Stock & Barrel is a Knoxville-based restaurant that features excellent burgers and an amazing selection of bourbons/whiskeys. They also have a location in the Gulch area of Nashville, and we recently visited for burgers and bourbon.
The Nashville location has a very informal, cozy atmosphere, with large and long high-top tables that can host several parties at once. There are also many low-top tables around the perimeter of the restaurant if sitting at high-tops is not your thing (I don’t love it). One wall of the restaurant is dominated by an impressive bar stocked with, you guessed it, plenty of whiskey. There are plenty of TVs for you to catch the game, as well.
Stock & Barrel implements a farm-to-table concept using local farms to supply many of their ingredients. You can read about that here . The menu features a variety of starters and salads, including the usual suspects: wings, fried pickles, and a wedge salad, but you can also choose Duck Fat Fries, OPA!, or a Carburetor Salad. For a peek at their menu, click here.
I chose The Classic Bacon burger, which features Mitchell Family Beef, cheddar cheese, Benton’s bacon, bourbon onions, pickles, tomato, and greens. I left off the mayo, because I always leave off the mayo. You can choose between fries or onion rings, so I got both! And it was worth it. The onions rings were fantastic and sweet. The fries were good, as well, but I think the onion rings would be the way to go. My burger was perfectly cooked (i.e. medium), and the bun was so good, I was tempted to eat the whole thing, which I never do. And did I mention this burger has Benton’s bacon? I ended up pulling off some of the bacon and eating it separately, just so I could get the full benefit of the bacon’s flavor. If you haven’t tried Benton’s bacon, do yourself a favor and get some. I washed down my burger with a draft IPA, and I was happy. But now it was time for some bourbon.
The whiskey list is the most extensive I’ve ever seen. I’m not saying it’s the most extensive ever, just that it’s the most extensive list I’ve personally ever seen. It has bourbon, Tennessee whiskey, Scotch whisky, Irish whisky, Japanese whiskey, American whiskey, and even Indian whisky. You can also choose from many cocktails or have a flight of whiskey, which is what I did. I picked the Buffalo Bob flight, which as you might expect, comes with a sampling of various Buffalo Trace whiskeys. My flight had Buffalo Trace, Weller Special Reserve, Blanton’s, and Eagle Rare. The cost was $27, and I felt like I got a bargain. The pours were ample, and the whiskey was on point.
We were way too full to try dessert, but they did look good. Perhaps on a future visit. If you get the opportunity, please give Stock & Barrel a try. You’ll be glad you did.
Haute Flavor 