Doc's Bourbon Room to open Feb. 5

If Louisville is a bourbon Mecca, with dozens of bourbon-centric bars, distillery attractions and its own bourbon trail, then Doc’s Bourbon Room appears hell bent on becoming its epicenter.

An extension of Doc Crow’s Southern Smokehouse and Raw Bar, the bourbon room will have a small menu of shared plates and desserts, but will focus on hundreds – perhaps thousands – of whiskey and Scotch selections from around the world. Visitors will be able to get a full pour, a taste or a curated flight. If drinking it straight isn’t your thing, there will also be beer, wine and cocktails.

The restaurant will seat around 80, and some of the menu highlights include items like beef tartare, poutine with fingerling potatoes, fried green tomatoes, a charcuterie board, harissa wings and a lamb flatbread.

A focus at Doc’s Bourbon Room will be bourbon education, including guided tastings and distilling history and craft. It’s a natural for Whiskey Row, one of the state’s most historic bourbon sites, with a distilling history that dates back to the 1850s.

“We want to bring an experience previously unavailable in Louisville, showcasing what makes Bourbon Country so rich and interesting,” general manager Brad Lawton.

Whiskey maven and assistant GM Forrest Price said many in Kentucky don’t like Scotch because they don’t know anything about it. “I’m looking forward to changing that,” he said.

An invitation-only soft open will kick things off Jan. 31 and Feb. 1, with the bar and restaurant opening to the public the following Wednesday.