selection. Even so some stand out above others. My favorite is:

1) Bourbon' Bistro, 2255 Frankfort Ave.
Great bar with over 130 bourbons, ryes, corn and Tennessee whiskeys (and even Bernheim wheat whiskey). Food is also excellent.

2) Jockey Silks, Galt House Hotel, Fourth and Main.
Great selection of bourbon with a menu of over 100 brands. They could use a little better training for their help. The last time I was there, the bartender told me she liked Booker's the best because its high proof burned alot when she did her beer shooters. Needless to say I was not impressed with her knowledge of bourbon.

3) Maker's Mark Bar, Fourth Street Live.
Good bourbon select that focuses only on the high end bourbons. Their staff is very knowledgable and friendly, but the place is designed to appeal to the twenty-something crowd. This means the bar is too loud for my taste. If you want to converse about bourbon without yelling, go somewhere else. If you are looking for the dance scene, meat market crowd, come here.

4) Proofs, Seventh and Main.
This place is not actually open yet but they are going to be the bourbon bar for the "21 C" building, which is the historic old St. Charles Hotel, renovated by Brown-Forman. It shopuld be worth checking out when it gets open later this spring.


Mike Veach
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Unread postby bourbonv » Wed Jun 07, 2006 10:54 am

There have been several people posting lately as to where to drink in Louisville, so I thought I would move this up the line for them to see. I would add to this list the Seelbach Hotel Bar. Other noteworthy bars can be found by going to the Courier-Journal website and looking in the entertainment section. They feature a bar every week and as Chuck Cowdery states, just about every bar in Louisville is going to have a better selection of bourbons than any other city.

Mike Veach
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Unread postby Brewer » Wed Jun 07, 2006 1:10 pm

In NYC, my favorite place is DBA, located at 41 1st Ave. They always have a great beer selection, but also a pretty extensive bourbon and Single Malt selection as well. The Bourbons include a good variety of Straight Bourbons, Single Barrels & Small Batch. They've also got TN whiskey, not limited to JD! Also a few straight ryes. You can check out their website at drinkgoodstuff.com
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Unread postby brendaj » Wed Jun 14, 2006 10:59 am

bourbonv wrote:There have been several people posting lately as to where to drink in Louisville, so I thought I would move this up the line for them to see. I would add to this list the Seelbach Hotel Bar. Mike Veach

Mike,
Here's a good one for the folks that like seafood.
http://www.zoysterbar.com/
Although they don't mention it on their website, they have a very nice Bourbon selection. Last time I was there they had all the major players, they even had Pappy 23 (although they did say they only get a bottle or two).
Be prepared, they're pretty pricey...
Bj
As a Kentuckian, I consider it my civic duty to drink Bourbon, smoke and bet the ponies. Its a tuff job, but someone has to do it...
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Unread postby bourbonv » Thu Jun 29, 2006 12:08 pm

Having gone to Proofs for the first time yesterday, I thought I would add a review of the restaurant / bar.

The bar and restaurant Proofs is located in the "21C" (twenty-first century) hotel on the west corner of 7th and Main in Louisville. It is owned by a member of the Brown family and is used to showcase some her collection of modern art. It is indeed worth visiting the lobby just to see some of the art work. Even if you are not a fan of modern art, you will be captivated by some of the exhibits. The hotel claims to bring a bit of New York to Louisville.

The bar, Proofs, is small. Probably a capacity of 50 to 60 people in a crowded situation. The bourbon selection is adequate, but I have seen better. Prices are a bit high on the bourbons and the food, but this is a fine restaurant not trying to attract the dance club crowd just looking for fast and cheap drinks. The decor is stark modern style with bar stools with no back. The glassware for a bourbon neat is simply a version of old fashioned glass. The pour was generous. The service was slow - almost to the point of patheticly slow. After looking at the menu choices and the slow service, we decided to go elsewhere for food. The food looked OK but probably not worth the price.

If bringing a bit of New York to Louisville means high prices and poor service, to go along with modern art, I do not see this as ever becoming a profitable venture. It will take the Brown family fortune to keep the place afloat.

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