Haymarket Whisky Bar: Punk rock and bourbon
Offers: Live music, Cigars, Flights, Whisky education
Rare is the dive bar where you see 20-somethings knocking back Booker’s Rye for $100 a pour. But that’s Haymarket, a self-proclaimed “punk rock bourbon bar” with almost 400 whiskies, including eight pages of bourbon, and live music of every genre several nights per week. Ask for a shot, a double, or a bottle to take home after you challenge a friend to a game of Incredible Hulk pinball or vintage video arcade Centipede.
Proof on Main: Where whisky is art
Offers: Food, Flights
Adjoining 21c Museum Hotel, Proof on Main is a power lunch destination showcasing an eclectic mix of contemporary art as well as a selection of more than 120 of Kentucky’s finest bourbons. Private-selection brandies, ryes, and bourbons, including Woodford Reserve and Van Winkle, are often on sale at the museum shop to take home. The watchwords for the food and cocktails: local, seasonal, and artisanal.
The Silver Dollar: A bourbon honky tonk
Offers: Food, Flights, Whisky education
Located in an old firehouse, complete with the original fire pole, this delightfully affordable honky tonk is the place to bask in Christmas lights year round, while toe-tapping your boots to some Merle Haggard vinyl. The list is Kentucky bourbon—six pages worth, including 36 single-barrels—plus a few ryes and some mezcal and tequila. Order half-pours at half-price of as many as you’d like for a flight.
