Hidden at the back of a hip and airy plant shop in a small strip mall, Pretty Decent is a modern cocktail bar serving up drinks that transcend the concept’s modest name. Owners John and Jeanne Douglass purposely steered clear of the dark, bourbon-heavy aesthetic found throughout Louisville, instead focusing on botanical-forward flavors and spirits from south of the border like mezcal and tequila.

A bracing take on the classic Gibson combines mezcal with white vermouth and a pickled local spring onion, while the on-trend carajillo combines cold-brewed Dark Matter coffee with Licor 43, Ancho Reyes chile liqueur, hazelnut and cinnamon.

 
You may think you know Louisville: lots of bourbon and pimento cheese, plenty of mint juleps, and the home of Colonel Sanders, right? But a visit to this thriving all-American city reveals a food scene that has evolved and modernized, with chefs like Edward Lee and Sara Bradley combining the city and region’s storied heritage with new, often globally inspired flavors.