Now that spinach has been deemed a performance-enhancing vegetable, Popeye's future shortstop career hinges on his transition to bourbon. Get a sailor's worth of bourbon and fine fare with today's deal: for $25, you get $50 worth of drinks and gourmet eats at Maker's Mark Bourbon House & Lounge, located downtown in the 4th Street Live complex.

Maker's Mark Bourbon House serves upscale cuisine and, of course, a long list of Kentucky-distilled bourbons. From the classy comfort of the wood-topped bar, warm your whistle with a flight of low-rye bourbons (Jim Beam, Knob Creek, and Woodford Reserve, $11), high-rye bourbons (Bulleit, Four Roses Small Batch, and Fighting Cock, $12), single-barrel bourbons (Blanton’s, Eagle Rare, and Elijah Craig 18 year, $12), or a rich palate of millionaire's row bourbons (A.H. Hirsch 16 year, Jefferson’s Presidential Reserve 17 year, and Vintage Bourbon 23 year, $25). There are more than 60 creamy, smooth, oaky, toasted, and roasted flavors from which to choose.

As you swirl, sniff, and savor diverse and delectable bourbon notes, invite some classy eats to complement the fête. Lunch starters include a warm goat-cheese skillet (creamy goat cheese, fresh herbs, shitake mushrooms, smoked tomatoes, and crusty bread, $13) and a fresh bourbon-grilled-sirloin salad (romaine, grilled sirloin, blue cheese, red onion, tomatoes, Maker's Mark balsamic, and potato frites, $10). Deftly maneuvering hand-held eats such as a smoked-turkey reuben ($7) or a vegetarian portobello burger (topped with grilled onions, lettuce, and sundried-tomato spread, $7) helps train for docking with the International Space Station. The extended evening menu offers bourbon-smoked chicken-and-apple sausage appetizer ($10), sweet and spicy lobster pasta ($29), Kentucky bourbon-ale-braised boneless short ribs ($25), and more.

Gambol out with sweet breath after bourbon-and-fig bread pudding ($7) or an apple-pear crostata (three tartlets served a la mode with caramel sauce, $9). This Groupon can be used for either dine-in or carry-out.

Reviews

The Courier-Journal recommends Maker's Mark Bourbon House & Lounge, and Southern Living calls it a must-visit if you have 48 hours in Louisville. Local Yelpers and TripAdvisors mourn the lounge's prices and touristy location, but they love the quality food and the old-fashioned drink menu. Yelpers and OpenTable diners give it 3.5 stars, TripAdvisors give it three, and 73% of Urbanspooners recommend it.

• During a dinner visit, a friend and I sipped perfectly crafted Maker's Mark cocktails, an Old Fashioned and a Manhattan, along with our order of wonderful Low Country fried oysters, served on a bed of bourbon-laced creamed corn. – Susan Riegler, Courier-Journal
• Classy, elegant place. A nice diversion from the regular 20 something 4th Street Live crowd. – A TripAdvisor reviewer on Facebook