Tastethedram had the pleasure of interviewing one of the Founders, Liam Deegan of the Barrel Proof Whiskey and Beer Bar in NOLA – New Orleans. With an extensive whiskey list as well as cocktail list, Tastethedram wanted to know more about the venue. When it comes to Whiskey, New Orleans is no stranger. Liam helped us delve and find out more about the whiskey culture.
Liam, tell us about yourself. What were you doing with your life before becoming involved with Barrel Proof. So just to get into it, how did Barrel Proof get started? What was the vision behind the project?
LD: Barrel Proof was something that was really started by myself and my partners wanting a place to drink whiskey and beer. I was at Sylvain, which is a great restaurant, with a great cocktail focused bar program. That’s where I learned to make real drinks. After work, but also during, we would drink whiskey, and while we loved making cocktails, it wasn’t what we were drinking when we were hanging out, playing loud music and having fun. We thought we weren’t alone and that we could take the beer and a shot culture and use it as a foundation for a bar.
We still have the same approach to quality (fresh juice, syrups, hospitality) as we did at Sylvain, but in a slightly more relaxed and raucous atmosphere. Basically Barrel Proof early is a place to meet friends, have drinks and try cool Whiskeys like you would at a friends house, then later in the night, it’s closer to what it’s like after your favorite restaurant closes, the shot glasses and cheap beers come out and the music turns up.
If you don’t work in the industry or are close with someone who does, you might not experience this side, Barrel Proof aims to do that any given night. We are proud fence sitters: We are a clean dive bar and a rough around the edges place to get a “fancy” (in a real glass) cocktail all housed in a laid back neighborhood joint.
Can you give us the play by play of your typical day at Barrel Proof?
LD: Honestly my days are super easy because of how great of a staff I have. It mostly consists of trying new Whiskeys, re-trying Old Grand Dad for the 1,000th time, and making sure the lights are low and the music is loud. Occasionally, I will replace light bulbs, maybe write a few checks, or pray that the ice machine doesn’t break down again.
How do you stay current with all the latest whiskies? With all the independent bottlers?
LD: Most of my reps are pretty good at letting me know about new releases. While we don’t have a problem and in a lot of cases like sourced whiskey, most “new” bottles are just the same good juice we already have or at least from the same distiller in nicer bottles with great stories about Al Capone, family moonshiners, and ships crossing the equator 5 times.
Other than that, there’s some great blogs out there that are great in giving the real stories and adding some much needed clarity and transparency (Cowdery, SKU in particular).
How many different types of whisky do you have available at your venue?
LD: We have around 284 at any given time. Given the scarcity in Louisiana and in general of certain American and Japanese whiskies, we might be out of 10 or so on a weekly basis.
Is Barrel Proof known for anything else besides great Whiskey selection?
LD: We pride ourselves on our Old Fashioned which is by far our most popular item. We also sell a TON of High life ponies, a lot of times in our “party pack” which is a sixer of them and a 200ml of Old Grand Dad bonded.
When it comes to making the classic cocktails like the Old Fashioned, how do you determine which whiskey to use?
LD: To start, we were pretty concrete on the idea of using a Bonded Bourbon. Mostly for the higher proof, price point, and story. From there, we did blind tastings, non-blind and came to a general consensus the Old Grand Dad Bonded was going to be our “house Bourbon” Taste/quality/price (until recent price hikes) It performed better than all the others by itself. It’s high(er) rye content and 100 proof make it great for and Old Fashioned.
What are you most excited about in the whisky scene?
LD: I’m most excited about the future of whisky, particular American whiskey, and whisky in America. There’s a massive demand for it, that doesn’t seem to be stopping. It will be interesting to see what the producers do to satisfy the demand and how they will innovate, and how the market reacts.
What kind of crowd does your venue attract ? The whiskey appreciator, the noobie, maybe the “whiskey know-it-all”?
LD: I think we get all types of whisky enthusiasts. The funny thing is, that we get more people who say “I don’t really like whiskey” than those who self-proclaim themselves as nerds/connoisseurs/lovers, etc. Those who don’t like it come in trying to find a gateway bottle, or they are happy to drink beer or some other cocktail or mixed drink. That’s perfectly fine with us.
At the end of the day, we are a bar, and our job is to meet the needs/wants of the guest as best we can. We will most likely never sell flavored vodka, but our Tito’s sales are about as healthy as OGD. Beyond that, we get a lot of service industry and neighborhood regulars. We are outside of the French Quarter, in a mostly residential area, so we don’t see a whole lot of random tourist foot traffic, but that is changing as word spreads about how cheap our happy hour Old Fashioneds are..
Is there any particular type of whisky that sells more than the other?
LD: Bourbon, by far sells the most. After that, a lot of Japanese and Scotch single malts are popular in our 1oz pour options
How big is the whisky scene in New Orleans?
LD: New Orleans will always be a liquor before beer city, and it’s a cocktail heavy city. The Sazerac is from here, so the average New Orleanian is going to be pretty well versed in rye and cocktails a little more than other cities. So, whiskey of all price ranges is pretty well loved. There’s a fair amount of Bourbon collectors in the area and I think like everywhere else, people in this country love Bourbon. It’s a sentimental, romantic spirit that everyone has a favorite relative that comes to mind when they see one of our bottles. That’s one of the main things we love about whiskey.
What was your proudest moment of working at Barrel Proof?
LD: One of first times the bar was completely full, loud and dark on a weekend night. All the bartenders had found their rhythm and about 100 people were drinking whiskey that we had poured them.
Is there anything else you would like to share with the readers of Tastethedram?
LD: A shot of Old Grand Dad
For more information on this venue, please visit the links below:
website: http://www.barrelproofnola.com/
