“The whisky got struck in traffic – it will be here soon,” promised Mike Neff, one of the owners of Ward III and the Rum House and leader of our whisky culinary tour. I wasn’t worried. Plenty of whisky was behind the bar at Ward III, which at 1 p.m. on a Sunday afternoon was mellow and quiet as the other tour guests trickled in. The event was part of the Manhattan Cocktails Classic, and it drew a mix of friends, couples, and singles, ready to taste some fine Scotch and wander around Tribeca. “Ah!” said Mike and stopped his pacing to run outside for the goods. How many different whiskies can I drink in 2.5 hours? Answer: A lot, if my evening at Whiskey Live in NY is any indication. Whiskey Live is kind of what I imagine whiskey heaven would be like. At the entrance, someone hands you a glass. You walk into a room filled with whiskey and unlimited pours (nobody seems to use or care about the tickets they hand you). And people everywhere want to talk about whiskey. Throw in some bagpipes and chocolate, and it’s kind of perfect. Whiskey Wednesday in Lebanon did not go as planned. I learned an important lesson – beware the rare single malt Scotches in a country that is known for liking blends. I had heard that Lebanon was a whiskey-drinking country, and it appeared that this was especially true at Eau de Vie in the grand Phoenicia Hotel. They had a wall of whiskies in their “whiskey bar,” along with a huge whiskey menu describing examples from rare distilleries, some now closed. I should have known from the empty bar with a bartender that seemed surprised when I showed up. I thought it was because I was a woman by myself, not realizing that his surprise was probably anyone showing up. You have to love an airport where you are encouraged to taste whisky at 10 a.m. (that’s 5 a.m. in NY). Heathrow is that airport. So my main whisky drinking in London actually took place on my way out. I was doing some duty-free reconnaissance for my way back through. The nice gentleman at World of Whiskies first offered up Tomintoul 16-year, a light, drinkable Scotch that goes down easy but doesn’t last long on the tongue. I’m thinking this will be a good taster for Scotch newbies who need an easy in to the good stuff. An establishment called The Rum House would not normally be my first choice for drinks. It’s the title. And the location – right off Times Square. I don’t have anything against rum, just like I don’t have anything against vanilla. But given the choice in a city that serves everything, a girl wants her whiskey like she wants her chocolate. I was happy to discover that the title was a bit of unintended irony - The Rum House does whiskey. |
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November 2017
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