Bars on Whiskey Row Louisville: Where to Drink After Your Bourbon Tour
Two hours on the Whiskey Row Walking Tour is enough to introduce you to the neighborhood, walk you through three working distilleries, and give you a real education in Kentucky bourbon. It is not enough to explore the drinking scene that has grown up around this stretch of Main Street. That is where this guide comes in.
Whiskey Row is home to more bars per block than almost any comparable district in the country. Some are cocktail programs curated by nationally respected historians. Some are neighborhood bars with hundreds of bourbons available by the pour. A few are hidden behind unmarked doors. What follows is my guide to 12 of them, organized by the kind of drinking experience each one offers, so you can pick the right stop for what you want out of the night.
One note before I get into the recommendations: I lead this tour Thursday through Sunday from March through October, and I have watched every one of these bars either open or evolve during that time. My recommendations are based on nearly 20 years of sending guests to these places, hearing what they thought when they came back, and drinking at them myself.
Craft Cocktail Bars on Whiskey Row
If you want a properly made cocktail rather than a straight bourbon pour, Whiskey Row has three cocktail programs I can recommend without hesitation.
Trial + Error at Pursuit Spirits
722 West Main Street. The downstairs cocktail lounge at Pursuit Spirits is one of a kind, keeps later hours than the upstairs tasting room, and it carries more than 100 Pursuit expressions on the shelf including private barrel releases you cannot buy anywhere else. The cocktail program leans into modern American whiskey with creative pairings, and the room is dimly lit and intimate in a way that makes it a natural spot to slow down after a full tour. Guests who take the Afternoon Tour often end their night here since Pursuit is where the tour starts.
ON3 at Evan Williams Bourbon Experience
528 West Main Street. ON3 is the loft style cocktail bar above the Evan Williams tasting room. Since every tour I run ends at Evan Williams, ON3 is the most natural continuation for guests who want to keep the evening going without walking anywhere. Cocktails are hand crafted, the space is urban chic with high ceilings and industrial detailing, and the bourbon list runs deep on Heaven Hill expressions including some that are hard to find at retail. Good spot for groups and the bar staff is extremely friendly, knowledgeable and inviting.
Bourbon Forward Bars on Whiskey Row
For anyone who left the tour with a new bourbon they loved and wants to explore more of the same category, these are the bars with the deepest bourbon lists on the row.
Doc Crow’s Bourbon Room
127 West Main Street. The upstairs Bourbon Room at Doc Crow’s is where I send guests who want to be educated further about what they just tasted. The bourbon list runs into the hundreds of bottles available by the pour, and the bartenders will guide you to something interesting based on what you usually drink. Prices scale from casual to serious, so you can taste a $12 pour or splurge on a $50 pour of something rare. The room itself feels like an extension of the historical narrative we cover on the tour. Open evenings.
Merle’s Whiskey Kitchen
122 West Main Street. Merle’s has been named among the best bourbon bars in the country by Tasting Table, and the whiskey list is long enough to justify the recognition. The room is dressed up like a classic western whiskey hall with belt driven ceiling fans and a 1920s bar, and there is live music most nights. The rooftop patio is the right call on warm evenings. Merle’s runs high energy compared to the more contemplative Doc Crow’s Bourbon Room, so it suits groups who want a lively night rather than a quiet tasting. If you're hungry, their food is amazing with a great menu to make your selections from. I always recommend to my guests their fried chicken sandwich. It’s one of the best in the City.
Barrel Bar & Grill
110 West Main Street. Barrel Bar opened in 2022 and has quickly become one of my favorite stops to point out on the tour. In fact, it's where I often send guests to continue the evening. The bourbon list is deep and includes selections like Colonel E.H. Taylor that are difficult to find at retail, and the atmosphere is more casual than the fine dining spots on the row. There is often live music or open mic, and the kitchen stays open late for a bite after your drinks. Fridays and Saturdays run until 2 AM, which makes Barrel one of the better late night options in the neighborhood. If you saw me pointing at the building above during your tour, this is what I was showing you.
Neighborhood and Casual Bars
Sometimes what you want after two hours of walking, tasting, and listening to me talk is a beer, a bourbon, and a barstool. These are the spots for that kind of night.
Sidebar at Whiskey Row
129 North 2nd Street, with Whiskey Row frontage at the corner of Main and 2nd. Sidebar is where I send smaller groups who want to keep the bourbon conversation going in a casual setting. Bourbon flights are well curated, the burger program is legitimately good if you need food to go with your drinks, and the space blends limestone walls and steel detailing in an urban industrial way that feels distinctly Whiskey Row.
Patrick O’Shea’s
123 West Main Street. Patrick O’Shea’s is the Irish pub anchor of Whiskey Row and one of the few spots where you can comfortably order a Guinness alongside your bourbon without anyone raising an eyebrow. Casual, comfortable, family friendly. Live music on the weekends and a genuine pub atmosphere that provides some variety from the bourbon focus of everything else on the row. Popular with larger friend groups. Tommy O’Shea, the owner and a friend of mine, named the bar after his father.
