The Bourbon Barrel

Awesome atmosphere, great staff, and fantastic drinks! They have a nice selection of alcohol up in old wooden crates on the wall with rope lights in them making the wall colorfully lit up and an old library ladder to glide back and forth (my personal favorite touch). Super clean and everyone was really nice. I would definitely recommend this place.

Great atmosphere, great selections, prices are the highest on earth however. Be prepared to drop serious money on the drinks and food.

Cool environment. Huge variety of beer and bourbon. Antipasto plate needs other meats.
All gender bathroom boasts western movies probably filmed in the county. Bartender pleasant

THE best Moscow mules I have ever had! Thank you Alex for the great drinks and even better service! First time in the area and I already fell in love

The super bloody Mary is the best! Delicious bacon wrapped jalapeño popper and mini burger come with, such a awesome combo. I’ll be coming here every time I’m in Sonora, for sure. PS Alex is the best bartender!

Went here for the first time with my hubby after a long day of yard work. The food is good, and the barkeep was attentive. I had the bourbon sliders and hubby had the brisket sandwich. I also had the ‘hard root beer’ (alcoholic root beer). The food comes with spicy kettle chips, which hubby loved, but were a little too spicy for my taste. The food is good, the place is clean, and the service is prompt. We were the first ones in at opening, shortly after entered several clampers (E Clampus Vitus). There are well over 100 bourbons and whiskeys in the place, neatly displayed in old shipping crates on the bar back. The kitchen is hidden from view, so I’m hoping it’s clean and organized. I think the food is a little pricey for what it is. It’s a fun bar, that serves a simple yet flavourful menu. We would go back to try other food items, probably as a treat.

Went to the Bourbon Barrel last week. I had the wild boar meatballs they were very dry. Had the brisket sandwich it was ok. I also had the Bloody Mary it was ok I’ve had better the bacon wrapped jalapeño was good that burger or whatever it was they put on top sucked.

The BB is the place to go! Great atmosphere! Great bartenders, usually live music, the food is good, the drinks amazing! I’m so happy they opened in Sonora! Fun place to go!

We showed up on a Wednesday night, 30 of us fromfrom work, and the single bar tender and cook provided faster and better service than most other places with half the crowd and managed to remain polite throughout the entire evening — needless to say the drinks were good.

By far the best place to go for date night. Good people, amazing food, atmosphere is something you can’t beat. such a great place considering it’s Sonora!!!

Hip atmosphere, reasonable prices and a great selection. There’s a band playing in the background, they seem fairly contemporary. There’s usually a pretty decent crowd.
*somebody farted

My sister and girlfriend have a girls night once a month and Bourbon Barrel was the spot we chose tonight! The appetizers are delicious and the service was amazing. We have never experienced better service. Brody, was our server, he was attentive, friendly and helped us decide on menu items. At the end of the night he even let us sample some bourbon (we are beer and wine drinkers)! It was a great evening and I can’t wait to go back! This place is just what Sonora needs.

Small but quaint bar. Bourbon list was extensive but was hoping to see more food than what was offered. My husband and I each had a drink and shared the wild boar meatballs and tri-​tip sandwich. The sandwich was good but we loved the meatballs. Definitely order the meatballs if you visit.

oh June June June …
There is NO such thing as a «used to be a Marine».
Sorry Gal, once Green, always Green.
Now to my review. I walked in this past Thursday, 11^th, as I wandered the town.
The BB was not open yet, but the front door was not locked, I walked in.
I was pleasantly greeted by (?), who was in a conversation with the main Chef (?).
Cool, I was informed that the place was not open for awhile, but was given, as I asked, the menus, and bar offerings. Oh neat !
Good lengthy conversation with (?) bartender regarding their selections of hooch, and hooch families for tastings, as well as accompanying food stuffs.
It was a good drop in visit. I was impressed.
Only four stars,… no hooch or stuff… for now, until my next drop in.
A. A.
USN — ’68 — 72

Great to have a classy bourbon bar in Sonora. I love the style of the bar and the fact that they carry High West whiskey.
Great service, knowledge, and recommendations from the chef. Baked brie was amazing. I loved the horseshoe bar!

