DRAFT Magazine

Magazines » July/August 2010 Issue » Whiskey for Dinner

Some of the nation's best whiskey collections aren't behind bars: These eateries bring the spirit to the table.

VINTRY WINE & WHISKEY
New York City
This low-lit, swanky speakeasy in Manhattan’s financial district puts whiskey and wine on the same marquee, but an 8-page menu of Speysides, bourbons and blends plus a highbrow cocktail list (including a classic Whiskey Sour, egg white and all) ensure the brown stuff is front and center. Rich small plates like lobster-stuffed mushrooms and sheeps milk ricotta gnocchi with lamb ragout provide some endurance. SIP: Splurge on an ounce each of 27-year-old cask-strength Parker’s Heritage Collection bourbon and Ballantine’s 30-year-old blended Scotch. 57 Stone St., vintrynyc.com

VILLAGE WHISKEY
Philadelphia
Barely a year old, this Rittenhouse Square public house, helmed by Iron Chef Jose Garces, lures patrons in with burly burgers, duck fat fries and a menu of house-made pickles, but keeps them in their stools with more than 140 whiskey bottles. The list leans heavy on American drams—the bar stocks 57 bourbons alone—but represents the best of Ireland and Scotland, too. SIP: Explore the bourbons: Try the 17-year-old Jefferson’s Presidential, Four Roses Mariage and Willett Pot Still. 118 S 20th St., villagewhiskey.com

NIHON WHISKY LOUNGE
San Francisco
Nihon’s union of izakaya (Japanese tapas) and whiskey is so seamless, it’s a wonder nobody’s done it before or since. Under the urban lounge’s dim light, inventive sushi rolls and sashimi share table space with lowballs of more than 400 whiskeys—the largest selection on the West Coast. True connoisseurs can purchase bottles and store them in Nihon’s private lockers.
SIP: Choose among Nihon’s super-rare vintage bottles, like a 1971 Balvenie, a 32-year-old 1972 Glenrothes and a 22-year-old casked Scotch from the shuttered Glenugie distillery. 1779 Folsom St., dajanigroup.net

JACK AND TONY’S
Santa Rosa, Calif.
Chef and whiskey lover Jack Mitchell opened this ode to booze in the middle of Sonoma’s vineyards, and while there’s a healthy wine list focused on local vintners, the worldly whiskey menu steals the show. Adept at pairing, Mitchell matches his more than 170 bottles to fresh, hearty American dishes like the cornmeal-crusted rainbow trout and his filet-and-prawns version of surf-n-turf. SIP: Travel Scotland on a custom whiskey flight; try the 29-year-old Port Ellen from Islay, Auchentoshan Three Wood from the Lowlands and the 15-year-old Balvenie Single Barrel from Speyside. 115 4th St., jackandtonys.com

[Photo: Nihon Whisky Lounge]

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This article originally appeared in the July/August 2010 Issue of DRAFT Magazine

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