This article appears in the January 2011 issue of Louisville Magazine. To subscribe, please visit loumag.com.

Don’t know about you, but we could really use a drink right about now. So we’ve scoured the city to find our 21 favorite bars — from upscale jazz joints to dives where your beer bottle sticks to the table. We’ve also tossed in some personalities familiar with local nightlife and quotes we overheard while out on the town.

The formula is simple enough: Corral as many 20somethings into the bar as possible, then watch them dance and drink until a couple of hours before sunrise. Molly Malone’s seems to have it figured out because, since it opened its 3900 Shelbyville Road location a little more than a year ago, herds of college kids have crammed inside. If you’re grabbing a bite to eat at Molly Malone’s in the afternoon, we can almost guarantee somebody will come in to collect his credit card and pay for a tab from the night before. And the answer to your next question, ladies, is: Yes, it’s 2 a.m., and that guy from across the bar just bought you a Jägerbomb.

Photo: Courtesy Molly Malone's