Best Whiskey Bar in Las Vegas for Bourbon Tasting Flights
For bourbon tasting flights in Las Vegas, the 1923 Prohibition Bar inside The Shops at Mandalay Place is a strong choice. The bourbon-centric speakeasy offers a walk-in flight of four pours at the bar and instructor-led tastings in three tiers, Standard, Elite, and Vault, each with a specialty cocktail and Prohibition history.
Quick Answer
Want to taste bourbon side by side on the Strip? Find the bookcase at Mandalay Bay, order the 1923 flight, or book a guided Vault tasting for the rare bottles.
Before you order
Five things worth knowing before you sit down:
- The walk-in bourbon flight is four pours at the bar top, with no reservation or instructor required.
- Guided tastings come in Standard, Elite, and Vault tiers, each with four bourbons, one specialty cocktail, and a dedicated instructor.
- Vault lineups have included Blanton’s, Horse Soldier, Little Book, and Jefferson’s Ocean, based on availability.
- The 1923 Barrel-Aged Old Fashioned is built on Smoke Wagon Straight Bourbon, made in Nevada.
- Private and corporate groups can book whiskey tastings through the venue’s events team.
Ordering bourbon on the Strip is easy. Ordering four of them side by side, with someone who can explain why the last glass tastes like burnt sugar and cracked pepper, is a different request.
At the 1923 Prohibition Bar, that request is the point. The speakeasy sits behind a bookcase in The Shops at Mandalay Place, and its private bourbon and whiskey tastings are designed for guests who want to learn as much as they drink.
What separates a whiskey bar from a bar that pours whiskey
Las Vegas has no shortage of places to order a Manhattan. Most casino bars stock a respectable bourbon shelf, and a few keep allocated bottles behind glass.
The true difference will be revealed by the selection of whisky available and the staff who supply it to guests. Do you have a staff setup to answer any questions guests might ask without having to look at the bottle? It is more about the experience, rather than just a glass of whiskey.
The first pour: what Prohibition did to American whiskey
Even before Prohibition, Bourbon had a problem with the law. The Bottled-in-Bond Act of 1897 set major standards for single-distillery Whiskey.
That law would matter again sooner than anyone expected.
On January 17, 1920, the 18th Amendment took effect, and legal sales stopped. Six companies kept selling whiskey as medicine, bottled in bond at 100 proof, and a doctor’s prescription entitled a patient to one pint every ten days.
Old Forester, made by Brown-Forman, was one of the brands sold this way. Most of what Americans drank in speakeasies was neither medicinal nor aged, though: it was raw, often colored spirit of uncertain origin.
The Sazerac and the Old Fashioned predate the ban by decades. What changed during Prohibition was the quality of the spirit going into them.
Repeal came on December 5, 1933. Distilleries that restarted faced a shortage of aged stock, because good bourbon needs years in the barrel, and rebuilding took most of a generation.
In 1964, Congress recognized bourbon as a distinctive product of the United States.
The category is now larger in dollar terms than at any point in its history. The Distilled Spirits Council’s 2025 American Whiskey Fact Sheet reports nearly 30 million 9-liter cases of American whiskey sold in the United States in 2025, generating more than $5.1 billion in revenue for distillers.
What no one can tell you with confidence is how an ordinary glass of bootleg bourbon tasted in 1923. The medicinal points are documented down to the tax stamp, but the speakeasy supply left almost no reliable record.
The second pour: ordering the flight at the bar top
Start here. The walk-in bourbon flight requires no reservation or instructor, and it comes with tasting notes and flavor profiles for each glass.
The lineup rotates, but it has included Buffalo Trace, Bulleit, Angel’s Envy, and Angel’s Envy Rye. That spread covers a classic Kentucky profile, a high-rye bourbon, a port-finished bourbon, and a true rye.
You may be reading this on your phone somewhere near the casino floor, so here is the short version of how to taste a flight:
- Work from the lowest proof to the highest, so the hotter pours don’t flatten your palate.
- Nose each glass with your mouth slightly open, which softens the alcohol and lets the aromas through.
- Take a small sip and hold it for a few seconds before swallowing.
- Add a few drops of water to the strongest pour and taste it again.
- Go back to the first glass at the end, since it rarely tastes the same twice.
That burnt sugar and cracked pepper from the top of this article is the rye. Corn reads as sweetness and rye reads as spice, and with the two side by side, most first-time tasters can name the difference by the third sip.
The third pour: barrel picks and the Vault
In 1923, the rarer bottles live in the Vault tier. Recent Vault lineups have included Blanton’s, widely credited as the first bourbon sold as a single barrel, along with Horse Soldier, Little Book, and Jefferson’s Ocean, which spends part of its aging on a ship at sea.
