Taste Fine Wine & Bourbons

This was a fun and a new experience for wine tasting. Paul was very attentive and a down to earth person. Taste the wine, learn them and perhaps go home with a bottle of wine; white or red

Great place for sampling red wines. The day we visited none of the whites we wanted to try were available to taste or on the tasting menu. They can’t serve cheese and crackers/​snacks because they don’t have a food license. No problem. We were going to dinner anyway.
I’m giving them 4 stars because I found a wonderful wine that I believe my family will enjoy, the owners/​staff were friendly and the parking was ample on the street.

I’m a wine girl from the Pac NW. So the Bourbon part was all new to me. My Louisville-​native friend insisted we do this … and I have no regrets! Paul gave us a bourbon Ph.D. in about 45 minutes. $ 5 per shot? I thought he was kidding. There is no Pappy Van on the tasting menu — we paid $ 45 per shot for it at a nearby hotel. My palette much preferred the Weller 107. So did my wallet.
Oh! The wines. What an amazing selection. One wall has domestics. Other sections include: Argentina, Spain and Portugal, France, and Italy. There’s a premium section with wines mostly above $ 40. I was impressed with the depth of Malbec, Tempranillo and Rose. But where’s the Viognier?
Going home tomorrow. I’ll be back to this NuLu gem next year.

I came in here during the Summer Block party in NuLu and was pleasantly surprised. I typically come down here on Saturdays and Sundays, but it’s never been opened so this was a treat. They have a wonderful selection of wine and bourbon and the owner is incredibly informative and pleasant. I found two wines here that I haven’t been able to find anywhere else so that was a plus. They do wine and bourbon tastings as well, but we did not partake today. Definitely a unique wine shop!

Awesome experience! My boyfriend got to try a variety of bourbons and I got to enjoy a very good glass of wine. Owner was very personable and knows his bourbons and wines. Highly recommended

Learned more in 10 minutes (tasting and) talking to paul about bourbon than at the several distillery tours i have been to in the past. He is an expert in his field and funny to boot. Will come here every time i am in town now. Walked out with several bottles of bourbon and now know most of the stuff i drank in the past is total crap. He is a one man show so if you come in be patient ! Well worth the wait !!!
The person with the 1star review wanting to return bourbon because she saw it later that day cheaper at a liquor store is a communist !!! LoL

We had a lot of fun at Taste. Paul was hilarious and super knowledgeable. I can see how he may come off as abrasive at first but he’s actually pretty fucking charming. He was cracking us up. We will definitely be back next time we are in town.

I admit, I am a bourbon novice. Despite a few attempts to be a cool, suave bourbon drinker, I have never been able to enjoy/​stomach the drink. By happenstance I ended up at this place with friends. It’s a neat little place – a hybrid wine/​bourbon bar and store. The owner. Paul Meyer, mans the bar, and has garnered the reputation as one of Louisville’s foremost bourbon experts.
After chatting with Paul for a minute about my lack of bourbon experience, he provided me an «entry level» bourbon to taste. Before drinking, Paul gave me a thorough lesson in bourbon and the proper way to taste it. After listening to his talk, not only was I able to take the bourbon, but I came away with a new found appreciation for the drink.
If you want to learn about bourbon, I highly recommend a visit to this place and a tasting with Paul. For those less interested in bourbon, the store also features an impressive wine selection and tastings of the wines. I know only scratched the surface of Paul’s knowledge of bourbon and probably life in general. I need to make a return visit soon.

We celebrated my bosses birthday here in September of last year in their backyard patio area. It was beautiful. The landscaping is marvelous. But let’s be real, we weren’t there to check out any landscaping.
They have many varieties of wine. It’s actually where I discovered Old 502 — & if you’re a true Louisvillian & haven’t had Old 502 yet, go pick up a bottle. It doesn’t disappoint.
I will say the owner was somewhat rude at one point, until he realized we were there celebrating the guest of honor. Every time I’ve gone back since, he’s been decent.
But, I don’t go to chat with him. I go to try new wines/​bourbons, & spend time with my loved ones in lovely NuLu. :)

Ok, when you walk in the place u don’t know exactly what to think. It’s not exactly easy to understand how things work but he will explain it to you. Also when u first meet the owner you may not warm up to him right away but… once you give him a chance he is super knowledgable about what he sells. You can get some good bourbons for only 5 bucks a tasting which is not bad. U can also sample wines. We sat at the bar and he educated us on some of the finer points of bourbon drinking. There is also a neat room in the back where u can sit and drink as well.
When u check in, Unilocal is going to offer you 5% off of your bill. When I showed this to him he said «I never told Unilocal to put that on there and in fact I don’t even like Unilocal». So he didn’t honor it. That was a bit odd. He doesn’t like Unilocal because he has received some bad reviews. Sadly, when you own a business that can happen. It’s not Unilocal fault it’s most likely his or that person that wrote the review. Some people are just mean!
Anyways, stop by have a few samples and enjoy it! He is not a bad person once u get to know him!

I stopped in on a Wednesday afternoon and was barely even greeted. After looking around, I asked the owner for some advice in buying a bottle of bourbon as a gift. I admittedly do not know much about bourbon, and feel that he took advantage of that fact. He grabbed the closest bottle to him on the counter and told me that would be a good one and I willingly paid the $ 68.79 for the bottle. Later that evening I stumbled upon the same bottle in a liquor store for $ 44.99. I called the shop and asked what the return policy was, and was told «I don’t have one.» I explained the situation to him and got no response. I asked if he would at least credit me the difference so that his store was still receiving the business and got a stern «no.» I would recommend taking your business elsewhere to avoid being ripped off. Also, as a front office manager of a downtown hotel, I will make sure to make anyone who shows interest in visiting this shop aware of my extremely negative experience. This is not a good example of the exemplary customer service that louisville is proud of.

