Categories: Food & Wine

Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Whisky River Bar: A Charlotte, North Carolina, Favorite

When my best friend and I started planning our annual trip to Charlotte, North Carolina, for the NASCAR race, we knew that there was one new place that we had to add to our list: Whisky River.

Whisky River is a bar owned by NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Junior, supposedly based on the one in his own house. Though I’ve never been a fan of Dale Earnhardt Junior, I knew that I had to stop by Whisky River at least once while we were in the area.

After spending the day in Uptown, Charlotte’s name for their downtown area, both of us were dead tired and not really in the mood for the bar scene. Yet we still dragged our way to the bar, hoping to have a little fun that would make us forget how tired we were. Unfortunately the area surrounding the bar was closed due to the Charlotte Uptown Festival so we had to park a number of blocks away from the bar.

By the time we finally walked to the bar, we were both pretty tired and even more tired when we had to go through an application process just to get inside Whisky River. Apparently the city of Charlotte has a law in place for all businesses that serve alcohol and not food so we both had to fill out an application to become an official “member” of Whisky River before we could ever get inside.

Since this is a bar, you have to be 21 or older to get inside, but apparently some people didn’t realize that. We saw one man trying to get inside with a child in a stroller and another child who was barely old enough to walk. Honestly we couldn’t believe that anyone would even think they could take their kids inside.

Once inside Whisky River, it felt like my home away from home. They have a huge dance floor that was completely empty, but it was still early in the night. There was one bar facing the dance floor and a second bar set up in the middle of the club. They played classic rock the whole time we were there and I could honestly see myself hanging out there with my friends.

The bar sits on the third floor of the Epicenter and the views are simply out of this world. At night you could see all of the lights in Charlotte from the floor to ceiling windows. They also have a mechanical bull set up and when you ride the bull you get the best views. Unfortunately I wasn’t quite ready to tackle the bull, but maybe next time.

The drinks were pretty reasonably priced for a bar in a big city. It was around $15-16 for three beers and we paid $5 per drink earlier in the day. They also have a small gift shop with Whisky River apparel and souvenirs that were priced pretty accordingly with other bars and restaurants. Shirts and hats were around $20, while a shot glass was $6.

Since it was race week while we were there, there were a lot of older people in the bar. We could see a line of younger people waiting to get in and they seemed a little more dressed up than the people already inside. I’m not sure what this place is like on a regular weekend, but it was packed when we were there. Many of the people there were clad in Dale Earnhardt Junior apparel, but I assume the clientele is a little different the rest of the time.

I might not like Dale Earnhardt Junior, but he sure does make a good bar. The next time I’m in Charlotte I fully plan on stopping by Whisky River. I love the music and the laid back atmosphere. You don’t have to be a NASCAR fan to have fun here.