And thatâs how new owner Kurt Janowsky wants it.
âYouâre not sure if youâre in a cocktail bar or an opium den,â Janowsky said. âAnd thatâs OK with us.â
Gone are the days when the downtown South Bend cocktail bar was decorated with earthy touches and light blue walls. Now, the walls have been painted a deep eggplant purple with black ceilings, gold accents and very dim lighting using open flame candles, vintage Edison light bulbs and hanging crystal chandeliers.
âWe are trying to do something different and we wanted to really lean into the name Spirited,â Janowsky said. âWe decided not to change the name and go a little further to kind of take another meaning of spirited with tarot cards and crystals. ⦠And I think we pulled it off.â
The Exchange Whiskey Bar.
Opening a cocktail bar in the middle of a pandemic sounds like unfortunate timing, but these four establishments did exactly that.
Thieves The snug 1,200-square-foot space trimmed in red neon serves sophisticated drinks like the Nola Sazerac and a Primo Hurricane as well as a list of champagne-based cocktails.
915 Broad Ripple Ave., 317-452-3405, thievesindy.com
Alchemy Spirit House When the blue light is aglow over the entrance to this working micro-distillery in Zionsville, that means seating is available in the intimate first-come, first-serve tasting room.
640 S. Main St., Zionsville, 317-600-1858, alchemymicrodistillery.com
The Exchange Whiskey Bar
A Historically Great Cocktail Bar On Mass Ave.
The Exchange Whiskey Bar, which dates back to just after the Civil War, is stocked with more than 450 whiskeys from around the globe.
February 22, 2021
With a history that dates to just after the Civil War, the Italianate flatiron building that anchors Mass Ave’s southern end provides the perfect backdrop for sipping a pre-Prohibition elixir and pondering the city’s past. Prime Hospitality Group had exactly that in mind when it opened
The Exchange Whiskey Bar on the second floor of the Hammond Block building last fall. Modeled after the original South Bend location, the high-ceilinged lounge outfitted with comfy, clubby furniture offers panoramic views of the skyline and a bar stocked with more than 450 whiskeys from around the globe. Brown liquors are de rigueur in such vintage shakeups as the Scofflaw, a 1920s Parisian mixture of bourbon, vermouth, and grenadine that taunted American tourists who couldn’t drink back home.