My Old Fashioned Tour of America, Stop #35: The Bar at Michter’s Fort Nelson Distillery, Louisville, Kentucky

Enjoyed: Sunday, April 3, 2022

Listed on the menu: No, but the bartenders were happy to oblige me. 

Ingredients:  Michter’s US*1 Kentucky Straight Bourbon, Demerara sugar, Angostura Bitters, orange peel.

The occasion: Husband and I had just said goodbye to our family members (sniffle! it’s always hard to part from my “baby boy”), and I needed to drown my sorrows…and, downtown Louisville has several distilleries, so we would be remiss to not visit at least one. We had to make a reservation for a spot at the bar, but it was worth the 30 minute wait. The bar prides itself on its imported-from-the-UK glassware and on its state-of-art ice machines. (Yes, my drink contained one of the largest and clearest ice cubes I have ever seen. I was impressed.) Husband opted for a bourbon flight, to start. Oh, and the staff provided us free snacks to nibble on as we sipped, so we settled in and ordered a second round of cocktails from their creative menu.

My rating: ***** out of 5. I told the bartenders that the cocktail I had the previous night was a disappointment. One of them replied, “Let me fix that for you!” She did! This Old Fashioned was superior: well-balanced in flavors, with the earthy yet sweet notes of the bourbon shining through. The more I sipped, the better it smelled and tasted, which is what I want from my bourbon.

Final thoughts: I would happily visit here again. Since reservations were required, the number of guests were limited, which allowed the staff to be attentive to our questions and to have time to carefully craft each and every cocktail. I felt like more of a guest than a customer, which is becoming a rarity, isn’t it?

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