First off, let’s establish that the “best” bourbon bar is the bar where you feel comfortable while enjoying a glass of bourbon. That said, a number of establishments across the South—and the country—have built their identities upon a deep appreciation of the spirit and those who obsess over it. Seeking out one of these “bourbontoriums” can unlock access to literally thousands of bottles and greatly increase the odds that the person next to you also relishes in-depth discussion of barrel entry proofs and char levels.
Barrel Proof
New Orleans, Louisiana
From the outside, Barrel Proof is one of those low-slung, clapboard buildings with wraparound metal awnings that typify Uptown Magazine Street. But inside…well, it stays on brand with only accents of dark wood and corrugated tin to distract you from the reason you’re here—a long bar that overcompensates with lots of whiskeys. Management claims to have given up counting at five hundred, and you likely will too, once handed the binder list.
Canon
Seattle, Washington
Punching way above its diminutive footprint, this handsome, destination-worthy spot packs thousands of bottles into its telephone-book-thick menu. (Ogle the “hardcore porn” section for crazily rare offerings.) Savvy tipplers seize one of the handful of barstools early. That way they can still engage a knowledgeable bartender—and caress bottles—while the rest of the place fills up with late-evening whiskey nerds.
The Crunkleton
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Time moves differently here, and not just because of the decades-old dusties that proprietor Gary Crunkleton famously convinced the state senate to let his eponymous bar pour (along with a wealth of other well-selected whiskeys). There’s just something about the British hunting lodge décor, the soft clatter from a single pool table, and the easy expertise with which the bowtie-clad Crunkleton and his staff share your enthusiasm for fine bourbon. They can make a single pour the focus of an entire evening. Okay, maybe two pours.
Delilah’s
Chicago, Illinois
Yes, you’re in the right place. Founded in 1993 around owner Mike Miller’s own passions, legendary Delilah’s juxtaposes a lust-worthy collection of current and vintage bourbons with a no-frills aesthetic of dive-bar bric-a-brac and punk-rock-centric soundtrack that draws a young, casual crowd. Different? You could say that. But where do bourbon industry bigwigs visiting the Windy City gather when other bars close? Right here.
Jack Rose Dining Saloon
Washington, D.C.
The chopped salads and bison burgers at this Adams-Morgan neighborhood mainstay must be good, because the dinner crowd can seem oblivious to the 2,700-plus bottles of whiskey that compose the walls surrounding their tables. If you’re here for the brown water, choose seats at the long bar and delve into the even longer “whiskey book” menu. Seriously, it’s eighty-two packed pages, almost half of which are devoted to bourbons and ryes.
Multnomah Whiskey Library
Portland, Oregon
Even the big, bejeweled chandelier overhead can’t outshine the vast bottle collection that dominates this glamorously clubby space of leather chairs and Oriental rugs in downtown Portland’s Victorian-era West End. Though it’s technically a membership club, non-members are welcome in the equally snazzy Green Room space, or—pssst!—can pony up $25 for a one-time “hall pass” to the entire place.
Neat Bourbon Bar and Bottle Shop
Louisville, Kentucky
Patrons headed for the Highlands area’s eclectic restaurants overlap with the hardcore bourbon crowd at this fun, neighborhood-style bar known especially for dusty bottles that span bygone decades and distilleries. Swivel your barstool this way and debate Kentucky basketball supremacy with someone knocking back a fast old-fashioned, swivel that way and dive deep into tasting notes with someone savoring every sip from a Glencairn of pre-fire Heaven Hill.
Reserve 101
Houston, Texas
The whiskey list at this downtown Houston spot spans fourteen countries and a thousand bottles but proudly spotlights Lone Star State distillers including Balcones, Garrison Brothers, Milam and Green, and Still Austin. Sit at the large, rectangular bar and gaze up—way up—at a glowing bottle tower that’s likely the tallest of any bourbon bar anywhere. Bartenders scale a ladder up six shelves to reach the tippy top, so if you’re planning on a second pour, let them know before they head back up.
Revival Vintage Bottle Shop and Bourbon Bar
Covington, Kentucky
Co-owner and whiskey superfreak Brad Bonds is never happier than when he scores multiple bottles of vintage bourbons. That trick allows him to place some on the shelves of Revival’s library-like retail bottle shop, and crack others for reasonably priced pours behind the intimate, dusties-focused upstairs bar or the full-fledged cocktail bar back down on the ground floor. Top to bottom, Bonds’s enthusiasm is infectious.
Spirits
Owensboro, Kentucky
This is the top-notch bourbon bar that even those in the know might discover by accident, tucked beneath the Miller House restaurant in downtown Owensboro on the approach to the Glover Cary Bridge over the Ohio River. Such a cozily intimate space of red brick and rich wood wouldn’t normally boast more than seven hundred bourbons—but seeing is believing, as warm lighting reveals glass-fronted cabinets displaying those bottles as the dominant décor.
Steve Russell is a Garden & Gun contributing editor who also has written for Men’s Journal, Life, Rolling Stone, and Playboy. Born in Mississippi and raised in Tennessee, he resided in New Orleans and New York City before settling down in Charlottesville, Virginia, because it’s far enough south that biscuits are an expected component of a good breakfast.
