There’s no dress code at the Miller House’s Spirits lounge — guests come as they are. It’s the drinks that are highbrow. This basement paradise for bourbon connoisseurs in Owensboro, Kentucky, offers comfort with an air of class.
Owners Larry and Jeanne Kirk say Spirits isn’t a speakeasy, although it does have that feel. Bourbon bottles cover the walls in waist-to-ceiling wooden cabinets with glass windows. Beneath the cabinets is exposed brick, just like you’d find in any hideaway.
With more than 600 bourbons, Spirits claims the widest selection under one roof in Western Kentucky. The rarest spirits — those not easily found in stores — are consumed quickly, like pours from the Pappy Van Winkle and Old Forester families. “We’re not a bourbon museum,” Larry says. “We get many bottles of great bourbons, and when they’re gone, they’re gone.” The lounge works hand-in-glove with the two-story Miller House restaurant above, where an upscale menu marries high-end drinks. “Casual elegance” is how Jeanne describes it.
The Kirks bought the Queen Anne home Downtown on East Fifth Street in 2006. Constructed in 1905 and named for original owners Elmer and Lizzie Miller, it needed substantial work — and that was before it was damaged when an EF3 twister ripped through the city on Oct. 18, 2007. “You could stand in the basement and see pigeons fly in the attic,” Larry recalls.
The Miller House opened in 2009 and quickly hit its stride. The restaurant and Spirits see customers from beyond Owensboro, including those making the short trek from Evansville and Southwestern Indiana. Recognition has come from The Bourbon Review, which named Spirits one of America’s 55 best bourbon bars in 2013, as well as Whisky Advocate, which ranks it on a national list of 10 destinations with more than 100 bourbons to sip from.
The Kirks’ daughter, Kasey Dillow, is the Miller House’s head chef. The menu is Southern influenced; meatloaf and plates of shrimp and grits are two top sellers. Visitors to Spirits can order and enjoy dinner in the subterranean setting. Larry says most guests come for a combination of dinner, as well as a stop at Spirits. “It’s not the amount of bour- bons, it’s the feel you get when you come in. It makes you feel at home,” he explains. “We have a lot of people from a lot of different cities, and all the tables are talking together. We’ve been blessed to have it, and it seems to keep getting better all the time.”
