10 American Bourbon Bars and Restaurants with Amazing Bourbon Collections

This new-ish venture from the Sylvain team in NOLA’s Lower Garden District focuses on whiskey and beer. There’s no cocktail menu here, but the bartenders will make what you please.

The “whiskey and bitters emporium” lays claim to the largest selection of American whiskey in the world. Plus, it’s beloved as a cocktail institution.

With a subterranean speakeasy vibe and “turn-of-the-century-inspired” American tavern fare, this River North newcomer has a strong brown spirits list and equally strong cocktail chops.

From Charles Phan and the team behind Slanted Door, this Embarcadero spot is famed for its horseshoe-shaped bar and Southern seafood–heavy menu. Try the Bourbon Lift (Buffalo Trace bourbon, St. George NOLA coffee liqueur, orgeat, Straus organic cream, soda water​).

The bar keeps count on its website of how many bottles of whiskey are on the shelves (2,225 last we checked), including a staggering backlist of bourbon. Don’t forget to text ahead for entry to the buzz-y basement speakeasy, Dram & Grain.

Look for the whiskey sign out front for this “cozy and convivial” spot, which offers nearly 100 bourbons, a list of Julep variations as well as a happy hour featuring 25-percent off all whiskey. A must-add to your itinerary for those headed to the Paris of the Plains cocktail festival.

Though we’re still mourning the recent closure of Brooklyn’s Char No. 4, Manhattan offspring Maysville keeps the bourbon flowing, plus plenty of farm-to-table eats to soak it all up.

The 1,500 bottle options on the “library” shelves are just staggering. They’ve become known for refined tableside drinks service and lengthy waits, so plan ahead.

Only Kentucky whiskey is carried in this laidback bar in the heart of bourbon country, including plenty of bourbon (of course) and some proprietary single-barrel offerings you can’t find anywhere else.

Note the URL: whiskeyhome. That pretty much says it all. Because lauded bartender Derek Brown is one of the masterminds behind the operation, bourbon-soaked cocktails like the Mint Julep on tap are the way to go.