America’s Best Bourbon Bars: West Region – 2017

The Bluegrass Coffee and Bourbon Lounge, Arvada, CO: Want a Bourbon at 6 a.m.? For those early morning Bourbon drinkers, you can anything from Jim Beam to Michter’s 20-Year there.
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Hard Water, San Francisco, CA: Chef Charles Phan knows his way around Bourbon Country. He’s visited Willet, Heaven Hill and Buffalo Trace Distilleries to select personal-barrels. Phan says, “The hardest part is not to drink it all.” The James Beard winning chef opened Hard Water in San Francisco, which boasts more than 200 Bourbons. The list includes seven private barrel selections and a secret 12-year-old Old Rip Van Winkle private barrel selection. Well, it’s not secret anymore.

Rickhouse San Francisco, CA:

Elixir, San Francisco, CA: Elixir owner H. Joseph Ehrmann is very well known in mixology circles and even has his own lab to conduct cocktail and bitter experiments on site.  Feel free to walk in San Francisco’s second oldest bar to conduct some Bourbon research of your own.

Bourbon and Branch, San Francisco, CA

Seven Grand, Los Angeles, CA

Bosscat, Newport Beach, CA

Acme Bar & Company Berkeley, CA

Seven Grand, San Diego, CA:  The little brother of their Los Angeles location, might outgrow its older sibling in Bourbon selection one day. It currently offers its patrons 400 Bourbons which include some really hard to find bottles like the full Buffalo Antique Collection from 2012 through 2016.

Multnomah Whiskey Library, Portland, OR

Pope House Bourbon Lounge, Portland, OR: Consider yourself a Bourbon aficionado? Visit Pope House in Portland to prove it. By entering their “Bourbon Derby,” if you enjoy 50 of their 100 listed Bourbons you’ll receive a lucky horse shoe with your name on their “Bourbon Derby Wall of Fame,” and more importantly, 10% off your Bourbon for life.

The Woodsman, Portland, OR: Several vintage Bourbons to check out here, especially Very Old Old Fitzgerald.  The fried chicken is also incredible.

Canon: Whiskey and Bitters Emporium, Seattle, WA: Jamie Boudreau opened Canon in 2011 with the stated aim of being just a normal neighborhood bar. “Normal” is apparently subjective, as Canon now has what Boudreau bills as the largest spirits selection in the Western Hemisphere (2,800 labels and counting), featuring more than 700 expressions of American whiskey ranging from one-of-a-kind Bourbons to bygone brands such as a bottle of Valley Forge from 1906, and another of Old Taylor from 1916.

Liberty Bar Seattle, WA

Metropolitan Grill, Seattle, WA

The Bluegrass Coffee and Bourbon Lounge, Arvada, CO: Want a Bourbon at 6 a.m.?  For those early morning Bourbon drinkers, you can anything from Jim Beam to Michter’s 20-Year there.

Bull & Bush, Denver, CO

The Whiskey, Ft. Collins, CO

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Caroline Paulus
Caroline Paulus is the Senior Editor for The Bourbon Review. She lives and writes in Lexington, Kentucky. Follow her on Instagram @misswhiskeyhistorian to keep up with her latest in bourbon news - and a few old finds, too.