Jack Rose Dining Saloon
Washington, D.C.
Walking into Jack Rose, with its floor-to-ceiling shelves, feels like arriving at a college library in which someone has mischievously swapped books for whiskey. Open since 2011, the D.C. standard-bearer has long been a revered destination for bourbon lovers, who gravitate to savor some of the more than 2,500 bottles of whiskey, one ounce at a time. The bar can get loud with enthusiastic drinkers and amplified music, but there’s an underlying seriousness to the place—more graduate-level whiskey center than frat house.
Dickie Brennan’s Bourbon House
New Orleans, Louisiana
Dickie Brennan’s Bourbon House on Bourbon Street holds, not surprisingly, a strong selection of bourbon. The interior evokes the haughty grandeur of a nineteenth-century bank, with tall windows that front one of the well-traveled thoroughfare’s most active corners. That makes it a great spot to partake in world-class people watching while enjoying a dram. It’s also a fine place to discover the affinity between fresh oysters and bourbon—get a dozen and a flight, and while away an hour or two.
J.S. Barnett’s Whiskey House
Waco, Texas
Waco probably isn’t on your list of bourbon destinations—nor is a neighborhood stippled with bars catering to university students. So J.S. Barnett’s Whiskey House comes as an unexpected treat in the city’s downtown. Founded in 2010, Barnett’s has compiled an encyclopedic tome of a whiskey menu (more than 1,200 to choose from). “I’m obviously very passionate about whiskey,” says general manager Dezeray King. The vibe is that of a British pub crossed with a college bar, with the balance shifting as the night progresses. Best to come early before the crowds descend.
Wayne Curtis is the author of And a Bottle of Rum: A History of the New World in Ten Cocktails and has written frequently about cocktails, spirits, travel, and history for many publications, including the Atlantic, the New York Times, Imbibe, Punch, the Daily Beast, Sunset, the Wall Street Journal, and Garden & Gun. He lives on the Gulf Coast.
