Since 2004, brothers Derek and Lucas Gamlin have provided nationally award winning dining and drinking experiences. Gamlin Whiskey House is the newest venture for these innovative restaurateurs, following continued success with Sub Zero Vodka Bar—another popular venue in the Central West End, located just a block west of Gamlin Whiskey House.
Before the Gamlin brothers combined their respective genius for creating true gathering places that offer both high quality food and rare drink, Derek gained more than 10 years experience working in St. Louis’ finest bars and restaurants. He envisioned owning a drinking establishment unlike any other in town and convinced his brother, Lucas—who worked in the Portland, Oregon, bar scene — to join him in St. Louis. The rest, as they say, is spirited history!
We spoke to Derek Gamlin about running a successful bar/restaurant in St. Louis.
Just to dive in, Derek can you tell us about your background?
DG: I opened my first restaurant, Sub Zero Vodka Bar, in 2004, and with the help of my youngest brother, Lucas, have since expanded Gamlin Restaurant Group to include both Gamlin Whiskey House (2013) and 1764 Public House (coming later this year).
What was your vision for the Gamlin Whiskey House?
DG: My brother, Lucas, and I wanted to create a warm and welcoming environment where whiskey amateurs and aficionados alike could find something to enjoy. We’ve created our spirits list and cocktail menu so that we really can offer something for everyone, no matter how developed their whiskey palate is. We’ve also been able to create a lot of great programming — including our monthly Women & Whiskey dinners and our Missouri Whiskey Society — that help people learn more about whiskey in really fun and approachable ways.
What are the things that make the Gamlin Whiskey House stand out from all the other bars?
DG: We really work to provide unique drinking and dining experiences to help our guests understand and appreciate the nuances of the more than 250 whiskeys we offer. We also want to be offering something new and unique — for example, our single barrel program, which is of course as unique as it can get! Each single barrel that we offer is hand-selected by our team to offer an expression of Knob Creek, Wild Turkey, Russell’s, Buffalo Trace, etc. that can’t be found anywhere else in the world.
What do you love about owning a Whiskey establishment in St. Louis, Missouri ?
DG: Being in the restaurant business has afforded us so many opportunities to meet and partner with great individuals and organizations in our community. The Central West End, the neighborhood we’ve chosen as the home for all three of our restaurants, is a really vibrant part of the city with a lot of great history and also a lot of great momentum toward the future, and so it’s fun to be part of all that. We’ve been in the neighborhood for more than a decade, so we’ve got a great core of regulars who’ve really given us fantastic support over the years. We’re also very proud of our partnerships with the St. Louis Blues and the St. Louis Cardinals. St. Louis really does have the best fans, and it’s fun to be able to connect with a wider audience in that atmosphere.
You guys run the Missouri Whiskey society. Can you tell us a little bit about that project?
DG: The Missouri Whiskey Society was launched in 2014 as a way to bring together local whiskey enthusiasts for unusual, fun and educational opportunities featuring their favorite spirits. We enjoy monthly whiskey tastings, an annual trip to the Kentucky Bourbon Trail and more, and we’ve had the opportunity to induct several Master Distillers as Master-level members from throughout the whiskey world, including Fred Noe, Jim Beam’s great grandson and seventh-generation master distiller at Jim Beam Master Distillery, Laphroaig master distiller John Campbell and Dark Horse Master Distiller Patrick Garcia.
It’s become a really wonderful community and a lot of great friendships have developed among our 500+ members, which is awesome to see. We look forward to being able to expand throughout the state in the near future!
What was your first experience with whiskey? Do you remember your first dram?
DG: My first taste of whiskey came on Thanksgiving Day. I was 21 and my dad was so excited to welcome me into a Gamlin family tradition — a shot of Wild Turkey 101 to kick off our annual Turkey Day golf tournament.
What do you guys focus on when adding non-bourbons to your menu. Is it based on personal taste, or customer queries or both?
DG: A mix of both our personal tastes and customer requests. We also own Sub Zero Vodka Bar, which features the country’s largest selection of vodka, and so we are introduced to a lot of interesting and innovative things that are happening in the spirits business. Last February, for example, we had a chance to send some of our team to Mexico to hand select a single barrel of El Mayor Extra Anejo tequila. Our distributors and our staff do a great job of keeping us on the forefront of what’s happening in our industry.
What are some of the challenges of owning a bar in Missouri ?
DG: The biggest challenge is definitely that Missouri is lower on the list to receive some of the more exciting and exclusive products we see come out on the market. We want to be able to offer our customers the best possible whiskey experience, but other states (ie. NY, CA and IL) receive allocations before we do, meaning that we might have someone come in looking for a product they’ve heard about or tried elsewhere that we just can’t offer yet.
Derek, I’m sure you got to taste a lot of great whiskey. Is there a favorite dram that comes to mind, that has always been your everyday go to?
DG: One of the coolest things we’ve been able to do at Gamlin Whiskey House is launch our single barrel program, which includes 18 varieties of GWH Knob Creek Single Barrel. We’ve had some great opportunities to travel down to their distillery in Clermont, Kentucky, and hand-select these entirely unique barrels with a huge range of flavor profiles, and while we’ve sold through a lot of it — we’re the fastest seller of Knob Creek Single Barrel in the known universe! — I make sure to keep some on hand in my personal collection at all times. It’s a very drinkable bourbon and a delicious way to relive some fun memories.
The whiskey market is starting to boom with countries like Japan, Germany, Australia joining in on the whiskey boom. Do you see whiskey becoming a global phenomenon or is it just a current fad?
DG: Whiskey is already a global phenomenon — we’re seeing new distilleries pop up in unexpected places all over the world. There’s so much innovation out there and it’s amazing to see how much the industry has grown in the past five years.
Is there anything else you would like to share with the Tastethedram readers?
DG: Drink what you love, but also don’t be afraid to try new things! There’s a wide, wide world of whiskey out there to explore.
