Smoking In (And Around) Louisville

| By 150th Anniversary Of The Kentucky Derby, March/April 2024

The Office Cigar Shop and Lounge, only 15 minutes from downtown Louisville, offers old-school charm.

Louisville, Kentucky, has all the charm and character of a city with deep connections to a pair of American sporting pastimes: horse racing and baseball. But despite its humble allure, one thing you can’t do within city limits is smoke a cigar inside, something that’s been prohibited by the Louisville Metro Smoke-Free Ordinance since 2008. The good news? Louisville’s position along the Ohio River makes it just a short bridge-crossing away from cigar-friendly Indiana. Even if you stay in Kentucky, when you venture beyond the Louisville city limits, you’ll find places that are more welcoming to indoor puffing. So here are some cigar options when you come to town for the greatest two minutes in sports.

Riverside Cigar Shop and Lounge, just over the river in Jeffersonville, Indiana, is a cozy cigar bar. It may not wow you with frills, but it boasts a respectable inventory and it’s the closest cigar lounge to downtown Louisville. Next up is The Office Cigar Shop and Lounge in Floyds Knobs, Indiana. It’s a roughly 15-minute drive away and is a great choice if you’re looking to go old-school. You can stay in Kentucky, but drive about a half hour from Louisville to Simpsonville and find Executive Cigar LLC, a cigar bar with an Espinosa-branded lounge, plenty of drink options and a laid-back atmosphere with seating that extends to an outdoor patio.

Riverside Cigar Shop and Lounge is cozy and fairly close to downtown.

Should you want to expand your cigar journey in the Bluegrass State, consider heading towards Lexington, which will take about an hour and change. On the outskirts of the city in Paris, there’s Canonero’s Cigar & Bourbon Bar, a quaint cigar bar that offers cigars, an exceptional Bourbon selection and a spirited atmosphere that sometimes includes live music. If you want to up the ante a little bit, Jake’s Cigar Bar in Nicholasville has a towering bar matched by a large walk-in humidor and loads of indoor and outdoor seating, the latter accompanied by firepits.

If you’re up for a bigger road trip, Indianapolis is a two-hour drive from Louisville, a straight shot north on I-65, and it has a truly impressive cigar scene. Burn by Rocky Patel Indianapolis is a gorgeous, high-end cigar bar with a drinks menu and humidor to match. Then there’s Blend Bar with Davidoff Cigars on the northside, with an impressive cigar inventory, an extensive drinks selection and experienced cigar smokers. Lastly, we have Nicky Blaine’s Cocktail Lounge in the heart of downtown Indianapolis. This velvety cigar bar has dim lighting and decor with some character to it. You’ll feel as if you’ve wandered into a jazz hideout of yesteryear. Cocktails are a speciality but the cigar selection is no slouch either.