Whiskey Walkabout
- Jeffrey Lavallee
- Aug 23, 2024
- 3 min read
We visit the world famous Jack Rose Dining Saloon
18 Aug 24
For kids the ‘happiest place on earth’ might be that tourist trap run by a mouse, but for a whiskey drinker, the happiest place is surely The Jack Rose Dining Saloon in the Adams Morgan section of D.C. It’s literally world famous for its selection and it’s right here in the DMV area.
One mile from the ‘U Street’ Metro station, and a little more than a half mile to the Dupont Circle Metro Station. The Adams Morgan area is really beautiful and always bustling. If the weather’s good, it’s not a bad idea to walk from the Dupont Circle station and Uber home. On this visit, we drove and I can confirm that parking is sparse. And why would you want to drive? There’s so much to choose from you won’t want to drive afterwards.
We visited on a Sunday evening from 7-9pm. It was a good crowd, but light. The bartender said August is often light due to everyone leaving DC. I would say Sundays are probably a great time to go with some friends. There were several groups of whiskey enthusiasts talking and trying new expressions. While the bartenders were busy, they weren’t so busy that they couldn’t spend a little time chatting with us and answering questions.
Something I’ve learned after visiting a few whiskey bars (and cigar shops) is that they’re very customer-oriented. They really want to make you happy. So if you sit down and say you want a bourbon, they’re going to ask you, “What kind of bourbon do you like?” Don’t be surprised by that. Just understand that they’re trying to get you a whiskey that you’ll enjoy. In earlier posts I recommended that you go in with a whiskey tasting plan and that will drive your discussions with the bartender differently. Well, this particular visit was short notice due to some serendipitous circumstances. I didn’t have a plan and found myself stumped by the question. It’s easy to be overwhelmed by all that whiskey staring down at you!
I quickly recovered, and we were ably assisted by Miraj and Chris. Miraj knows his stuff and Chris is a veteran whisk(e)y expert. Both are really friendly, funny, and professional.
The Jack Rose keeps careful track of the number of bottles they have and there’s a whiskey bottle counter on their website. Unfortunately, there is no ‘About’ page, so it’s somewhat of a challenge to get a history of the saloon. However, if you look them up on Google Maps, you’ll see a ton of pictures to show you the awe-inspiring shelves of endless whiskey bottles. According to an interview with owner Bill Thomas on the Distiller website, The Jack Rose was started in 2011. You can read the full interview here.
They have several different rooms in the building, some of which you can rent for private events. One of the rooms is in the basement where they often hold private tastings. You can see their upcoming tasting events on their calendar here. The Jack Rose now has their own line of whiskies you can buy there. Chris escorted me down so I could buy their American Whiskey (more on that later). While down there I had a brief but enjoyable conversation with Bill Thomas, owner of the Jack Rose.
The only disappointment I experienced was when I departed. I look forward to visiting again soon with a good crowd of whiskey lovers.
The tastings:
Everything I tasted had a relatively high ABV. They provided a water dropper and I found that adding a few drops at a time changed the experience for the better.
Willett Family Estate Bottled, Single Barrel Bourbon, 8yrs, 65.6%ABV
I’ve always wanted to try a Willett whiskey. Not disappointed.
The Jack Rose’s own Premier Drams Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Single Barrel, Barrel Strength, 7yrs, 50.3%ABV
- Delicious. Highly recommend it.
Stauning Danish Rye Whisky, Cats and Dogs Single Cask, 6yrs, 57%ABV
As I’ve recommended in an earlier post, ask the bartender to surprise you with something unusual. And because the Jack Rose has such an incredible selection, Chris did not disappoint! Who knew the Danes could make delicious whisky?!
The Jack Rose’s own Premier Drams American Whiskey, Single Barrel, Barrel Strength, 7yrs, 51.1%ABV
Miraj recommended this and said there’s a lot of fruit that comes through and he wasn’t kidding. Lots of peach in this one. He then escorted me down stairs where I could buy a bottle. I highly recommend the Premier American Whiskey - available only at The Jack Rose Dining Saloon.
