Distilled: A Bourbon Lover’s Guide to Louisville

Plus: Bourbon-pecan bacon; a Black Manhattan; rare whiskey auction

With dozens of bars and restaurants with a bourbon focus, not to mention the numerous distilleries, there’s no shortage of reasons Louisville is known as Bourbon City. But planning a visit can also be a bit overwhelming for whiskey-minded travelers. For this week’s Distilled, Dana McMahan, a longtime resident, former Louisville Courier Journal dining and drinks columnist, and certified bourbon steward, penned a handpicked guide to exploring the city’s pours, tours, and more, from a bourbon and chocolate shop mash-up to her “last sip on earth” pick. We also check in with Peggy Noe Stevens, a thirty-year industry vet and the first female master bourbon taster, to see what’s in her glass. And I would be remiss not to mention the recipe for candied bourbon-pecan bacon—a Bloody Mary bar star if I’ve ever seen one. Happy trails, and happy sipping.

Must-try pours, tours, whiskey bars, and more ways to soak up Bourbon City.

Why more and more distillers are giving bourbon a soak in secondary barrels.

A member of the Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame, Peggy Noe Stevens has worked in the spirits industry for more than three decades and was the first female master bourbon taster. Since 2008 she’s headed up her own firm, advising a variety of companies on crafting visitor experiences and brand identity. In 2011 she founded Bourbon Women, the first women’s consumer organization in the industry. She lives in Louisville.

“With so many delicious cocktails in my bourbon mixology repertoire, dare I say that I have gravitated to an all-time favorite: the Black Manhattan! It’s difficult to order at many establishments, unless it’s a special request. Shame on them, as this dark beauty is awash with flavors without disrupting the true essence of the bourbon profile. To boot, it is incredibly simple to make. The secret to a Black Manhattan is adding amaro. A favorite bar of mine created a drink named after me because I pestered them to death about making it when I was there. It’s called the Peggy Knows. The nose is heady with a combination of cherry, almond, and caramel. The flavor has delicate orange notes and spreads evenly across the palate with maturity and just the right touch of whiskey warmth.”

Peggy’s Black Manhattan (a version of the Peggy Knows)
2 oz. bourbon
2 shakes orange bitters
¼ to ½ tsp. cocktail cherry juice (I prefer Luxardo or Bada Bing, not the bright red artificially colored cherries)
Foro Amaro (the only amaro I use)

In a mixing glass, add bourbon, orange bitters, and cherry juice. Pour in amaro until the cocktail color changes to dark (¼ to ½ oz., depending on preference), then stir briskly with ice and strain into a Manhattan glass.

—Wayne Curtis, G&G contributing editor

An addictive sweet-savory treat for your burger, sandwich, or Bloody Mary.

Sotheby’s Great American Whiskey Collection—culminating January 24 with a live auction at its Manhattan headquarters—offers bidders a shot at whiskey history from what’s billed as “the most valuable and significant single-owner collection of American Whiskey ever to come to auction.” The 320 lots, collectively valued at well over $1 million, span pre-Prohibition bottles to today, including standouts like a 133.4-proof Old Rip Van Winkle 20-Year-Old Single Barrel from 1982. Register, bid, and watch live on the Sotheby’s website.

The year’s first release of Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Rye, aged eleven years and eleven months and bottled at 120.4 proof ($75), is several points stronger and four months younger than last fall’s debut edition, which Whisky Advocate named its 2025 Whisky of the Year.

Penelope Bourbon partnered with the home goods company Serena & Lily on Penelope Beaufain, a limited-edition bourbon rooted in Southern design. The 84-proof, four-grain bourbon ($45) will debut alongside the opening of Serena & Lily’s new Charleston, South Carolina, storefront, with a grand opening hosted by G&G today (January 23).

Super Bowl–winning quarterback Eli Manning was known to avoid picks during his playing career, but he recently visited Jim Beam to select barrels alongside master distiller Freddie Noe (a relative of Peggy Noe Stevens) for a limited-edition lineup of single-barrel “Bold Pick” Knob Creek bourbon bottled at cask strength ($70).

A new batch of New Riff’s Balboa Rye ($60), distilled from a flavorful heirloom grain, is available for online shipping and distillery pickup beginning today. The Northern Kentucky distillery has also added a six-year-old malted rye to its options for private single-barrel selections.

—Tom Wilmes, G&G contributor