Having had the opportunity to experience the growth and explosion of brown spirits professionally as a bar manager these past two decades has simply blown my mind and my socks right off! Still can’t find either!!
But you will find nearly 1000 bottles at our new restaurant opening soon! And if you try it and like it (we’ll have 1 and 2 oz pours of just about everything) you can buy it! Most of those bottles will be available for sale and for you to then take home and enjoy! But back to the story…
When I think about first running a bar around the turn of the century (for those of you in your 40s that lived it you’ll relate, for those of you who are not but are passionate about spirits, you’ll appreciate) it sadly always came back to one thing: vodka! (Yawn-Lol).
Those fruity, fufu vodka martinis still dominated drink lists in the late 90s and 2000s. The Sour Apple Martini, Cosmopolitan, Flirtini and other clear spirit, super sweet concoctions were everywhere and with hardly a lick of brown spirits to be found!
Back then the only whiskies that would have been seen near the well were probably Jack Daniels, Johnny Walker Black, Dewar’s and perhaps Maker’s Mark. If a bar was just little better stocked, you may see the classic small batch series (Booker’s, Bakers, Basil Hayden & Knob Creek) on the back-bar. But that’s about it! (Old Crow or Early Times, anyone?)
Fast forward two decades and a spirit that once sat in the back of the bus has become the hottest category in the spirit world. While vodka still holds it own, (can you believe the whole Tito’s thing?) whiskies from around the globe have taken center stage and fueled a new way of viewing things for forward thinking bartenders, servers and bar managers.
Our favorite brown spirit has spawned a craft cocktail culture like no one has ever seen before. (Anyone ever even heard of a mixologist in 2000? 2010 even? Lol) It has raised our craft with a whole new level of expertise!
Our goal at Warren is to elevate the spirit experience through our creative cocktails and to hopefully help educate our friends and guests on many of the truly amazing brown spirits out there today. And we have damn plenty!
Check back soon as we start your journey by naming our top 50 favorite whiskies in the world right now and discuss/review a new bottle each day on the WCC blog! (And stay tuned for details in the coming days on how you can join the infamous Warren Cocktail Club itself!)
Best of all? You can buy all of them at Warren! Think of us not just as your go-to room for all things whiskey and spirit advice but also your new, favorite liquor store!!! That’s right! Not only do we do retail but you’ll find barrel select and reserve bottles here that you won’t find anywhere else!
Spirit fans! Questions? Comments? E-mail me: fitzy@warrendelray.com
Cheers!
Fitz