HOTEL DISTIL

101 West Main St. Louisville, KY 40202 502-785-0185 www.hoteldistil.com

Located on Whiskey Row in the same block as the Old Forester Distillery and in a building that once housed offices of JTS Brown &

Sons Bourbon Company, the city’s newest Bourbon-themed hotel opened in the fall of 2019 with a name that leaves no ambiguity about its orientation.

Neither does the décor. Hammered copper artwork lines the wall behind the check-in desk in the lobby, paying homage to the copper stills used in Bourbon making. To one side of the desk is a bar cart with a bell which is rung every day at 7:33pm (19:33 in military time) signaling a cocktail toast commemorating the repeal of Prohibition in 1933. Historic black and white photographs of pre-prohibition Whiskey Row line the hallway leading to the elevators. (There’s also a photo of government agents with axes destroying whiskey barrels at the onset of Prohibition that will make any Bourbon lover flinch.) The bar cart, complete with a bartender, can also make an appearance on request in one of Hotel Distil’s corner suites, which have impressive views of Louisville’s skyline. Guest rooms feature luxurious leather-upholstered furniture, sliding wooden doors resembling Bourbon warehouse doors and abstract art of brown curls of smoke, a nod to the barrel-charring process.

But you do not have to be a guest in the hotel to be a patron in the Repeal Restaurant or the Bitters End rooftop bar. The former is a steakhouse that uses a wood-fired grill fuelled with used Bourbon barrel staves.

The extensive Bourbon list contains many expensive pre-2000 and limited production bottles, as well as plenty of affordable choices.