Troll Pub Under The Bridge
150 West Washington Street, one block north of Main. Troll Pub is the basement pub experience: literally below street level, with stone walls, low ceilings, a huge troll statue at the entrance, and a beer list that runs to more than 250 selections. Not primarily a bourbon bar, but a genuinely different kind of night after the row’s more bourbon focused establishments. Worth the walk for guests who want atmosphere unlike anywhere else in the district.
Third Street Dive
442 South 3rd Street. Third Street Dive is what the name suggests. Divey, no pretense, cheap drinks, and the kind of neighborhood bar where locals actually drink. It is the antidote to the more curated experiences on Whiskey Row proper, and it is popular with tour guests who want to see how Louisville actually drinks rather than how it presents itself to visitors.
One Fourteen
This a great bar if you are looking for an extremely comfortable setting and laid back experience. The bar staff are very friendly along with great drink specials and pricing. It may look like a Dive Bar when you walk in but don’t let that fool you. With different game options they offer and an atmosphere you are sure to enjoy, you won’t be disappointed at all. My Whiskey Row Walking Tour concludes right outside their door, so you won’t have to walk far at all.
Speakeasies and Hidden Bars
Hell or High Water
112 South Washington Street, one block off Whiskey Row proper. A speakeasy concept behind an unmarked door with a reservation only policy that keeps the crowd manageable and the vibe intimate. The cocktail program is meticulous, the room is dimly lit and beautifully designed, and the staff knows their way around every kind of spirit including bourbons you will not find easily elsewhere. Reservations should be made a week or two in advance for weekend nights. If you are planning a special occasion evening in Louisville, this is where I send guests before dinner or as the anchor of the night.
How to Plan Your Post Tour Evening
The three tour formats end at different times, which shapes what makes sense for the rest of your night.
After the Morning Tour (ends around 1 PM)
Lunch first, then a leisurely afternoon on the row. Barrel Bar & Grill or Sidebar are good early afternoon stops that let you extend the tour vibe without committing to a full evening. If the weather is warm, Merle’s rooftop patio is the move.
After the Sunday Tour (ends around 3 PM)
You are set up perfectly for a late afternoon cocktail. The Bar at Fort Nelson makes sense if you want to end the day with a properly made drink, or Doc Crow’s Bourbon Room if you want to slowly work your way through a serious bourbon flight before dinner.
After the Afternoon Tour (ends around 5 PM)
This is the ideal setup for a full evening. Start with dinner and a cocktail somewhere serious. Move to a bourbon forward bar for a couple of pours. Cap the night with either Hell or High Water if you booked ahead, or Barrel Bar for late night bourbon and live music. The Afternoon Tour is the tour format that leads most naturally into a memorable night on the town.
One Rule for Drinking on Whiskey Row
A gentle warning as you plan your evening. The tastings on the tour are educational pours, but tastings add up. By the time you are done with the tour and considering a couple of cocktails or bourbon pours after, you have consumed more than you might realize. Louisville has excellent public transportation, ride share coverage is strong throughout downtown, and most of the hotels on the row are within a five minute walk of any of the bars I have listed. Please plan accordingly. The row is meant to be enjoyed and remembered.
Book Your Whiskey Row Walking Tour. The cost is $99 per person and includes tastings at three distilleries plus two hours of guided storytelling along Louisville’s historic Whiskey Row. Tours run Thursday through Sunday from March through October. Reservations are highly recommended and can only be made online. Online booking closes one hour before departure, and we welcome same day guests if a tour is not sold out. Together, let us walk, sip, and learn. Book your spot at bookeo.com/whiskeyrowwalkingtour.
About the Author
Drew Shryock | Lead Guide & Owner, Whiskey Row Walking Tour
Drew Shryock is a lifelong Louisvillian and the lead guide of the Whiskey Row Walking Tour, which he leads personally Thursday through Sunday from March through October. After 22 years at the City of Louisville’s Economic Development Department, where he worked on projects that helped revive the downtown corridor, Drew turned full time to professional tour guiding nearly 20 years ago. He has watched Whiskey Row transform from a string of empty storefronts into one of the most active distillery, dining, and hospitality districts in the country, and he knows the people behind nearly every business on the row. His recommendations in this guide reflect nearly 20 years of personal experience escorting tens of thousands of guests through the neighborhood.
Sources
Barrel Bar and Grill. Official site. https://www.barrelbarlouisville.com/
Whisky Advocate. "Whiskey Row: The Jewel Of Louisville's Revival." https://whiskyadvocate.com/Whiskey-Row-Louisville
Michter's Fort Nelson Distillery. Official site. https://michters.com/fortnelson/
Merle's Whiskey Kitchen. Official site. https://merleswhiskeykitchen.com/
Doc Crow's Southern Smokehouse and Raw Bar. Official site. https://www.doccrows.com/
Troll Pub Under The Bridge. Official site. https://www.trollpub.com/