Food & Wine Magazine’s People’s Best New Bars voting [4] is under way, and two Louisville spots are in contention. Among 100 U.S. bars, divided into five regions, readers will vote for the most “innovative.” So if you think you know what innovative drinking is, consider our local entrants in the Southeast region:
Down One Bourbon Bar [5]: “Located on what locals call ‘Whiskey Row,’ this spot boasts a collection of 120 bourbons, including rare bottles. Customers can indulge in a bourbon flight or order a specialty cocktail, like the 7 Across the Board, made with Angel’s Envy bourbon, blackberries and raspberry-sage syrup.” (Restaurant Hospitality Magazine named its Three Little Pigs sandwich the Best BBQ sandwich in the U.S. recently.)
El Camino [6]: “This eclectic, surf-punk-meets-Mexican-street-food-cart-and-tiki-bar melting pot offers a variety of tropical drinks, such as daiquiris and mai tais, and—for more ambitious groups of drinkers—a handful of four- to six-person punch bowls, like the Luau Scorpion, a throwback to a classic 1950s recipe made with rum, gin, Cognac and orgeat.” (This site’s Editor in Chief finds the interior “gorgeous,” [7] but warns that the drinks can be overly icy.)
Voting for the People’s Best New Bar continues through September 30. Good luck to our Louisville standouts.
Photo: Courtesy El Camino Facebook Page