The Bourbon Room, Saratoga Springs, New York

The heart of Saratoga Springs is its welcoming downtown main street, Broadway, about six blocks lined with shops, restaurants, cafes, and hotels, full of small-town charm. One of the few cross streets is Caroline, nicknamed “Saratoga’s Bourbon Street” in a nod to New Orleans, as it has more than a dozen bars in a short two-block stretch. But only one of these is an actual bourbon bar, and while it sits just a 30-second stroll from the heart of town’s action, it has a hidden gem vibe, with a dark interior and low-key, old-school neighborhood tavern atmosphere. From the outside, its name, The Bourbon Room, is the only clue that it offers a roughly 500-label whisky list.

Once you step through the door, it’s a different story. While many whisky bars proudly display their impressive collections amidst other premium spirits on library-style shelving behind the bar, here there is nothing else, and although it has a full bar, every other spirit is hidden away, with three sections of ornate dark brown wooden shelving full of whiskey. The establishment is narrow and deep; the centerpiece is a marble-topped bar lined with about a dozen high-backed stools, while parallel to this, on the exposed-brick wall behind the bar seating, is a narrow wooden shelf ledge with more stools, plus a handful of tables and seating in the front and back. It’s classy but comfortable and intimate, the walls decorated with barrel ends engraved with whiskey logos, the space capped by a vintage pressed-tin ceiling. Were it not for the preponderance of American whiskeys, the bar would be right at home in Dublin or Edinburgh.

Brian Miller, the founder, was a bartender and owner of a liquor store a few towns over when he was approached by the landlord to open a Martini bar at the height of vodka’s popularity over a dozen years ago. But he noticed the fast-rising popularity of brown spirits and decided to open a whiskey bar in 2014. Many regulars are glad he did, especially since Saratoga is home to the oldest active horse racetrack in the nation, dating back to 1863. It’s a popular classic that has made substantial improvements, significantly expanded its race season, and recently hosted the Triple Crown Belmont Stakes, and whose signature event, the Travers, is known as the “Midsummer Derby.” This attracts a steady flow of horse lovers from Kentucky, especially the heart of the state’s bourbon region, Louisville and Lexington, home to much of the thoroughbred industry and two similarly iconic tracks, Churchill Downs and Keeneland. Horse racing and whiskey have a long history, and Miller carries many labels made by producers who also own racehorses and visit Saratoga, such as Pinhook.

A cocktail lover, he has staked out an interesting middle ground between fancy mixology and the basic bar, with a focus on offering a value proposition. He makes dehydrated fruits and brews craft coffees and espresso to create whiskey-and-coffee drinks, riffs on the Espresso Martini, but stops short of fat washes and homemade bitters. The specialty whiskey cocktails use well-regarded but not overly expensive American whiskeys. For instance, the House Manhattan uses Elijah Craig rye, the Old Fashioned includes Bulleit bourbon, and the Paper Plane is made with Angel’s Envy bourbon. All are priced at $14 ($11 at Happy Hour, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. daily, along with $7 select whiskies).

A create-your-own flight program lets you pick any three whiskies from the list. The third Thursday of every month is “Flight School,” when a brand representative comes in and serves a flight and a specialty cocktail for $30. There is live acoustic music every Friday and Saturday, and in summer, when both the track and the famed Saratoga Performing Arts Center concerts are held, the town gets jammed and so does the bar, and it often stays open until the legal closing time of 4 a.m.

The whisky list is especially deep in a few brands such as Taconic Distillery, Penelope, Templeton, Pinhook, Old Forester, Michter’s, Kentucky Owl, and Colonel E.H. Taylor, with 6-10 labels from each. It skews heavily toward American, but includes around 40 whiskies from Scotland, Ireland, England, Canada, and Japan. All are offered in 1.5 or 2-ounce pours, and span from lower cost offerings like Puncher’s Chance bourbon ($11), Pinhook rye ($12), Dalmore 12 year old ($13), and Tenjaku blended Japanese whisky ($13) to rarer options such as Ardbeg 25 year old ($125), Barrell Craft Gray Label 24 year old ($129), and Pappy Van Winkle 23 year old ($250). But most of the options sit comfortably in the $15 to $30 range, including the likes of Rabbit Hole Dareringer bourbon ($20), Abraham Bowman Port finished bourbon ($19), and Oban 14 year old scotch single malt ($25).