The owner (who is also involved in the Kentucky Bourbon Association) is extremely knowledgeable and helpful. He gave us a great overview of how to properly smell and drink bourbon. We had a great time with the cheap tastings; highly recommend!!!

How many places so you go where the owner shares his vast knowledge of bourbon and a devoted customer (Barb) make it a great experience for 9 out of towners? A hidden gem. With a small outdoor patio or an indoor bourbon tasting room or at the bar at the front, you have lots of variety. And Paul has a variety of cheeses on hand to make up a nice
Cheese plate to go with your wine and/​or bourbon. We had a great experience. You need to go!

The owner is exceptionally knowledgeable about bourbon and his prices for «tastes» is insane! $ 5 a shot for rare and delicious bourbon that averages 8 – 16 dollars a shot.
Super friendly and really helpful to out of towners like myself

Hi, I am the server and bartender from Portland, OR… the «jackass» who asked if your 3-​compartment sink was the trough as I headed to the restroom. HAHA! I was still cracking up while in the restroom.
We were advised to have a tasting at your shop, BECAUSE you were a straight-​shooter who did things your way, without any ass-​kissing or salesman pushiness, and you were full of knowledge. That was true, and your humor was very refreshing. I knew I was in for a good time when we came in 2 weeks ago.
I have been doing some bourbon and prohibition research today, and I am recalling some of the knowledge and history that you shared during my visit to your shop last week. I am still very excited that we had the chance to stop in, taste, and talk with you.
I GUESSSSSS if I have to be honest, I was secretly hoping to try some tastes of rarer stuff at some point during my trip to Louisville, but in reading dumb comments like the one from the person below who was looking for some Pappy, I’m aware that RARE means RARE!!! Why would anyone sell affordable taste testers when they can make the market value off of a standard pour? It is easy economics, people!
Of course the last place they went to had 3 Bottles of Pappy because:
1) It doesn’t sell fast when it is sold by the pour (aka 60 – 90 a shot in reasonable markets. aka not NYC or SF) and so maybe they got all three that year, or maybe they got two the year before and one this year and all three of them are still on the shelf.
2) Some people get the inside connection for buying one or more than one during the annual allocation in their market or perhaps they bought some on the black market.
But some of us know that.
What mattered to me is that you had different distillers, styles, and ages to compare some nice affordable bourbons to, and how to enjoy it with an ice cube or two (as opposed to a glass full of ice).
Thanks for a good time, and thanks for sharing your bourbon knowledge!
And thanks for not trying to push us to buy anything…
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — –
Also, I am more of a wino than bourbon drinker, and I was pleased to see so many great Northwestern wines have made it into your shop. If my credentials mean anything to people looking to come in, I won an award from Wine Spectator back in 2011 and I am an advocate to my friends and customers for affordable and unique wines from up-​and-​coming regions in additions to trying new techniques and blends. If I lived in Louisville, I would be a regular customer.
Sincerely,
Bonny MacDonald

Ermagerd.
Have met the owner in social settings & at tastings a couple of dozen times… And he’s a personable, schlocky, kinda floppily white-​haired, trust-​fund (or early retirement, can’t really tell) dude, in his casually distressed jeans, incorrectly buttoned (but fresh pressed) white button down, and soft loafers. Anyway — that really doesn’t have any bearing on my rating… but here’s what does:
If you’ve ever been in the shop looking for a good bottle of wine (let alone a great one), you’ve heard his stock response to anything you have your fingers on. Really. Mr. Dude has no advice, has no perspective, other than to say that’s a nice bottle and to compliment you on your selection. Again… ermagerd.
I’ve been at tastings with him — how can he communicate *nothing* about wine, let alone softshoe honest questions??? Truth be told, they have some eclectic but tasty options mixed in among the average — not that one would know, absent quality staff (or, at least their own NASA classes), particularly since the staff are… well…focused elsewhere.
Maybe he’s better with his bourbons (but from reading other reviews, I don’t hold much hope) — but Mr. Taste doesn’t seem to have much of a palate /​memory /​interest in directing patrons to great products that fit what they’re looking for, though ‘try a taste’ is certainly a useful business model, particularly for upscale or niche liquor stores.

Entered this shop to buy some bourbon and was yelled at by the clerk, «you must out of your ever loving mind! You’re a fool, you must be from out of town.» Don’t need this kind of treatment when you are a paying customer about to drop some coin.

Owner doesn’t understand customer service. Very condescending. Was in Louisville from out of town and stopped by on the off chance they had some Pappy’s. He informed me that I was asking a ‘stupid question’ and went into a condescending diatribe on how rare the bourbon is. I didn’t have the heart to tell him that the restaurant I just left had three bottles in plain sight behind the bar. Just thanked him for his help in a sarcastic tone and walked out the door never to return. Bought several bottles of bourbon from him in the past — but there’s got to be more friendly, customer-​oriented business in Louisville. My advice — find them and let him ask himself the stupid question of where his customers went.

Bourbon by the taste! Wine by the glass! What a fun place in the NuLu area. Stopped in with a girlfriend after lunch the other day and met the owner and tasted his favorite bourbon — Willett. It was good and the bourbon was fun to taste. He has you taste it three ways; neat, one cube and additional cubes. I am a neat (room temperature, no ice, no water) girl mainly but will add a cube now and again. Bourbon is best tasted straight at room temperature — which is how I like it. And smell it with your mouth not just your nose. Open your mouth and breathe in & out then take a small sip and leave a little on your tongue and breathe in & out again. I liked Willett but I still think Pritchett’s is the best. He didn’t have any this time because it is so hard to get but I’ll stop back in another day.