Pandemic Night Out: Bourbon in the Battery

Recent posts striking a note of hope were greatly encouraged by the fact that I made plans, out, with someone to whom I’m not married, for the first time in a year. We were able to make these plans because New York’s COVID protocols are now tolerating indoor dining for reduced guest populations which register in a contact tracing regime. My friend Chris suggested that he get a break from our shutdown routines, and he made a reservation for a Pappy van Winkle bourbon tasting flight at Fraunces Tavern, the oldest bar in the city. I headed down to Wall Street last Friday night where we met up.

It was strange to pop out at the Wall Street subway station again. It had been years (most of my recent offices have uptown), but upon alighting the train station, I got that particular smell of the Wall Street station. It’s a mixture of subway, grease, Muslim oil muskiness, hot dog vendor onions and dogs, and bay air. Upon exiting into the night, I headed to the tavern where we met up.

For all of the “historical” caché Fraunces has the right to mine, they do serve remarkably good food as well. I had a bison burger and Chris a pot pie. I gotta say, their french fries are really top notch with a lively use of sea salt that makes them both addictive and delicious.

As far as the tasting went, we took the Pappy reserve flight which features:

Pappy van Winkle’s Reserve 15 year
Pappy van Winkle’s Reserve 20 year
Pappy van Winkle’s Reserve 23 year

The 15 was a standard bourbon with notable smoothness and a clean finish. While I’ll not claim to be the most sophisticated bourbon drinker, to me it was barley distinguishable from other higher-end bourbons. I enjoyed it, but it didn’t make an impression.

The 23, on the other hand was a profound and complicated experience. It started with a mild vanilla flavor that turned sweeter and almost like caramel towards the end. I was amazed: it was like a premium version of a Caramello or a Russell Stover chocolate confection. Each sip revealed new levels, it was a decidedly special distillation.

The 20, while not as complex as the 23, was something special as well and put me more in mind of Speyside single-malt Scotch. It had a gentler flavor without the strange mutation to delightful candy bar finish. 🤩