What a great experience! The food is amazing! The bar tender was knowledgable, and friendly. Highly recommend this place for a unique experience.

Cool atmosphere: Love the liquor wall with the rolling ladder. Steel bartop, wood beams and rusted corrugated ceiling make this place fun to walk into. 26 – 28 seats around a horseshoe bar with window extension, so not a ton of space. Funny thing though — they started playing country music, which doesn’t match the look of the place at all. Guess you can dress up the country, but underneath, it’s still country.
Staff: Bartenders are also servers and they are dressed in speakeasy garb. Very friendly and they make good drinks. But no scotch
Selection: 99% of the bottles on the wall are bourbon. For me, no problem — for my husband who doesn’t like bourbon, he was limited.
Food: looked good but we had already eaten so we didn’t order any.

I was pleasantly surprised to stumble upon this place during my first visit to Sonora.
As soon as you walk in, you’d think you’re at a swanky whiskey bar in San Francisco, but instead of long waits at the bar and snooty bar staff, you’re welcomed by the friendliest staff and one of whom used to be a Marine (Semper Fi, Brody). Yes, I just went there. I only remember because we had a conversation about Camp Pendleton and San Diego.
Anyway, the owner, Doug, was sitting at the bar and welcomed my boyfriend and I and also suggested we try the wild boar meatballs. YESSSSS! They were delicious. I had a makeshift flight of their Mitcher’s offerings. My only «issue» (if you could even call it an issue) is that they haven’t set up a system for flight pricing yet.
Oh, and they get bonus points for having USB chargers built into the bar! Best detail I’ve seen in any restaurant. This will definitely be a regular stop on my to Yosemite or Twain Hart.

Let me start by saying, I was excited to come here the moment that I heard about it. My expectations were high. That being said, my expectations were met. These guys really know what their doing. From the food, to their knowledge of the bourbon as well as the ability to make very good if not perfect cocktails, and the feeling of «community» that they project.
When my wife and I arrived on a Friday evening, they were busy but there were 2 seats at a table up on the stage so we snagged them. One of the bartenders came over to us shortly after, and took our drink order. He took our food order when he came back shortly thereafter. We ordered the wild boar meatballs and the baked jalapenos. I suggest that you get the wild boar. Delicious! They were moist and juicy. They sat on a bed of parsnip purée and had a slightly spicy tomato/​bbq sauce on top ot the meatballs. The baked jalapenos were good, a take on poppers. I believe that the cream cheese was mixed with mozzarella and they were wrapped in Duck Bacon. That was the best part! Everything was fresh and definitely made in house. We’re excited to go back and try some more.
After our meal, we ordered some cocktails. They have menus listing their bourbon which was at 125 different selections when we visited. It would have been nice if they had a cocktail and beer list, but hopefully that will come with time. I started with a bourbon and asked for something similar to Bullet. He made a suggestion of his own favorite. I can’t for the life of me remember the name of it, but it was very good. My wife got a vodka cranberry which was made properly. I should add that someone was always roaming around and making sure that all of the Guests were doing well and taking orders. Next I moved on the an old fashioned made with bourbon. This is one of my favorite cocktails, and I’m picky. It was perfect, in the all time top 3. My wife got a moscow mule, which was made properly and very good. (better than others in the area).
Overall, I believe that The Bourbon Barrel will be around for a long time to come as long as they stick to their current service practices. Thank you for bringing a touch of class to downtown Sonora!

Fantastic and needed addition to downtown! Great atmosphere. The décor is amazing. Lighting is very cool. I thought with the light illuminating the bar it would be hot and not relaxing but I was wrong. I was worried it would be like a sports bar with the tv’s but they are cleverly added to the bar wall and weren’t distracting at all, even the big one isn’t distracting and the sound is down so you can hear the music. According to my husband the bourbon menu is awesome and I love the wine selection. Food was very good. Small plates which is as it should be. Don’t go expecting a dinner menu. Perhaps come after dinner or before. We ordered a few small plates and were very satisfied. Again, well done and a welcome addition to downtown Sonora.