Get a taste of Sinatra at Brandy Library
It’s true, one of my closest girlfriends is a brandy and scotch connoisseur. She’s typically the only girl—and hot one—who bellies up to the bar and orders a scotch, neat. Guys are always impressed and this habit has warranted multiple faux marriage proposals. One blustery, winter afternoon she shot me a text, wondering if I wanted to grab a drink with her. Given the fact that it was below freezing and it was Saturday, she wanted to warm up with lots of scotch.
“Where might we find a place down here that has an amazing selection of scotch?” She asked. Did I mention I’m apparently a walking Zagat Guide?
I began scouring for places in TriBeCa—we lived down there and I figured, with Wall Street so close, surely there must be a place downtown that specializes in such manly boozing. After scanning my Zagat Nightlife Guide, I stumbled upon a place called “Brandy Library” and realized I had hit the jackpot!
“According to the website, they even do single-malt scotch tasting every Saturday from 5 to 8 p.m.,” I exclaimed. “Would you be down for that?” Now, mind you, I don’t drink brown liquor. The scent alone activates the vomit reflux, but I decided to man-up. If she can do it, why can’t I? Oh probably because I can’t even swallow Sam Adams without whining about how much of a “boy beer” it is.
I arrived at 25 N. Moore Street, walked up the stairs and opened the heavy door.
“Do you have reservations?” Inquired the very well-spoken maitre d’.
“Nope, I’m meeting a friend here and we’re hoping to join in on today’s scotch tasting!”
He looked at me in disbelief—after all my hair was curled, nails were perfectly manicured, I was rocking a brand new Rachel Roy dress and I had on 4” stilettos—definitely didn’t look like the girl who was going to throw down scotch! I walked over to the bar where I picked up the bible of booze. I scanned the in-depth menu that’s packed with 10 pages of single-malt Scotches, including the very rare 25-year Talisker, but had a hard time finding beer and vodka. I also scanned the food portion of the menu—I might require something to absorb my brown liquor gluttony later on. The Malai Tikka chicken breast morsels in yogurt and spices immediately grabbed my attention, along with Gratin Dauphonios, or potato pancakes. The dessert also looked amazing—might have to save some room for the Valhrona chocolate cake! I bypassed the food and went straight for the booze. I started off very girly—I ordered the Peaches & Cream—which consisted of cognac, cream, crème de peche and port wine reduction. YUM!
Brandy Library’s wood-paneled space and glimmering, tile-topped bar oozes sophistication, wealth, intellect and maturity. It’s designed like a library—the vertical shelves on the walls are meticulously stocked with over 900 bottles of every type of hard-to-find bourbon, scotch, brandy, cognac and whiskey imaginable. The faux fireplace and buttery leather chairs add a cozy and romantic touch—not exactly first date worthy, but if you suggested it to your guy on a third or fourth date, he’d be highly impressed.
Now for the crowd—during happy hour it’s all Wall Street dudes and the women who love them. It’s a hoity-toity crowd and the manager has no qualms about turning someone away who isn’t dressed to the nines. Post-happy hour it’s locals and well-heeled patrons who are looking for a relaxing evening in a warm, glowing atmosphere. Don’t expect to hang out with kids at this place—they abide by a strict, 25-and-over policy. And ladies, if you’re hoping to meet Mr. Hedgefunder, you’ll have to do the talking. It’s a bit of an unspoken rule at Brandy Library that the men are not allowed to hit on the women and the bartenders will cut you off and kick you out if you begin harassing the cutie sitting next to you … unless you’re Matt Damon!
Brandy Library used to allow cigar smoking downstairs, but that has changed with the times. Even though you can still purchase cigars at the bar, you must step outside onto the balcony if you choose to speed up your lung cancer pace.
Now back to the tasting … our liquor pro guided us through five or six single-malt scotches. I sadly don’t remember because, after the first one, I decided all scotch tastes like marshmallows and practically began shooting them as opposed to sipping. This lead to a really bad headache at 7 pm and a fall on the nearly cobble-stoned streets!
I took a trip back down to Brandy Library this past Saturday after dinner at Wolfgang’s Steakhouse. After revisiting BL with my finance guy, who was highly impressed with the location and setting, I dubbed it one of the best bars in the city. It’s just so chill, classy, warm, upscale and handsome and the staff is so well-informed, how could you go wrong with this place?
Easy … you forget to bring along someone to pay your tab! Bring your client. He’ll be so impressed, he won’t think twice about the $350 bill.
