Levee at the River House reopens Friday as a bourbon lounge

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – A new bourbon lounge is opening in a familiar spot along the Ohio River.

Levee at the River House will celebrate its grand re-opening Friday as a bourbon lounge. The space used to be an entertainment venue that would draw crowds of people for drinks, tapas and live music. However, it’s been closed since early 2020 because of the pandemic.

"We're excited because it's a rebranding of a space that's been dormant since March really,” said Dan O’Connell, the general manager. “We wanted to create an experience where you can enjoy a cocktail on the river front and really relax and hopefully forget a little of the current, stressful state of everything else going on.”

Before, the space focused around a stage and large bar. Over the last six weeks, it was transformed to give a warm, cozy feeling featuring bourbon-themed art. There will be table top and lounge seating available, and the patio was enclosed and a heater was added.

“We have 275 bottles between bourbon and rye whisky. So we’re a young bourbon bar, but we hope to expand that inventory soon,” O’Connel said.

In addition to the bourbon menu, there are more than a dozen flights available.

“Our flight boards have a little tasting along with it. So you're able to have one ounce pours with your flight, and then we have some different food to pair along with that. Walnuts, dark chocolate covered espresso beans, and dried fruit,” O’Connell said.

The lounge also features to-go flights, essentially bottled miniature versions of the menu flights that guests can take home with them.

Levee guests can order from the full River House menu. The bourbon lounge will be open Fridays and Saturdays from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. Reservations are recommended and can be made over the phone at 502-482-5383 or on the Open Table website.