My husband and I have been seeing lots of video posts about various speakeasies in the Louisville area. We live in southern IN, so it’s just a quick jaunt across the river to get to some fun places for a date night. I booked a reservation at one of these places and it was one of coolest experiences to jazz up a date night.
Hell or High Water has a great vibe with some hidden nooks and rooms, but reservations are required for the special spaces. Per their website, “Hell or High Water is a subterranean cocktail lounge located beneath Whiskey Row in downtown Louisville. We specialize in craft cocktails, elevated spirits, and an extensive bourbon selection, all served in a timeless and intimate setting.” There is no dress code, but they request “smart casual” and for guests to be “comfortable, yet polished.” Take that however you want. You can dress it down in jeans and cute tops or dress it up for a fancy night on the town. I wore a chunky sweater tucked into distressed jeans and ankle boots since we went in January and it was freezing outside and felt just fine in the space. Others were dressed up a bit but it wasn’t formal by any means.
You must know what you’re looking for when you go. It took us a few minutes to actually find the right door once we arrived on the street. Parking is street parking, or you can find lots close by as well. It’s just a few doors down from the Troll Under the Bridge Pub. There is a small globe light with the Hell or High Water logo hanging above the bid red door door, but it only has their hours on the door so check out the pics and their logo first. Speakeasies are all about hidden spaces from the times of prohibition so people could still go to bars and order alcohol illegally. When you enter the outside door, there is a “door” that is propped open, but it’s just the wall cut into a doorway so if it were shut, you wouldn’t even realize it was a door. The doorway leads you to stairs where you head to the basement and turn the corner into a dark brick-walled hallway with old-fashioned sconces and the hostess stands ready to greet you. There are coat hooks on the wall if needed. As you enter the space, the bar is immediately on the left with tables and chairs scattered around, but the ceiling is open for two floors and looks up to what looks like apartments above. To the right underneath the second floor is a section with tall red velvet booths that are curved for slightly larger parties of 4-6 so it still feels semi-private and cozy. There’s a stairway that leads upstairs to the second floor that overlooks the bar area. Once upstairs, there is a curtained space with a table for a larger party with a window that overlooks the floor below, a two-top table on an open balcony with railing, and a wardrobe that states, “Employees Only” that appears to be a large storage cabinet against the wall.
This is where the hostess led us for our date night. The space we reserved is called the “Fudoir.” She pulled the loop on the wardrobe which opened to a tiny space inside that led up two steps into the hidden room with large windows overlooking the bar and restaurant space. A heavy velvet curtain could be pulled to hide the entrance once inside. It was like a small library with bookshelves built on two walls and filled with very old books, all of which were red hard-covers of all types. Literature from all genres filled the shelves. A dark green leather couch sat between shelves with a gold-gilded mirror hanging above, facing two mismatching easy chairs. A small coffee table sat in the center and smaller side tables flanked the furniture and a small ottoman could be pulled to put your feet up.
There was an old-fashioned speaker on one of the bookshelves, and after messing around with the books around it, we discovered one of the “books” was a box and when the binding was pulled open, it revealed the speaker power button and settings. There was a set of what appeared to be black hard-covered books, but when pressed against, the entire set moved inward on a lazy Susan and a drink display rotated outward with holes for glasses, spaces for decanters, and a small shelf for liquor. There were only glasses inside, but one could have secretly stored alcohol inside. On the side of the bookshelf next to the couch was a button that, when pressed, lit up and alerted the waitress at the bar that her attention was needed.
They host live jazz musicians on Wednesday nights, which is when we booked our date. Even though we were upstairs and couldn’t see the musicians from our room, we could definitely hear the music with no problem. As a matter of fact, we could hear the conversations of the people on the floor below so well that every word was crystal clear. It’s sooo easy to eavesdrop because they don’t even know you’re up there unless you stand right at the window for them to see you. When we came out of the room, the people sitting the table on the balcony didn’t even realize it was a room, so it was fun to surprise people like that.
This is primarily a bar with craft cocktails, so better be sure to eat dinner before going. They had extreme minimal snacks like chips, or a peanut mix, and mini pies (where were delicious.) I ordered the Reserve Black Manhattan, featuring Henry McKenna 10-year BIB bourbon, Foro Amaro, and angostura bitters with a cherry in the bottom and an orange twist literally stuck on the top edge of the glass. It was the best drink I’ve ever had. For $38, it was definitely worth it. My husband doesn’t remember what he got but it was spicy and he loved it.
I highly recommend Hell or High Water for a fun date night or special event. If you live in the area and have guests in town, the Fudoir room only holds four people but there’s plenty of space in the bar or the booths area. Their website has more information on the other spaces and reservation requirements.