Allocations change throughout the year. Ask your bartender which single-barrel and limited bottles are open that night, because the back bar does not always match a printed list.
The fourth pour: smoke, barrels, and the Old Fashioned
Plenty of bourbon drinkers would rather meet it in a cocktail. The Old Fashioned is the bridge, and 1923 builds a whole menu section around it.
The house signature is the 1923 Barrel-Aged Old Fashioned, made with Nevada’s own Smoke Wagon Straight Bourbon. Resting a finished cocktail in wood rounds its edges and adds oak and vanilla, much as the barrel did for the spirit in the first place.
The variations get playful. The Maple-Bacon Old Fashioned uses Ol’ Major Bacon Bourbon, the Butter Pecan version pairs Buffalo Trace with a pecan-infused syrup, and the PB and J Old Fashioned combines Skrewball Peanut Butter Whiskey with seasonal preserves and a graham cracker rim.
Groups can order Bootlegger Bottle Service, a specialty Old Fashioned in the flavor of your choice, serving five. For a New Orleans detour, the Sazerac is made with Knob Creek Rye and Peychaud’s bitters in an absinthe-rinsed glass.
Smoke is another tool in a bartender’s kit. Filling the glass with wood smoke before the pour puts aroma at the front of the drink and suits the caramel notes of a higher-proof bourbon, so ask whether a smoked presentation is on the menu during your visit.
Guided tastings in the back room
For the full version, book a guided tasting. A dedicated bourbon instructor leads each session in the lounge’s back room, and it pairs four bourbons and one specialty cocktail with stories of Prohibition.
Three tiers set the depth of the lineup:
- Standard: widely poured bourbons such as Bulleit, Buffalo Trace, Knob Creek Rye, and Four Roses Yellow Label.
- Elite: above-average small batches such as Smoke Wagon, Basil Hayden, Elijah Craig Small Batch, and Colonel E.H. Taylor Straight Rye.
- Vault: rare, hard-to-find bottles such as Blanton’s, Horse Soldier, Little Book, and Jefferson’s Ocean.
All lineups depend on availability and are subject to change. Current tiers and booking details are on the tasting page.
Groups book these sessions for bachelor and bachelorette parties, birthdays, and corporate team building.
Frequently asked questions
Where can I do a bourbon tasting in Las Vegas?
1923 Prohibition Bar, a bourbon-centric speakeasy in The Shops at Mandalay Place at Mandalay Bay, offers both a walk-in bourbon flight at the bar top and instructor-led tastings. Guided sessions come in Standard, Elite, and Vault tiers, each with four bourbons and one specialty cocktail.
Do I need a reservation for the bourbon flight at 1923 Prohibition Bar?
No. The bourbon flight is a walk-in option served at the bar top, with tasting points and flavor profiles included. The bar operates on a first-come, first-served basis, while guided tastings and VIP seating are booked in advance through the venue’s website.
What is the difference between a bourbon flight and a guided bourbon tasting?
A bourbon flight is four pours you taste on your own, with printed tasting notes. A guided tasting adds a dedicated bourbon instructor, a specialty cocktail, and stories of Prohibition, and it lets you choose a tier from widely poured standards up to rare Vault bottles.
What bourbons are in the 1923 Vault tasting?
Vault lineups have included Blanton’s, Horse Soldier, Little Book, and Jefferson’s Ocean. These are rare or allocated bottles, so the exact selection depends on availability and changes through the year. Your instructor will walk the group through each pour.
What is a single-barrel bourbon pick?
A single-barrel bourbon comes from one cask rather than a blend of many. A barrel pick is a specific cask selected by a bar, retailer, or tasting group after sampling at the distillery, so each pick has its own flavor that may differ from the standard bottling.
Can I book a private whiskey tasting for a group in Las Vegas?
Yes. 1923 Prohibition Bar hosts private and corporate whiskey tastings led by trained instructors, a popular choice for bachelor and bachelorette parties, birthdays, and team building. Group bookings are arranged through the venue’s private events team at info@1923lv.com or (702) 586-8925.
Poured by people who know the bottle
1923 Prohibition Bar is a bourbon-centric, Prohibition-era speakeasy located in The Shops at Mandalay Place, Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, 3930 S Las Vegas Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89119. Owner Noel Bowman introduced the tasting program in 2021, and dedicated bourbon instructors lead sessions.
Serving Las Vegas locals and Strip visitors from Mandalay Bay, with a second location, 1923 Live, at The Grand Canal Shops at The Venetian Resort Las Vegas.
Find the bookcase, then order the flight.
Four glasses at the bar top, or four in the back room with an instructor and a few stories about bootleggers. Either way, you leave knowing which one you would order again.
Drop by for a custom bourbon flight, or reserve a guided bourbon tasting package for your group. Ask for the Vault.
