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Cocktail barDistillery bar, tasting room
Kentucky Peerless on North 10th Street in Louisville distills rye and bourbon downtown, the small-batch operation with a tasting bar and grain-to-glass tour.
DrinkKentucky Peerless rye and bourbon
FoodTasting plates
TipTours bookable online; the tasting bar takes walk-ins in the afternoon.
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Cocktail barDistillery, bar
Stitzel-Weller in Shively reopened a 1935 Derby-day-built distillery as the Bulleit Frontier Whiskey Experience, the historic Louisville bourbon cathedral.
DrinkBulleit Frontier Whiskey flights
FoodTasting plates
TipTours daily by reservation. The Garden and Gun Club is the lounge for tasting flights.
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Cocktail barBelgian beer bar
Holy Grale on Bardstown Road in Louisville pours a 30-tap Belgian and German beer list from a restored 1905 Highlands church, the city's deepest European.
DrinkBelgian and German imports
FoodGastropub plates
TipWalk-in for the bar; the Gralehaus next door runs separately. Best Krieks in the city.
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Cocktail barBourbon bar, hotel bar
Proof on Main's bar in the 21c Museum Hotel pours one of Kentucky's deepest bourbon flights paired with bison burgers. At 702 West Main Street.
DrinkBourbon flights, classic cocktails
FoodBison burger, snack menu
TipWalk-in for the bar; the dining room takes OpenTable bookings.
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Cocktail barHotel bar, bourbon
Lobby Bar at the Brown Hotel in Louisville pours mint juleps and bourbon flights inside the lobby where the Hot Brown sandwich was invented in 1926.
DrinkMint Julep, bourbon flights
FoodHot Brown and small plates
TipWalk-in. The bar serves the Hot Brown in the evening alongside the bourbon list.
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Cocktail barBourbon bar, smokehouse
Doc Crow's on West Main in Louisville pours from a 2,700-bourbon library on Whiskey Row, the city's deepest bourbon list paired with smoked brisket and a raw.
DrinkKentucky bourbon flights
FoodSmoked brisket, raw oysters
TipWalk-in for the bar. The Whiskey Wednesday flight runs four pours for $24.