My girlfriend and I took a small trip to Washington, DC over the weekend before Election Day became too crazy. We need a nice getaway from the busy hustle and bustle of NYC. Also we wanted to try some wicked amazing whisky. A friend told us about Jack Rose Dining Saloon in DC. After a few yelp visits and the gallery tour, boy were we sold. We packed our stuff, got in our car and trekked 4.5 hours to DC to get our whisky on.
Jack Rose Dining Saloon currently has over 2,700 bottles of WHISKY!… that’s a whole of a lot of drinking to do in two days, however, my gf Rebecca and I are always up for a whisky challenge. We had 2 days, a solitary budget of about $450 to spend on whatever great tasting dram we could get at this venue. When we got there, it was a mind blowing, saliva drooling kind of night. The 3 out of the 4 walls from bottom to the ceiling is covered in different types of whisky, by different regions, prices and styles. It was a bit overwhelming, but we are always up to a challenge, when it comes to this liquid goodness.
On Saturday, November 6th, our first day there, we kind of let the knowledgeable and experienced bartenders, guide us, tantalize our taste buds, with their recommendations based on the flavor profile we provided. Some of our favorites, Springbank 18, Bowmore 25, Lagavulin 16, Glenlevit 18, Yamazaki 12 ,etc. Not too peaty but complex and spicy enough to give our tongues and mouth’s a tingling but pleasant sensation.
The bartender Brittney who was very knowledgeable recommended the following two from The Scotch Malt Whisky Society an independent but well known bottler.
The SMWS is one of the biggest independent bottlers in the Nation. They have membership that anyone can apply for at https://www.smws.com/. Brittney told us that these two are her favorites, and based on our previous tastings we would absolutely love these two. Boy was she right!
Lets start from the left first:
Society Single Cask No. 82.20 “Big, Bold and Beautiful” – The best way to describe this. Full of flavor, and complexity. A slight peat at the nose which follows all the way through to the palate. You get hints of dark chocolate, a nice sherry, and orange. 85/100 – Score.
Society Single Cask No. 71.42 “Sinbad preparing for a journey” – Very interesting name to follow a very interesting nose, taste and finish. This smells and tastes like salted caramel popcorn. The smell is very familiar, one whiff and you know exactly what it is. The taste very much like the nose is of the same caramel popcorn. You get a bit of the Creme brulee in there but very faint. Very enjoyable and def something different. 90/100 – Score.
